Annual Celebrity Cuisine Event Brings Local Businesses Together

What would you do if all your favorite restaurants  came together for one night under one roof, serving a smorgasbord of local culinary creations for you to sample?

It gets better.

What if this food was served to you by a local "celebrity?" Say, a respected congressman, artist or radio personality?

You can actually experience this at the 19th annual Celebrity Cuisine.

Tuesday at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, area restaurants that are members of the Tri-County Restaurant Association will take a night to come together, show off their culinary talent and raise money for Community Harvest of Stark County.

There will be a lot of restaurants at the event, but our North Canton restaurants and catering companies include , , , , , , and 

In 1952, the Tri-County Restaurant Association (TCRA), a nonprofit-corporate organization, formed as a way to educate, assist and promote the restaurant industry for Carroll, Stark and Tuscarawas counties. 

Community Harvest of Stark County was created in 1989 by the Tri-County Restaurant Association  and concerned community members.

"Community Harvest is a winning program for everyone," said Joan Kinsley, TCRA executive secretary.

"The donors of food make use of the food that would otherwise be wasted and the hungry get to eat."

She said the food is picked up in refrigerated trucks and delivered to sites where it's served to those who need it.

Celebrity Cuisine is one of the main fundraisers for Community Harvest.

Stephanie Condric, president of TCRA and general manager of Skyland Pines Golf Club and Event Center in Plain Township, said Celebrity Cuisine brings recognition to Community Harvest, while  giving TCRA members the opportunity to showcase their specialties to the community.

North Canton resident and TCRA board member Scott Fehlman has been in the restaurant industry for years. Now a marketing associate for Sysco Cleveland, he brings his expertise to TCRA.

"The Celebrity Cuisine event brings a lot of members together who essentially compete against each other daily, but this event puts the competition aside for one night, and allows the business owners to work side by side with friendly camaraderie," Fehlman said. "Some of the area's oldest establishments are there, and it allows the patrons to go back in time and remember a place that they may not have visited for some time."

Fehlman said the event has grown like "wildfire."

Last year the event attracted about 1,000 people, Kinsley said.

The event is from  5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $25 per person and there is no extra charge for the food and beverages. There will be door prizes, a 50/50 drawing and a Community Harvest silent auction. The entertainment is Jack Halkides. All profits from the event are donated to Community Harvest of Stark County.

You can purchase tickets at the door or buy them at  your favorite restaurant.

Local celebrities from around Stark County either choose a business or are assigned to one. The list is not final yet and they are still waiting to hear back from some people, Kinsley said.

(To see an updated list of local "celebrities," click on the included PDF).

So, what can people expect when they attend Celebrity Cuisine?

"They can expect to have a really good time," Condric said. "After all, it has been dubbed Canton's largest happy hour."