Chefs cook for a cause at Guys Who Grill
BUTLER TWP — It was a perfect day for a cookout at Preston Park. The temperature was comfortable and the sky as blue as can be. Throughout the park, chefs from around Butler County were grilling their best dishes, which ranged from traditional cookout fare to creative and unusual dishes. Meanwhile, over 150 diners sampled all of the delicious dishes.
Those were some of the scenes from the fourth annual Guys Who Grill event, which took place on May 30 at Preston Park. The event is a fundraiser for the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundations’ Kids’ Weekend Backpack Program.
The event attracted 19 chefs and sold 160 presale tickets, according to Butler Township manager Tom Knights.
Every chef at Guys Who Grill brought something different to the table. Some chefs, such as Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, decided to keep their dishes simple. Dandoy said he decided on chicken quesadillas because he was “looking for something that would be tasty, but yet not too difficult to put together the day of the event.”
However, other chefs got creative with their dishes. Jake Friel made grilled octopus while Aaron Steinheiser made a grilled peach croque with a caramel topping. Steinheiser said he made his dish because he “wanted to try something a little different” than what he had done in the past. His effort won the “people’s choice award.”
Steinheiser was not the only chef to try something different. Knights said the event had more variety than last year’s because “a lot of people that did an entree last year opted to do deserts this year.”
The guests said they enjoyed the wide variety of dishes.
“The pulled pork sandwich was pretty great,” Danielle Ball said.
Another attendee said she was surprised she liked the octopus so much.
While some diners loved the entrees, others, such as Vic McCandless, favored the deserts.
Vic said his favorite dish was the strawberry shortcake kebab before he even ate it.
“I haven’t even eaten it, but I know I’m going to like it,” he said.
The biggest winner at Guys who Grill was not a chef, but the Kids’ Weekend Backpack Program. The program provides Butler Area School District elementary school students in need with bags of food for each weekend. The program serves about 350 students per week in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation.
Knights said the idea to raise funds for the backpack program came from conversations with the school, in which the backpack program “happened to come up just in passing.” Knights took the idea of supporting the backpack program the township commissioners, who worked to create the Guys Who Grill event.
The cause attracted several prominent area figures. Dandoy said he participated because “I believe in the organization. I believe in the benefit that they’re raising money for.”
Steinheiser, the general manager for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Butler Works, said he joined Guys Who Grill because Cleveland-Cliffs already supports the Weekend Backpack Program and does “several fundraisers throughout the year” for it.
Winners from Guys Who Grill
Side Dish: Brian McCafferty
Entree: Dan Buzzard and Justin Tanaka
Dessert: Aaron Steinheiser
People’s Choice: Aaron Steinheiser
