Montville Polish Club Event Will Crown the Town's Best Cook

Who’s the best cook in Montville?

Pamela Maher might tell you it’s her. Barry Rand might say he is. Donna Kirby-Reynolds, Bryan Manille, Jeremi Terni or Jessica Evans all could legitimately say they were… But that was last year.

They were winners in various categories in the 2010 Montville Polish Club cook-off. This year, there are more categories, more prizes and, for the first time, a Best in Show award.

Bryan Manville, vice president of the club – and one of the cooktestants, as well – says there are more than 30 cooks signed up so far, and more are expected to enter before the event. In 2010, he says, more than 50 cooks signed up.

There is still time to enter! If you are interested, contact Shirley Horan at (860) 917-8490 or at shirley.horan@sbcglobal.net.

The Cook-Off takes place at the Montville Polish Club on Saturday. Cooks need to be registered by 1 p.m., and present by 1:30 p.m.

The judging starts at 3 p.m. (Editor's Note: I have agreed to be one of the judges this year).

Tickets - available at the door - are $10 each, and entitle you to taste everything. It's free for kids under 12.

You can sample food in every category, Manville says, or, “If you like one thing, and you want to stand there and eat it till it’s gone, that’s good, too.”

This year, the categories are:

• Appetizers/Sides
• Chili
• Soup/Chowder
• Seafood
• Beef
• Pork
• Poultry
• Dessert

The dishes will be judged on taste, originality and presentation. Cooks are allowed to enter in multiple categories.

They are not, however, allowed to use the Polish Club’s kitchen, so many folks bring their own grills and smokers, and cook outside. Others cook at home and bring their dishes in crock pots. After the first year, Manville says, “We went out and put plugs everywhere in this place.”

The cook-off is the Polish Club’s major fund-raiser of the year, Manville says. In addition to the money raised by ticket sales, there will be raffles, too. A DJ will be playing, there will be vendors and, of course, food to sample and to judge. 

The Montville Polish Club was started to help Polish immigrants find their way in a new country, Manville says. “Help them get their citizenship, help them out through hard times. We have continued to do that through the years.”

The club uses the money it raises from the cook-off and other events to make donations to “all the sports teams in town,” Manville says, “and to the Visiting Nurse Association, the Montville Food Bank,” and others. The Polish Club also sponsors Little League and Babe Ruth teams.

The sports help keep kids off the streets and out of trouble, Manville says. And maybe, when those kids grow up, they’ll think of the Polish Club and come back and join.

“We’re all about giving,” Manville says.

While many of the cooks are members of the club, you don’t have to be a member to enter.

The competition is pretty fierce, Manville says. Last year, he beat 11 others to win the appetizers category, with jalapeno-cheddar sliders.

“And you know what? I didn’t even get one. I went through nine pounds of meat, and I never even got one. I never left my grill until everything was gone.”

In addition to raising funds to help the community, Manville says, the event is fun. There’s entertainment, face-painting, a DJ, a cash bar and many raffle prizes donated by people and businesses in the community. “It’s very affordable, it’s a good time,” Manville says.

“All you hear about the cookoff for weeks after it’s over is, ‘Oh that was good, that was good,' – this tells me it’s a good function and we should keep on doing it,” Manville says.

“There’s a lot of really good cooks around here. And people like to show off.”

Evans, she’s the head of our entertainment committee, and she does a ton of work.

Here are the 2010 winners:

Chili

1st  Place – Barry Rand - Chili

2nd  Place – Heather Beaudette - Chili

Meats

1st  Place – Donna Kirby-Reynolds – Real Southern Pulled Pork

2nd  Place – Tom Boyles – Pulled Pork

Appetizers / Sides / Miscellaneous

1st  Place – Bryan Manville – Jalapeno Cheddar Sliders

2nd  Place – George Evans – Stuffed Pea Pods

Soups / Chowders

1st  Place – Jeremy Terni – Sausage Soup

2nd  Place – Walter Banas – Clam Chowder

Desserts

1st  Place – Jessica Evans – Pineapple Walnut Cupcakes

2nd  Place – Melissa Lamb