Many brave blizzard for a Taste of Bethel
Nine area restaurants donated their time and culinary creations.
Jen Otterson
Special to the Sun Journal

BETHEL – For a few hours Saturday afternoon, the Telstar High School cafeteria was transformed into a gourmet restaurant, serving a delicious lunch to over 300 guests.

However, the high-class restaurant fare didn’t come with a high price: Every entree, soup, dessert, and beverage at the Taste of Bethel was priced at only 75 cents.

The event has been organized by the Bethel Chamber of Commerce for the past six years. Robin Zinchuk of the CoC said the participants this year were “a good representation of what we have available in Bethel.”

Nine area restaurants donated their time and culinary creations, offering not only a good representation of what’s available in Bethel, but a good selection of cuisines from around the world.

Diners chose from French puff pastries, Korean grilled chicken, Japanese sushi, and Southwest corn muffins. There was also a wide variety of foods native to New England, including apple crisp, bread pudding, and crabcakes.

Kathy Thrall, a Connecticut native who relocated to Bethel six years ago, has been attending the annual event for the past four years. “I think Bethel has the best food in Maine,” she declared. For lunch, Thall had sampled a seafood lasagna, crabcakes, raspberry bread pudding, and a buffalo stew that was “not real spicy, but just hot enough.”

The buffalo stew was offered by Saturday’s Cantina. “There’s a definite taste to buffalo,” said chef Bruce Maliska, “It’s sweeter than beef, and very tender.” Although the stew was a popular item at the Taste of Bethel, Maliska said he doesn’t serve it at Saturday’s Cantina because he doesn’t want to compete with another area restaurant which serves buffalo. The Cantina specializes in Southwestern cuisine.

Scott Lane, of Cho Sun Place, was also offering food that was new to many at the event. Lane had made about 200 pieces of sushi that morning, and sold all but 25 by the end of the event. Lane learned to make sushi rolls from his Korean mother, who had learned from her mother, the owner of a restaurant in Korea. Next week, Cho Sun will celebrate one year in business in Bethel.

Ron and Fran Carrara drove from Massachusetts for the event with friends Joe and Mary Ann Saccardo. The Carraras, who own a house near Sunday River, have been attending the Taste of Bethel for the past three years. Fran Carrara said that she enjoys being able to sample foods from area restaurants because “if you’re up for a weekend, you can get an idea of where you want to eat.”

The Carraras, who had left behind a foot of snow in Massachusetts, weren’t daunted by the coming blizzard, but many area residents were. Zinchuk noted that there were fewer senior citizens at the event this year than in previous years. “Seniors are really reluctant to come out in this weather,” she explained.

Despite the weather, the Taste of Bethel raised over $1,000, only $50 less than last year. Zinchuk said “We had less people, but people stayed longer and ate more.” She theorized that people opted to eat another dessert, rather than go back out in the snow. Five hundred dollars of the money raised will be given as a scholarship to a Telstar High School graduate pursuing a career in culinary arts.

Many who attended also bid on one of the 22 wreaths which had been donated by area businesses. Wreaths ranged from the simple, yet elegant, Red Gate Farm wreath, adorned with pine cones and a red ribbon, and framed with a spiral of red branches, to the extravagant Designs wreath, which glittered with lights set among strings of purple beads and gold branches.

Many wreaths were decorated with products or gift certificates from the businesses that had donated them. Timeless Treasures decorated its wreath with miniature tin kitchen gadgets. The Bethel Inn wreath featured a gift certificate for an overnight stay, worth $225.

The Theme Wreath Auction raised about $1,100, which will go toward the Bethel Chamber of Commerce’s holiday decorating project.

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