15th Annual Dessert First

Thank you for making this our most successful event ever!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

"Dessert First" is just that: Guests sample desserts, and then eat dinner.
The truly tempting, hand-crafted, decadent desserts are as gorgeous to gaze upon as they are delightful to eat. That's because they are created by the area's most talented chefs, using one key ingredient: Girl Scout Cookies. This year's gala fundraising event was held Saturday, October 23rd at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls.

Pictured Above: Kenneth Smith, Daisy Alford-Smith (GSNEO CEO), Dan Bragg (GSNEO Board President), Susan Delaney Rodger, and Dr. Jay Gershen.

Ohio.com

Dinner has to wait as Girl Scout supporters sample Dessert First
By Betty O'Neill Roderick
Special to the Beacon Journal

POSTED: 09:10 p.m. EDT, Oct 24, 2010

Three hundred fifty people sampled delectable desserts — all made with Girl Scout cookies — at Dessert First, held Saturday night at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls.

Shirley Leonard chaired the 15th annual event, which raises funds for Girl Scout programs.

Madeline Bozzelli was honored for her leadership and commitment.

''Madeline has been involved in every Dessert First since its inception 15 years ago,'' said Rebecca Shaeffer.

READ MORE

Pictured Above: Fred Griffith and Sous Chef Cara Smith of Edgar's Restaurant
Dessert First: Featured on WKYC's Good Company

Participating restaurants this year include:

Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern, Exec. Chef Brandt Evans
Bricco (Cleveland & Akron), Exec. Chef Ryan Ivey
Chowder House Cafe, Exec. Chef Louis Prpich
Edgar's Restaurant, Sous Chef Cara Smith
The Galaxy, Pastry Chef Ashley Stephan
LockKeepers, Pastry Chef Kara Swortchek
Moe's Restaurant, Exec. Chef Jared Kirby
Piatto Novo, Exec. Chef Roger Thomas
The Portage Country Club, Exec. Chef Michael Wagner
The River Brasserie & Grill, Exec. Chef Michael Fiala
West Side Bakery, Pastry Chef Maureen Michael

Winning Restaurants

Girl Scout Troop Choice Award: Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern

First Place Celebrity Judge Award: The Galaxy

Second Place Celebrity Judge Award: LockKeepers

Third Place Celebrity Judge Award: Piatto Novo

First Place People's Choice Award: West Side Bakery

Second Place People's Choice Award: Edgar's Restaruant

Third Place People's Choice Award: Piatto Novo

Dessert First Recipes

Trefoil Raspberry Mousse Cake with Lemon Chalet Pearls

Samoa Layered Bars

Dulce de Leche Whoopie Pies

Samoa Mousse Dessert

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheescake

Thank You Berry Munch Apple Crisp

Girl Scout Baklava

Trefoil & Thank You Berry Munch Bread Pudding

Mint Fudge Baklava

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancetta Portrait

Double Chocolate Tagalong Bars

Our Sponsors:

Platinum Level

Little Brownie Bakers

Silver Level

Akron Children's Hospital
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Bronze Level

Acme Fresh Markets, American Sand & Gravel, Ashdon Farms, Aultman, Brouse McDowell, Bruner-Cox LLP, Comdoc, Inc., Cuyahoga Community College, Farris Management, FifthThird Bank, FirstMerit Bank, KeyBank, Lorain National Bank, Meaden & Moore, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Mutual of America Life Insurance Company, Peoples Services, Playhouse Square, The University of Akron

Donors

Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, Aqua Ohio, Curtis 1000, Davis Printing, Image Concepts, Labels & Letters, Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., PPI Graphics, The Summa Foundation, Triad Advertising, WhiteSpace Creative

Our Media Sponsor:

Gold Level

Celebrity Judges:

Amanda Barren, WKYC

Prior to her return home to northeast Ohio, Amanda spent four and a half years as a reporter and weekend anchor in Charleston, West Virginia. Amanda actually got her start in wild and wonderful West Virginia at WTAP in Parkersburg.

There she did just about everything, except sports.

Not all of her career has been far from home.  Amanda worked as the court/crime/city government reporter in Erie, Pennsylvania. She also spent two years as the anchor of "Good Morning Erie."

Amanda is thrilled to be home doing the job she loves.

As a graduate of Kenston High School, she is grateful to her high school English teachers for encouraging her as a writer.

Kimberly Gill, WEWS

Kimberly Gill can be seen on "Good Morning Cleveland" weekdays from 5 a.m. - 7 a.m. Being one of the hosts for such an early morni

ng program requires her to wake-up at 2:00 a.m. for work. She usually sets four alarm clocks so she won’t oversleep.

