814-Umcaster Farming, Saturday, January 1, 1994
CONNIE LEINBACH
Berks Co. Correspondent
WYOMISSING (Berks Co.)
A gingerbread village of more than
47 houses and featuring an electric
train traveling through them came
and went one recent weekend in
the Berkshire Mall.
The imaginatively decorated
houses came in an astonishing var
iety of styles and degrees of
architectural difficulty. One house
was a contemporary-style, split
level wonder with a turret, whose
entire roof was decorated with
Twizzler licorice sticks. This
house was one of three created by
Tony Boulos, certified executive
chef of the Holiday Inn in Fogels
ville, Lehigh County.
Others looked like mansions of
old, decorated with amazing confi
gurations of candies. A couple of
them even came with an outhouse.
Still others were simple four walls
with elaborate yards.
All, ol course, were totally
edible.
The houses were built by mem
bers of the American Culinary
Federation Berks-Lehigh Chefs
Association as part of their Chef
and the Child Foundation efforts.
“They were all made in the past
week,” noted Kevin Eiche, a sous
chef at the St. Isaac Novitiate in
Wemersville, Berks County, who
chaired the event
About 20 chefs from Berks
County participated in the raffle,
with some making several houses
for the event.
After expenses, part proceeds of
Catherine Farley, 4, and Alec Farley, 6, of Boyertown, are
delighted with the gingerbread house that Tony Boulos,
certified executive chef for Holiday Inn of Lehigh County,
presents to them during the raffle.
Guidelines For
Nursing Home Visit
HONESDALE (Wayne Co.)
If you have a loved one in a nurs
ing home, Debra Bryant, Penn
State Extension Agent, reminds us
the most precious gift we can give,
is our presence. Don’t expect that
visits by you and other family
members will necessarily improve
family harmony or the patient’s
mental health. But, visits will pro
vide some of the most enjoyable
experiences a nursing home
patient will have. Take cues about
the length of the visit It it’s too
short, you may not hear of con
cerns or the visit may be forgotten.
Gingerbread
the raffle will be donated to the
Chef and the Child Foundation and
the other part to the Berks County
4-H club. Particularly, funds will
go toward the foods and nutrition
program of this 4-H group, noted
Rick Kauffman, 4-H extension
agent.
Proceeds from the raffle also
help sponsor the annual day camp
program in the summer, which
many chefs in the area participate
in by helping teach kids about
nutrition and by helping the kids
cook foods,” Kauffman said.
“The chefs association has
been really great to do this for us,“
Kauffman said. “With the money
they’ve donated, the extension has
had a 4-H food leader training ses
sion. Several area chefs came to
the 4-H Community Center and
showed the kids how to prepare
certain foods.”
Pat Golembiewski, a profes
sional cake maker from Wyomiss
mg and co-chair of the event, noted
that each chef takes several days to
construct the houses.
First the gingerbread has to be
baked. After that, it must harden
for a few days. Then the walls are
constructed and also must harden
in the icing for a day or two. The
same must be done with the roof.
“You want the roof sturdy," Pat
said. “You don't want to push and
shove candy into the roof if it's not
strong.”
All the chefs paid for ingre
dients out of their pockets. Golem
biewski said.
If it’s too long, the resident may
become tired. In addition to timing
of visits, it’s important to limit the
number of people at one time.
Several people at once may
increase confusion or anxiety for
the resident. Furthermore, nursing
home space usually is limited.
Bring children to visit Tell them
what to expect and answer ques
tions on their level of
understanding.
This is also cold and flu season.
So if you aren’t feeling well or
have the sniffles, call rather than
visiting in person.
City Benefits Berks 4-H
Pat Golemblewskl, left, co-chair of the raffle, and Kevin Elche, chair of the raffle,
hold a ie commemoratii the raffle’s contribution to the Berks County 4-H,
Elaborate gingerbread houses created by chefs In Berks and Lehigh counties
cause a lot of "ooohs" and "aaahs" at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing.
Some gingerbread, an assortment of candy and a lot of imagination and time is all it
takes to create fanciful gingerbread houses.
AT