Staff Report
Gainesville Daily Register
Gainesville —
Restaurateur and caterer Donna Hertel recently hosted a cooking class at her Sarah’s on the Square eatery to benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of North Texas.
The class, called “Wild Women in the Kitchen,” focused on historically significant women and the recipes they left behind.
Twelve local women participated in the class — the first in a “Wild Women in the Kitchen” series, which will be continued for the public beginning in January.
Participants got a hands-on cooking lesson in the kitchen at the California Street restaurant, with the added benefit of enjoying the dishes as dinner.
The group collaborated on several dishes, including pasta with a fresh herb sauce, an Italian layered sandwich on focchia bread, asparagus salad and chocolate molten cake.
“Betty Sue Vickery and I won this package at the ‘Cowboys for CASA’ auction,” said participant Jayne Sweet. “I love CASA's mission and I love bidding on fun things like this to do with friends. It took a little time to get it into all of our schedules, but my friends and I have had a great time tonight.”
Joining Sweet were Linda Moore, Julia Mayo, Connie Lloyd, LeAnn VonPhul, Betty Sue Vickery, Roxie Bebout Linda Cooke, Linda Hughes and Pat Jesse.
Hertel, a long-time supporter of CASA's mission of recruiting volunteers who act as advocates for abused and neglected children, entertained the group as they cooked with tales about the women whose recipes were on the menu.
"This was so much fun,” said guest and CASA volunteer coordinator Sara Butler. “I can't wait until Donna brings the classes back as a series. We had such a good time that we talked her into doing additional classes along this line quarterly, during the next year.”
