The Charlottesville 29

Some of our favorite food events in recent years were special feasts planned by The Catering Outfit. They go all out. The most extraordinary of these is the Harambee for Makindu, where Chef Walter Slawski pours his heart into preparing a once-in-a-lifetime meal to support a cause dear to him. Makindu Children’s Program provides resources to feed, educate, and care for orphaned and vulnerable children in eastern Kenya.

Potter’s Craft Cider hosts this year’s event, Saturday, April 13, with both a daytime experience and a separate evening feast. Info here.

With no admission fee, the daytime experience begins at noon and includes local artisans and musicians, like Josh Mayo, Tyler Dick, and Musical Suspects. Guests may stroll around the scenic cidery and purchase food like Samosas — vegetarian or stuffed with Retreat Farm lamb, with mango chutney; a Boerie Roll – smoked Southern African farmer’s sausage with grilled onions, tomato and onion chutney, on a MarieBette demi baguette; or a Kuku Sando – smoked local chicken thigh, wood-grilled, with Peri Peri Duke’s, heirloom tomato, dill pickle chop, sweet onion, and shredded lettuce on a butter-toasted MarieBette roll. Desserts include Mandazi – a Cardamom-scented East African “beignet” and a gelato bar with flavors like Argentine Sea Salt Caramel or Sicilian Pistachio.

At 6 pm, a ticketed event begins, where Slawski will really let loose for a Kenyan-inspired feast. When a great chef cooks with his heart, great things can happen. Founder of the much-missed The Shebeen, Slawski once lived in Sub-Saharan Africa, and calls it “a beautiful and magical place that has impacted my life more than any other.” His support of Makindu dates back twenty years, and reached a new level in 2016 when he joined a Proper Walk, walking 120 miles in the Kenyan bush and meeting the children whom Makindu helps. This July, Slawski returns for his fourth Proper Walk. “The Makindu Children’s Program is such a grassroots organization where so much of the funds raised actually does the work the donations were meant to do,” said Slawski.

His feast begins with a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres like Mombasa Crispies – spicy tempura shrimp with sambal mayo and sweet soy. Next comes a buffet Nyama Choma, a mixed grill to include wood-roasted local lamb, skewered and grilled yardbird, and wild shrimp with Peri Peri sauce. The accompaniments are too many to list, but include dishes like chapati (wood-grilled flatbread), sukuma wiki, katchumbari, pilau, ugali cakes, and more.

Accompanying the feast will be a performance by reggae ambassador Mighty Joshua, whom Slawski met through their shared fundraising efforts for Makindu. There will also be an auction of special experiences and items, including a signed Chris Long jersey. Thanks to the generosity of The Catering Outfit, Potter’s, and donors, all proceeds from the feast and auction go directly to Makindu.

There’s no food experience like this in Charlottesville, and it’s all for a great cause. Info and tickets here. And, if you’d like to learn more about Makindu, including how to support it, visit here.

A MarieBette baker is bringing a Jersey-style donut shop to Charlottesville.

It was not even four years ago that Melissa Sbrocco (pronounced “sprock-oh”) began exploring the idea of turning her passion for baking into a career. But, after joining the MarieBette baking team in August 2020, she was hooked.  “Over the next three years, my knowledge of bread-making transformed from the basics that everyone picked up during the lockdown sourdough craze to a comprehensive understanding,” said Sbrocco. She had a knack for it, too — such a knack that, by 2022, she became Manager at the MarieBette manufactory. Now, she is taking the next step: running her own place.

Why donuts? The idea came from MarieBette’s owners, Patrick Evans and Jason Becton, who have fond memories of donut shops from their time living in Jersey City, where seemingly every strip mall is sprinkled with them. Sbrocco has similar memories from visiting family in New Jersey, and spending summers on the shore. “Donut shops and local bakeries were a staple for every trip,” she said.

Besides, donuts have become a bit of a tradition behind the scenes at MarieBette. Since cakes abound at a bakery, a practice evolved of celebrating employee birthdays with something different: donuts. That got the wheels turning about creating a donut shop like the ones they remembered from Jersey. “It didn’t hurt that there is a real demand for donuts, especially yeasted ones, in Charlottesville,” And so, Sbrocco’s was born.

This is not the first time MarieBette’s owners have teamed up with an employee to open a new place, who did the same with Petite MarieBette. “We have been lucky over the years to have such a wonderful team at MarieBette,” said Becton. “When Melissa started with us, we knew early on that she was a talented baker, great leader, and someone we would want to partner with to make Patrick’s donut shop idea a reality.”

