On May 12th we hosted a unique and new special event at the Pinnacle in Maumee to celebrate their 125th Anniversary of serving the elderly poor in NW Ohio.
The event, entitled “Celebrity Chefs at the Pinnacle” featured 10 Priests from the Diocese of Toledo as “Celebrity Chefs.” Very Rev. Michael Billian, Very Rev. Marvin Borger, Very Rev. Gregory Hite, Very Rev. Dennis Metzger, Rev. William Kubacki, Rev. Charles Singler, Rev. David Reinhart, Rev. Joseph Weigman, Rev. Robert Wilhelm and Rev. Daniel Zak all volunteered their services for the night.
The 325 guests in attendance really enjoyed interacting with the priests and Little Sisters at six different chef bars each serving a different menu of food items. Guests commented frequently throughout the evening on the wide variety of foods being served; everything from chicken cordon bleu to bacon-wrapped scallops with maple and mustard cream sauce to beef tenderloin to tortellini in red sauce to portabella mushroom stackers to poached salmon filets with watercress mayonnaise. The event featured the culinary arts of the Pinnacle staff and the Celebrity Chefs, who each volunteered their services to prepare their signature dishes for the guests. Featured at the event were two live entertainments: the St. Johns Jesuit Jazz Band and the Cardinal Stritch High School Chorus. Both of these groups brought a lot of youthful energy to the evening.
A unique event of the evening was a live auction of three Celebrity Chef Dinners. Rev. Charles Singler, Very Rev. Dennis Metzger and Very Rev. Michael Billian each volunteered to cook a special dinner for 10 people to be served at a future date at the Pinnacle. Mark Thees, owner of the Pinnacle, acted as auctioneer and solicited high bids for these dinner packages. The guest really enjoyed bidding for these items and the Priests were great sports. Another high point for the evening was the drawing of a $5,000 grand prize raffle drawing. The event netted over $62,000 in donations, which will go directly towards the care of the residents of the Sacred Heart Home in Oregon, Ohio.
