Foodie Things to Do this Weekend and Beyond

January 19th: Round 2 of the Ultimate Chef Bergen County: In each of 3 rounds, two of Bergen County’s top chefs will compete head to head to select a challengerto the reigning UCC, Ninamarie Bojekian of Ooh La La Catering in February. Round 1 winner: Chef Adam Weiss. Competitors in Round 2 are Chef Arthur Toufayan of Cafe Amici (Wychoff) vs. Chef Ryan Lagud of Biddy O’Malley’s (Northvale) Competition begins at 11am at Chef Central in Paramus.

Culinary Classes: Cape May Court House: The Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College offers amateur chefs and food enthusiasts alike the opportunity to learn how to prepare a variety of tasty meals in classes running from January to May. Classes will be held at Atlantic Cape’s Mays Landing Campus, 5100 Black Horse Pike and at the Cape May County Campus, 341 Court House-South Dennis Road, in Cape May Court House. All classes take place 6-9 p.m. For fees and to register, call  (609) 343-4829, or visit www.atlantic.edu/conted.

January 20th: Hoboken: Stuff your face and the ballot boxes at the First Annual Hoboken Mutzfest  Hoboken is a town known not only for baseball and Frank Sinatra but also for its world-famous mozzarella. On Jan. 20 we’ll bring the best that the town has to offer at the First Annual Mutzfest in which you can sample and vote for your favorite.  The event promises to be fun-filled with friendly competition in order to earn sought-after bragging rights to be named the city’s best. Competing for the top honors are Biancamano, Fran’s Deli, Lisa’s Deli, Losurdo Brothers Bakery and Vito’s Deli. While all of the city’s top deli’s known for the fresh-made mozzarella were invited to participate, some are unable to attend because of other obligations.  The Mutzfest, which runs from 2 pm – 6 pm at the Elk’s Club, will also feature a mozzarella-making demonstration, live entertainment and DJing by Angelo Cerrone, desserts, beer, wine and prizes.  The cost to enter is $10 per person and is free for kids 10 and under. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hoboken Family Alliance philanthropic efforts including a portion of proceeds for the Rebuild Hoboken fund and programs for children with special needs. Buy your tickets today. Tickets are on sale now at participating deli’s or at www.mutzfest.com.

January 22nd: Asbury Park: Mr. Green Tea Presents a Night Out to Restore the Shore. $100 Tickets include full access to this exclusive event. Full course family style meal, drinks, live music and silent auction with items that range from bottles of wine to lavish vacations. Hurry only a few tickets are still available. Go to MrGreenTeaIcecream.com/RTS

January 26: The Asbury Park BeerFest will be held at Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park featuring craft beers from all over the world, as well as conventional retro beers. Noon to 4 PM or 6 to 10 PM; $30 advance $35 at the door. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com, the Stone Pony or the Asbury Park Boardwalk box offices.

Januray 27th: Holmdel: Dearborn Market Hosts a Chili Cook-off to benefit Bridges Outreach Dearborn Market will host a Chili Cook-off Challenge, Sunday January 27th, 2013 from 12:00pm – 3:00pm. All proceeds from the event will go to the Bridges Outreach Program. Participants can enter their favorite chili recipe online or in-store and then will bring samples of their cooked dish to Dearborn on Sunday, Jan. 27th to be judged by D.J. Luccarelli, Vice President of Dearborn Market, Kathy Logan, from Bridges, as well as a local restaurateur. Everyone is invited to sample all the chili’s to vote for Customer Choice Award too. Winner of the Chili Challenge will receive a $100 Dearborn Market gift card, an official trophy, and their winning recipe will be featured in Dearborn’s February Almanac. The winning chili will even be offered as a limited time deli special that will be available to purchase throughout the month of February.There is a $10 entry fee that will be donated directly to the Bridges Program. Dearborn will also be providing participants with a $10 Dearborn Market gift card to be used in purchasing ingredients for their recipe. The event will take place in the state-of-the-art 11,000 square foot greenhouse, and it is likely to be a delicious afternoon for an incredible worthy cause. For more information, please visit Dearborn’s website – www.dearbornmarket.com.

