LACEY – It was one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Ocean County Vocational Technical School Foundation and if you went home hungry, it was your own fault.
After a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual OCVTS Chef’s Night Out fundraiser returned recently and to a whole new venue, the Lacey Elks Lodge which allowed for more space and different rooms to accommodate the many participating restaurants and organizations as well as the varied culinary programs provided for OCVTS students.
“It was a spectacular event for our district. We are blessed with a foundation that supports our mission of preparing students for today’s demanding high-tech job market. The monies from Chef’s Night Out will not only allow for financial scholarships for our students but also supply tools, equipment and other necessary gear needed for our programs,” OCVTS Superintendent Karen Homiek said.
She added, “all of the Foundation members are volunteers and are members of the local Ocean County community. Everyone seems to like the restaurants that are here. The restaurant owners and staff are having a good time. Everyone is just enjoying themselves.”
Harold “Skip” Peterson of Lacey is a member of the Foundation and was instrumental in bringing the big event that featured over a thousand attendees and various food services businesses to the Elks Lodge. “We had a meeting here and the Elks donated the use of their large building for free.
“I feel like before you couldn’t see the all the banners of all of our sponsors and it was hard to figure out the whole room but this is really nice,” Homiek said.
The former Toms River site on the grounds of Toms River High School North attracted many northern and central Ocean County restaurants but many from the southern end of the county were well represented during the most recent fundraiser held earlier this month.
The event featured Lacey’s popular The Captain’s Inn, Pine Tar Bar and Grill and some familiar favorites like Ob Co Donuts of Toms River, Klees of Seaside Heights and Joe Bella’s Italian Kitchen of Toms River and many more.
“We have numerous restaurants from this area and it’s important to get representation from all over the county as we go all the way down in Little Egg Harbor,” Homiek said.
“We had 31 sponsors who committed to coming and they have banners all over the room and 20 restaurants besides the vocational restaurants. We have the Brick Center, we have the Waretown Center and we have Cuisine on the Green so three of our centers here as well,” Homiek added.
The multi-level event drew some notable attendees such as Ocean County Board of Commissioners Deputy Director Virginia Haines who recommended Joe Bella’s mushroom truffle. “I had two plates of that – it was delicious.”
Others includes Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy, Jackson Mayor Michael Reina and Lacey Committeeman Peter Curatolo among others. Each roamed the crowded rooms to sample some of the fine dishes that included everything from crab cake sliders, to pasta to the Brick Center’s orange cheesecake.
Noting the approach of Saint Patrick’s Day, Klee’s Restaurant offered up a unique offering of an Irish Egg Roll which were Asian style eggrolls with an Irish twist filled with potatoes, corn beef, sauteed cabbage and Swiss cheese served with Thousand Island Dressing.
Homiek said funds from the evening’s event will provide money “for scholarships so the more money we make at these events the more scholarships we can present. It can be not just monetary it can be tools or equipment that a student needs to get better in their position. The Foundation is really good with that.”
She noted that the Jackson Center will be seeing some expansion in the near future. “We are going to be putting three brand new programs to the Center, though not new to the district. We’ll be putting in welding, electric, plumbing and medical assistant programs.”
“Those are three programs we have waiting lists for. They will be housed at Jackson upon completion of the addition. These programs are in high demand throughout the county by local businesses and industry. We are looking to meet what industry needs right now,” Homiek said.
“We have about 1,900 share time students and we have 700 academy students which doesn’t include our adult students,” she added.
Cosmetology program teacher Barbara Stewart joined a number of her OCVTS students as volunteers for the evening wearing their Chef’s Night Out aprons and helping to make the event run smoothly.
A large number of gift baskets were available to win with the purchase of a raffle ticket purchase. For more information about what OCVTS offers visit ocvts.org.