With that said, it also means that in the evening she’s usually in bed before the sun sets. When she’s not sleeping or working she enjoys roller skating, watching most sports and eating at new restaurants. She's not a big cook, but she knows how to use a Crock-pot and a George Foreman Grill. Kim loves music and can sometimes be heard singing the National Anthem at various Cleveland sporting events.

Kimberly is originally from South Carolina. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Go Gamecocks!! Kim paid her way through college by working two jobs. She drove 18 wheelers for FedEx and fueled private and commercial airplanes for an aviation company. She did this all to pursue her dream of becoming a television news anchor.

Kimberly came to Cleveland in August of 2007 from the CBS affiliate in Florence/ Myrtle Beach, S.C. She is enjoying Cleveland, though she admits her first winter here was tough. She had to learn quickly how to drive in the snow, that you can’t wear flip-flops in February and that grits and sweet tea aren’t served in every restaurant.

She’s jumped right into the Cleveland community and is happy to call Cleveland Heights home. She frequently volunteers her time to various organizations. She is a member of the Junior League of Cleveland.

T.K. O’Grady, WONE 97.5 FM

A lot of people don't realize that I am originally from Mexico. That's right, a blond (more gray & white now), blue eyed, Irish-Mexican. Well the Irish part is right, however, I am not a Mexican...I am a Mexicoan. I was born and raised in the city of Mexico, MISSOURI. About 100 miles due west of St. Louis and a town, when I was growing up, of about 11,000 people, whose main industry was firebrick plants (Cape Canaveral launch pads are lined with it), saddle horses, farming and as my Dad would say, "beautiful women".
My Dad owned and operated an IGA Grocery Store and it was the major grocery store for the entire region. I started carrying out customers bags when I was eight at the whopping salary of fifty cents an hour. It was a great learning experience, because no matter how rich or how poor you were, you had to come to the grocery store and I think that's one of the main reasons I like people so much. When I reached my senior year in High School, there was an elective called "Radio & Television" where the class produced and performed two live twenty-five minute radio shows a week and one local "cable tv" school news program per week. I fell in love with radio right then and there (although I do have a cassette tape of me imitating Daytona Beach DJ's when I was 13 years old and on vacation with my parents). 
2008 marks my thirty-sixth year as a PAID Disc Jockey. I started at the hometown stations, KXEO/KWWR-FM, as a part time DJ on June 2nd, 1972, right after High School Graduation. Radio has taken me to Chicago, Miami, Charleston, South Carolina and a few other smaller markets and I've programmed and been a DJ at Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Hot AC stations. 
My Rock Radio career began in 1993 and continues today. In my spare time you'll find me on the Golf course, in the kitchen or manning the grill. I was fortunate, I knew what I wanted to do when I was 17 years old and I am still doing it today.

Stan Piatt, WNIR

Stan Piatt lives to make people laugh. And he’s been doing it on WNIR since 1977. Stan dazzles the audience with his death-defying adlibs. Then leaps into a cauldren of boiling hot comedy. And emerges unscathed to clown around on the phone lines with the audience. As the leader of WNIR’s family-friendly morning circus Stan has developed one of the largest and most loyal audiences in Morning Drive radio. Tens of thousands of people can’t start their day until they’ve had their morning coffee and heard Stan spilling out of their radio!

Georgina Carson, Akron Life & Leisure

Georgina K. Carson is the editor of Akron Life & Leisure magazine. During her career, she has worked at American Greetings, the Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Magazine. Her interviewees have ranged from Congressman Ralph Regula to Drew Carey to Barney the Six-Legged Cow (who despite his circus fame, was unpretentious and a little shy). She graduated summa cum laude from Kent State University with a B.S. in news editorial journalism – magazine concentration. She currently lives in Canton with her favorite person/husband Byron. 

Joseph Crea, The Plain Dealer

Joseph Crea is food and restaurants editor/columnist at The Plain Dealer. Crea spent 15 years in the food business holding several positions from kitchen assistant to chef, at the same time contributing to The Plain Dealer as a freelancer. In 1981 he became the food editor of The Morning Journal and The Evening News in Daytona Beach, FL. He then became food editor/columnist for The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, The Orange County (CA) Register and The Blade in Toledo, OH. He also had a weekly column on nutrition and food issues distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Crea has received several journalism honors including, "Best Section" from the Association of Food Journalists (1995, 1989) - top circulation category as Food editor, The Orange County Register. In 1992, the American Dietetic Association recognized Crea as the nation's top nutrition writer with their Media Excellence Award. Additionally, he is chairman-elect of the Journalism Awards Program for The James Beard Foundation. Crea has a bachelor's degree in psychology and communications from Goddard College.

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