By RORYE O’CONNOR
rorye.oconnor@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — People on the inaugural Mt. Vernon Rotary Kitchen Tour got an eyeful and more than a mouthful Saturday, as they hopped to and from six different kitchens in the community.
The Kitchen Tour was from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and featured a variety of cuisine, from gumbo and southwest chicken soup to pasta and desserts.
At Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, caterer Diane Hultgren greeted tourers with a medley of hors d’oeuvres from the Cedarhurst cookbook. Attendees could munch on banana or pumpkin bread, a hot broccoli dip or “crabbies,” small squares of toast drenched in a crab and cheese mixture. Also available was hot spiced cider.
Home owners who participated in the tour include, David Wood; Gino Federici; Linda Woodrome; Jeff Howard; Eric and JoAnn Puntney; and Cedarhurst.
Charlotte Sharer said she had heard about the tour and hoped someone would ask her to go, so she was pleased when her friend invited her. Sharer, who said the tour was a “brilliant” idea, made Cedarhurst her second stop along the tour.
“We’re doing so far so good,” she said. “I’m not sure if we can eat all six courses.”
Julie Webb, a Mt. Vernon Rotary member, was directing tour ‘traffic’ Saturday.
“We had a really good response,” she said. “This was one of those things that we thought we’d try and see how it goes.”
Webb said at about 2 p.m. she’d seen approximately 20 people file in so far, and she expected a total of one hundred people to attend.
“Brenda Malone (Rotary president-elect and event chairperson) put in a lot of hard work getting people to volunteer kitchens,” Webb said. “It’s unique, it’s something nobody else in the community does.”
Tickets were $30 for the tour, which helped raise money for Rotary-charitable programs. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be returned into programs for the community, Malone said.
The Mt. Vernon Rotary meets at noon on Tuesdays at the First United Methodist Church.
Local
Mt. Vernon Rotary Kitchen tour features variety of cuisine
- Local
-
- County Board approves appointments MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County Board approved five appointments to various county entities.
- World Class Workforce adding web presence MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County Development Corporation is working to improve the World Class Workforce program and bring it to the web.
- State passes Medicaid cut plan MT. VERNON — The Illinois Legislature passed a plan on Thursday to trim Medicaid by 12 percent, or $1.6 billion. The legislation cuts Medicaid reimbursement rates to hospitals and nursing homes by $240 million per year.
- Officials urge area residents to use caution as temperatures rise into 90s MT. VERNON — Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to high 90s for the area this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
-
Ina resident wins Spotlight Literacy Award
INA — Yaro Hospodarsky of Ina won a 2012 Spotlight Literacy Award, given by the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White.
-
Children’s home seeks foster parents
MT. VERNON — The United Methodist Children’s Home is looking for people who are willing to become foster parents to children age 12 through 18.
-
Road work suspensions for weekend
MT. VERNON — Starting at 3 p.m. today, the Illinois Department of Transportation will be suspending all non-emergency road work for the holiday weekend and open up all lanes, where possible, until 12 a.m., May 28.
-
City plans additional leg of bike trail
MT. VERNON — The city of Mt. Vernon has plans to include an additional leg in its bike trail.
-
County unemployment rate drops
MT. VERNON — The county unemployment rate dropped seven tenths of a percentage point from March to April, coming in at 7.8 percent.
-
Pool safety reminders for the start of summer
MT. VERNON — The best way to keep every swimmer safe is swim lessons, said Mt. Vernon City Pool manager Joyce Damron.
- More Local Headlines

