BREWER, Maine — Twenty-one restaurants and caterers helped raise about $7,200 for the Bangor Region Junior Achievement program as part of a restaurant tasting and auction called “A Taste of Spring.”
Held at Jeff’s Catering Inc. on April 30, the fourth annual event drew more than 100 people, said Mary Ann Tudor, one of the event’s organizers.
“We tried this year to provide more of an opportunity for locally owned restaurants, and so we had participation by restaurants that hadn’t participated before, or at least not in the last year,” Tudor said.
The funds raised will help pay for supplies for Junior Achievement, said Jamie St. Clair, the Bangor region’s vice president.
The tasting was divided into three categories — Soup-Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert — with winners chosen by the audience, Tudor said.
In the Soup-Appetizer category, Anglers Restaurant of Hampden won with its lobster stew. Participants included Leadbetter’s Super Stop, Texas Roadhouse, Sam’s Club, Godfrey’s Grille, Chopsticks and Thistles Restaurant, all of Bangor, and Muddy Rudder of Brewer.
Among the Entree participants, newcomer Pelletier Loggers Family Restaurant Bar and Grill of Millinocket won with its BBQ ribs dish.
The Pelletier family of Millinocket, which stars in the “American Loggers” reality TV program that debuted on the Discovery Channel almost two years ago, opened the restaurant in March partially to capitalize on the show’s fame.
Olive Garden restaurant, Ground Round restaurant, Daycation Dinners, UNO’s Chicago Grill, and Chase’s Family Restaurant also served entrees. All of those eateries are in Bangor, Tudor said.
My Pretiola of Lincoln won in the Dessert category with dragonfly pretzels and handmade truffles.
Eagle’s Nest Restaurant of Brewer, Frank’s Bakery of Bangor, Dysart’s Restaurant of Hampden and Sea Dog Brewing Co. of Bangor also participated.
Junior Achievement is a nonprofit, worldwide organization dedicated to helping youth prepare for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs that make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace, according to www.ja.org.
The Bangor region program is among several statewide that provide volunteer teachers and school supplies to educational efforts within schools, according to Tudor and St. Clair.