Fundraiser for food fanatics

Your chance to get a taste of southwest Nassau County is coming up as the Peninsula Counseling Center plans its annual fundraiser. There will be 45 restaurants, bakeries, caterers and wineries participating in A Tasteful Evening at the Woodmere Country Club on Oct. 19.

“It’s really for people who love to eat,” said Audrey Goodman, coordinator of special events for the counseling center. “People are always looking for new restaurants.”

A Tasteful Evening has been an annual event since 2004 and is the center’s major fundraiser each year. The cost is $75 per person and reserved seating is $100. A reserved table for eight is $750, for 10 is $900 and for 12 is $1,100. It goes from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

There will also be a silent auction, a Judith Ripka jewelry auction and a dozen raffle prizes worth $1,000 each. Goodman said the prizes are practical, such as gas or supermarket gift cards, a flat-screen television and a Macintosh computer.

Most of the restaurants, bakeries, caterers and wineries participating have been taking part in the event for several years. “They wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Goodman said. “We do have about five or six new restaurants this year, which is exciting.”

Tommy Yeh, owner Kaiseki Japanese Cuisine on Merrick Road in Valley Stream, will be participating for the first time. “I’m a new restaurant so I’m hoping to get some exposure,” Yeh said. He plans to bring a variety of food samples, most notably his specialty sushi rolls.

Monterey, which opened five months ago in Long Beach, will also be represented. Manager Lisa Villafane said she hopes to meet a lot of people at the event and encourage them to give her restaurant a try. “I know that we have a great product and an excellent chef,” she said referring to Heather West, the winner of the second season of “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Villafane said she also wants to tell people about the many activities the restaurant will host in the coming months, including cooking classes with their celebrity chef.