Taste of Chatham Moves to New Day

Get ready to taste some of the best Chatham has to offer.

The Chatham Education Foundation (CEF) will have their annual fundraiser, Taste of Chatham, in March this year. This year's Taste of Chatham, the 12th ever, will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 8.

This will be the first time the event has taken place since October 2011. CEF decided to move the event to spring, when many other towns such as Morristown and Madison have their events, and from a Monday to a Friday.

If the season for the Taste of Chatham has changed, the location has not: The event will still take place at the Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park.

"This year will be a true taste of our town and surrounding area, not just with the taste of local restaurant fare, but also wine pairings, scotch tastings, and auction items featuring many of the local businesses," CEF's Chair Colleen Markley said.

The event features live and silent auctions, a 50/50 cash raffle and live musical performances.

Restaurants that have signed up for Taste of Chatham 2013 include:

• Aida’s Cozy Kitchen
• Bella Luna
• Brooklake Country Club
• Café Beethoven
• Fairmount Country Store
• Chatham Bakery
• Main Street Wine Cellars
• Mangia
• Marie’s Italian Specialties
• Pascarella Brothers
• Whole Foods Catering

Some restaurants that usually participate, such as Restaurant Serenade and Arminio's, won't be at Taste of Chatham this year because of the move from Monday to Friday, when many of these restaurants see their busiest day. Stacey Ewald of CEF said several of these restaurants will have items up for auction for residents to bid on.

Sponsors of the event include:

• Investors Bank, lead underwriter;
• , Verizon Communications, Inc. and , underwriters;
• Mary Weichert of Weichert Realtors, platinum sponsor;
• John Hawk, The John Hawk Agency, Chatham Fire Prevention, Dr. Corina Atanase & Dr. Michael Hanson, Lavallette Capital, Triple Win Sales, all gold sponsors;
• Debbie Woerner of Coldwell Banker, Rodan and Fields, Bella Luna; and Chatham Wrestling Club; all silver sponsors;
• Hilltop Community Bank of Madison, Simonfay Landscape Services and Suburban Chiropractic Center, and Julie Duffy Designs, all bronze sponsors.

Funds raised by the Chatham Education Foundation are given to teachers and schools of the School District of the Chathams in the form of grants and donations. In the 2011-12 school year the foundation funded 26 programs and special projects with $66,000 alone.

"The support of our local businesses who are underwriting the event expenses help make every dollar we raise for the Chatham schools go even further. This community spirit is part of what makes me proud to call Chatham my home," Markley said.