Sbrocco’s donuts are yeast-style, using a basic brioche recipe shaped into donut rings, proofed, cooled, and then fried. As a baker, her emphasis is on attention to detail and quality, not elaborate toppings. Case in point is her personal favorite: the classic vanilla bean glaze. “The best part, of course, is the vanilla bean glaze,” said Sbrocco. “Heavy on the vanilla.”

Vanilla glazed donuts

Beyond those, Sbrocco says to expect “no frills classics, like glazed, chocolate cake, and crumb buns.” And, she is nearly as excited about the location as she is the donuts. Sbrocco’s will occupy a portion of the former home of Anna’s Pizza #5, the beloved spot that closed in 2022 after a five-decade run. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to open in such an iconic space, and hope to spread the same joy Anna’s did, but with donuts,” said Sbrocco.

Look for Sbrocco’s to open by Summer 2024. Meanwhile, follow along on Sbrocco’s Instagram.

Pawpaw gelato, a September tradition at Splendora’s.

Tastes vary, but there is one one thing on which Charlottesville chefs agree: Splendora’s Gelato is world class. For the fourteen years that PK Ross has run it, her passion and attention detail have ensured that you can’t go wrong. That said, if you freeze with indecision gazing at the case of flavors, these chef favorites may help.

Cardamom

Loren Mendosa (Lampo): “The cardamom is absolutely heavenly – the perfect floral, refreshing bite. If I could only have one flavor for the rest of my life I’d choose cardamom.”

Cookies and Cream

Charanjeet Ghotra (Milan and Kanak): “It’s so delicious and creamy.”

Dulce de Leche

Benos Bustamante (Conmole): “Super delicioso!”

Travis Burgess (Bizou, Bang!, Luce, Crush Pad) “Split pints of Dulce de Leche and Stracciatella used to be my go-to. All her flavors are so creative and well thought out, but for me it’s always the texture she achieves in the gelato that blows me away. So rich and decadent yet somehow still light.”

Gianduja + Pistachio

Melissa Close-Hart (Mockingbird): “My go-to order is always a scoop of gianduja and a scoop of pistachio. I’m pretty classic on my gelato choices. But, I’m always up for trying PK’s amazing flavor combinations that her imagination comes up with.”

Jalapeno Corn Cookie 

Norkeita Goins (Caked Up Cville): “It had a beautiful and natural sweet corn scented flavor with the addition of Baker No Bakery’s jalapeño sweet corn cookie for added texture. Absolutely delicious.”

Miso Cherry

Scott Smith (Bodo’s Bagels): “PK’s inventiveness, brilliant sourcing, and palate are on full display in this perfectly balanced, apotheosizing twist on a standard flavor. Transcendent.”

Pawpaw

Laura Fonner (Common House): “All of her flavors are amazing, but it is the locally foraged and unique flavors PK creates that are the best.”

Craig Hartman (The BBQ Exchange, Exchange Cafe): “Crazy good. I wish I had invented it myself.”

Jen Naylor (Umma’s): “My favorite flavor is pawpaw during pawpaw season.”

Popcorn

Harrison Keevil (Multiverse Kitchens): “My favorite was a popcorn flavor based on the popcorn that we used to start dinners at Brookville.”

Raspberry

John Shanesy (Belle): “PK’s raspberry gelato is the signifier of the retreat of winter and moving forward into enjoying spring and summer with my family eating frozen treats.”

Salted Caramel

Gail Hobbs-Page (Caromont Farm): “I crave the salted caramel. PK knows that and leaves care packages in my freezer during kidding season. I eat it for supper after a very long day of farming and cheesemaking.”

Sampler Flight

Sober Pierre (Pearl Island): “My favorite flavors are the flexibility of the Sampler Flight. A wonderful option that feeds my family’s unique preferences.”

Strawberry and Rose Petal

Gerry Newman (Albemarle Baking Co.): “My favorite was the pairing of strawberry and rose that she once served me. It was one of the most M.F.K. Fisher experiences I’ve had in Charlottesville.”

Thai Iced Tea

Chris Dunbar (The Alley Light owner): “For the past 8 years, PK has surprised The Alley Light staff with impromptu deliveries that illustrate not only her talent, but her generosity.  For people like PK, hospitality isn’t a job, it’s part of who they are. If I had to pick though, I could eat the Thai Iced Tea flavor forever.”