For the City Times

Hilltop Grand Village chef Rick Ciszewski served a Mardi Gras-themed meal at the 12th annual Men in the Kitchen fundraiser last month.

Ciszewski and his helpers, Hilltop’s executive director, Mitchell Bain and Matt Casper, dished up dinner and fun at the Feb. 25 event to benefit The Family Center, the domestic abuse shelter in Wisconsin Rapids. Bain praised Ciszewski’s shrimp creole, jambalaya, okra salad and chocolate bourbon pecan pie.

This year’s event, held at the Bull’s Eye Country Club, featured nearly a dozen different ‘chefs’:

Darren Brinegar and Rich Grube, (Ho-Chunk Nation); Joel Flewellen (J2Catering); Chad Lewis (Verso);  Ed Roe (It’s the Pits); Matt Andres (Nekoosa Public Schools); Kristopher Gasch (Fey Printing); Brad Prohl (Culver’s); Thomas Reichert (Wood County Sheriff’s Dept.); Zach Vruwink (City of Wisconsin Rapids Mayor) and Lloyd Lacasse. (Domtar)

This year’s fundraiser went to pay off the building loan that The Family Center has had since 2004.