The guys are back, and this time Akron’s mayor and fire chief are cookin’.
The popular Men Who Cook fundraiser for Summa Health at Home is back on May 5, and Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Akron Fire Chief Clarence Tucker plan to be among those showing off their culinary talents.
This will be the 15th event featuring men from throughout the Akron area cooking up their favorite dishes. There’s a new venue this year: Todaro’s Party Center in the Merriman Valley. The event will run from 5 to 8 p.m.
Organizers have stepped it up a bit. In addition to signing on the mayor and fire chief as cooks, they have brought back master of ceremonies Dave Lieberth, former Akron deputy mayor and an old hand at emceeing. (Lieberth chaired the first three Men Who Cook events and is chair of Summa’s community engagement committee.)
The evening includes a DJ, a live auction and a cash bar. This is a reasonably priced fundraiser: Tickets are $55 in advance and $60 at the door. Tickets include one ballot for the People’s Choice Award and one drink ticket.
The event moved from an annual fundraiser to an every-other-year event after 2015.
Men Who Cook benefits Summa Health’s Summa at Home, the hospital system’s nonprofit program that offers home health care, hospice and palliative care.
Lou Ciraldo, president of Summit Construction in Akron, is chairing the event; he will prepare a dish as he has since the fundraiser’s inception. Dr. David Custodio, interim chair emergency medicine at Summa, also is serving as an event chair. I’ll be a judge.
It is being billed as a celebration of Cinco de Mayo because it falls on May 5. Akron-area developers Joel Testa and his father, Paul, plan to mix up appropriate drinks — a bit more creative than margaritas, I heard from Liz Kalfas, development coordinator at Summa Health Foundation.
The holiday is about more than margaritas and guacamole. It celebrates Mexican soldiers’ stunning defeat of the better-armed French army May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Puebla.
To order tickets or to become a sponsor, go to summahealth.org/menwhocook or call the Summa Health Foundation at 330-375-3159.
Todaro’s is at 1820 Akron-Peninsula Road in Cuyahoga Falls.
Egg safety
Should you eat those dyed eggs?
If the Easter Bunny still hides real eggs at your house, you can eat ’em, but be careful, says an article from the Chow Line newsletter, produced by the Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
One of the cautions: Boiled eggs can be safely kept out of the refrigerator for up to two hours. “But remember, that two-hour window includes the time it takes to both hide and find the eggs.”
And don’t hide eggs in places where they could become contaminated, the newsletter says. Other safety tips for Easter Eggs are at http://bit.ly/2ol0PH8.
The complete Chow Line article is at http://bit.ly/2p15bBp.
Opening at da Bayou
Da Bayou, the new Cajun and Creole restaurant in Merriman Valley is set to host a grand-opening weekend April 21-23. Owners are Tony and Michelle Banks of the Akron area, who became captivated by Cajun and Creole food when they lived on the West Bank of New Orleans years ago.
The Bankses have installed large, commercial-sized “boil pots” for seafood boils. Customers will get a choice of crawfish, shrimp, crab legs, scallops or lobster, prepared and served “New Orleans style,” by the pound, accompanied by andouille sausage, red potatoes and corn on the cob.
Hours on grand opening weekend will be 4 to 11 p.m.; brunches are expected to begin several weeks later. The Bankses had hoped to open earlier, but the permitting process took longer than expected.
The phone is 330-237-7955 (for now callers get a message about opening in April).
Da Bayou will open in space that previously housed Max McQ’s sports bar, across from Papa Joe’s. Go to www.da-bayou.com to check out the menu, or to the Facebook page to see pics of the significant renovations.
Ramp Up Peninsula
Charley Murphy’s Stray Dog food enterprise and Autumn Johnston, also known as the Pierogi Lady, are returning to the Ramp Up Peninsula festival April 29.
The event — in which food purveyors cook with ramps, also known as wild leeks — will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Heritage Farms, 6050 Riverview Road, Peninsula.
Murphy is fond of adding ramps to the homemade relish that tops his sandwiches, and Johnston uses ramps as a pierogi ingredient. Murphy has an eatery in the main Akron-Summit County Public Library and oversees the kitchen at the Summit on North Hill. Johnston runs the Pierogi Lady in Cuyahoga Falls.
Other vendors include food trucks Southern Thangs, Square Scullery and Byers Concessions. The event also features artists, crafters and live music.
Vendors, including those interested in cooking with ramps, can still sign up; the deadline is April 15. The application and information are at www.explorepeninsula.com. The Ramp Up Peninsula Facebook page has information on the musical acts and the vendors.
