For the fourth year, QuickChek teamed up with 24 fire departments and various vendors from across the state of New Jersey to sponsor the Cooked & Uncorked Food & Wine Festival. This festival supports the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (NJ FMBA) Foundation and the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Burn Foundation and raises roughly $50,000 each year. This year’s event took place on Monday evening at Pines Manor in Edison, NJ and over 1,000 guest attended. The QuickChek representatives included Amanda Shymanski, Senior Category Manager, Nicole Remo-Saris, Associate Category Manager, and Ted Kwiecien, Culinary Specialist. The trio spent the day showcasing and serving three of our delicious soups and chilis and two of our iced coffee varieties.
In addition to serving up some of our delicious recipes, Amanda was a judge in the Ultimate Cook-Off. Judges were put to the test in determining which fire department could create the best dish in three different categories – firehouse cooking, gourmet cooking, and dessert. The dishes were judged based on taste, presentation, display, and cuisine. This year’s winners included:
Firehouse Cooking Category: Patterson Fire Department with their tomahwak short ribs braised with red wine and cherries, whipped mashed potatoes, and glazed vegetables
Gourmet Cooking Category: Morristown Fire Department with their Asian-inspired poke dish
Dessert Category: Rahway Fire Department with their chocolate brownie made with Baileys Irish Cream served with cups of espresso spiked with Kahlua, vanilla vodka, and Baileys