January 27th: Princeton: “East Slow” Winter Farmers Market . Stock up on and eat locally produced meats, cheeses, breads, mushrooms, baked goods, wine, sweets, pies and more. Held at D&R Greenway Land Trust. 609-924-4646

Januray 31st: Westwood: Westwood’s Fourth Annual “Green Screen” — a week-long festival of fascinating and informative environmental films — will kick off on Thursday, January 31, 2013 and run through February 6, 2013 at the Westwood Cinema, 182 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ and at the Westwood Public Library, 49 Park Avenue, Westwood, NJ. This environmental film series, which has a couple great foodie flicks, one of which is free with a talk from Guy Jones, one of the Garden State’s most acclaimed farmers, will kick off at pre-festival reception on Thursday, January 31^st at 6:00 p.m. at Bibi’z Restaurant, 284 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ where organic and sustainably produced hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and wines will be served.  The pre-festival reception is tickets-only. The price of all six films plus the Pre-Film Reception at Bibi’z Restaurant is $35.  All films are priced separately or are free.  For a full schedule and pricing information, or to purchase tickets, go to: www.westwood.bccls.org and click on Green Screen.. 

February 1st:  Wayne: The William Paterson University Performing Arts Center Distinguised Lecturer Series will be hosting French Chef Jacques Pepin  7:30 PM. Admission is $25.  For tickets call 973-720-2371

February 6th: Point Pleasant Beach is “Open for Business Benefit” to be held at Europa south, 521 Arnold Ave. 6-11pm $15 admission, includes a full buffet, live entertainment and prizes.  Come help us spread the word that Point Pleasant Beach and our members in the surrounding areas are open for business. For information or if you would like to donate a prize for this evening contact the chamber office at  732-899-2424.

February 18th and April 2nd: Mays Landing: Gourmet dinners at Careme’s hosted by the American Vegan Society, at the Academy of Culinary Arts. Experience a meal of exceptional quality prepared and served by the culinary students under a chef educator. Call 856-694-2887 or visit www.americanvegan.org.

February 24th: Princeton: “East Slow” Winter Farmers Market . Stock up on and eat locally produced meats, cheeses, breads, mushrooms, baked goods, wine, sweets, pies and more. Held at Tre Piani Restaurant. 609-452-1515

February 26th: Atlantic City: A Taste of Atlantic City. $35.00. Experience an exclusive Preview of Atlantic City Restaurant Week. Tickets are available only online at www.acrestaurantweek.com. The ticket price includes the tasting and live music. A cash bar will be available.  The restaurants will serve “tasting size” portions of items that will be included on their special Restaurant Week menus, as well as specialties from their regular menus. One hundred percent of proceeds will benefit Community FoodBank of NJ/Southern Branch, Alcove of Atlantic County and the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority Foundation.

March 14: Atlantic City: The 30^th anniversary Atlantic Cape Community College Restaurant Gala will take place on Thursday, March 14, at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino. With the theme, “Celebrate the 30 kNights,” the Gala will feature Camelot-inspired décor and an opulent feast.

The Restaurant Gala’s 30^th anniversary honorees include the Donio and Crescenzo families of Hammonton and Chef Kevin Scull of Egg Harbor Township.

The annual fundraiser celebrates food by highlighting hors d’oeuvres prepared by students in the Academy of Culinary Arts and showcasing the specialties of 50 of the region’s best restaurants at a progressive dining experience. Each year hundreds of guests attend the Gala, which also includes live music and an elegant dessert reception.

The event has raised nearly $3 million for scholarships since 1984. All Gala proceeds benefit student scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College and Atlantic Cape Foundation operations.

For more information on the 2013 Gala, contact Carrie Leahy at (609) 463-4672, acccfdn@atlantic.edu, or visitwww.atlantic.edu/gala.

March 21st: Newark:  Manischewitz Cook-Off Contest.  The Cook-Off will be held at the Manischewitz Headquarters and Manufacturing Plant in Newark, NJ on March 21, 2013 where Matzo and other Manischewitz goodies are produced! Click here for information on entering.