The ramp is one of the first edible plants to pop up in the spring. Some call them “little stinkers” because of their garlicky aroma. This will be the fifth year for the Peninsula fest, started by fans of ramp fests in West Virginia.
Feast at Happy Days Lodge
Here’s a fun prelude to Ramp Up Peninsula: The Edible Wild Food Feast set for April 27 at 6 p.m. at Happy Days Lodge in Boston Heights.
Chef Larkin Rogers will prepare a meal “replete with ramps, fiddleheads, local mushrooms and more,” says the nonprofit Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The event is part of the monthly Dinner in the Valley series. Reservations are required; these dinners tend to fill up fast. Go to www.conservancyforcvnp.org.
Happy Days Lodge is at 500 W. Streetsboro St. (state Route 303) in Boston Heights. Cost is $50 for members of the conservancy and $55 for nonmembers. For reservations, go to http://forcvnp.org/div or call 330-657-2909.
An optional all-ages hike will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Events at Mustard Seed
Mustard Seed Market and Cafe — the family-owned organic/natural foods grocery with three area locations — is celebrating 36 years April 22, Earth Day, with giveaways of native saplings and lots of food samples.
Phil Nabors, co-founder of Mustard Seed, figures the business has given away 750,000 trees over the past 27 years of such celebrations.
The free “Taste Fair” — featuring prepared foods, produce, dairy and cheese, among other items — will run from noon to 4 p.m. Mustard Seed has three locations: Highland Square in Akron, Bath Township in the Montrose area and Solon.
Mustard Seed began in a 2,000-square-foot storefront next to a Dairy Mart in Akron’s Merriman Valley in 1981. Earlier, owners Phil and Margaret Nabors had begun a vegetarian catering business.
Mustard Seed is partnering with Friends of Metro Parks, United Natural Foods & the J.M. Smucker Co. of Orrville for the event. White cedar, red maple, white oak and red oak trees will be given away.
Wine events
• The new West Point Market will present Wines of the Rhone — featuring 20 wines from France’s Rhone Valley — from 7 to 9 p.m. April 21. Cost is $40, and the event includes light appetizers, breads and sweets.
Buy tickets at www.westpoint.com/events. Designated drivers get $20 off the ticket price. West Point is at 33 Shiawassee Drive in Fairlawn. Call 330-864-2151 for more information.
• The Acme Fresh Market at 3875 Massillon Road in the Heritage Crossing complex in Green will feature Sonoma County California winemaker Scott Anderson at a wine dinner at 6 p.m. April 27.
Four wines will be paired with food prepared by Acme Market Catering. Courses include pan-seared barramundi with sweet corn risotto cake and tomato basil relish; and wine-braised short rib with truffle grits and sugar snap peas.
This is an inexpensive dinner: $25. Visit the customer service counter at the store for tickets and a list of wines that will be served.
Farmers market in Kent
Looking for a farmers market?
The indoor Haymaker Farmers Market in Kent — the granddaddy of area markets — will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through April at the United Methodist Church at 1435 E. Main St., Kent.
In May, Haymaker will head back out to Franklin Avenue, underneath the Haymaker Overpass, in Kent. This is a producers-only market. For more information, go to www.haymakermarket.com.
The Countryside Farmers Market returns to the Howe Meadow in Cuyahoga Valley National Park April 22. It will run from 9 a.m. to noon through Oct. 28 at 4040 Riverview Road.
The Countryside Farmers Market at Highland Square in Akron is moving to a new location: Will Christy Park, at 1175 W. Exchange St., and will run from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays May 18 through Sept. 28.
For more information, go to www.cvcountryside.org.
Five Star Sensation
Five Star Sensation, the every-other-year foodcentric fundraiser for University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, is June 24 at Cuyahoga Community College in Highland Hills.
Cleveland celebrity chef Michael Symon is hosting the event, which brings in big-name chefs and will include live music, dancing and a silent auction.
This is a big, pricey event, attracting loads of folks. More than 2,000 attended in 2015. Ticket prices start at $300.
For tickets, go to www.fivestarsensation.org.
Seven Courses of Kent
Reminder: Seven Kent restaurants, including two that have not yet opened, will team up for the third annual Seven Courses of Kent dinner party at 5 p.m. April 23 at Laziza. Each course will be paired with a beer or wine.
Cost is $70, including tax and tip. Proceeds go to the nonprofit Main Street Kent. Go to http://mainstreetkent.org/events/seven-courses-kent for tickets and information on restaurants. Call Main Street Kent at 330-677-8000 for information.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com and read the Akron Dish blog at www.ohio.com/food.