By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP — The idea woke Nina Kacvinsky with a start.
Sitting up in her bed in the middle of the night, Kacvinsky knew her idea would help hundreds of people and share the gift of a hot meal in the memory of a beloved friend and employer.
Kacvinsky and the staff at Ferrante’s Winery and Ristorante, located on Route 307 in Harpersfield Township, will cook a pasta meal for 500 people and serve it 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The restaurant, which is open Wednesday through Sunday from May through December, will serve people who show up, who are in need of a hot meal.
“At Ferrante’s, we always help someone out for the holidays,” Kacvinsky said. “But I got to thinking about how we could give a lot of people something this year, instead of helping just one family.”
Using her connections as executive chef at Ferrante’s, Kacvinsky called local wineries, restaurants and restaurant-supply companies and asked for donations.
“I am totally overwhelmed by the support the other wineries have shown this project,”
she said. “Almost everyone I asked donated something.”
The penne pasta and meatballs will be served to “anyone in need,” Kacvinsky said, and baskets of food and toiletry items also will be distributed at the dinner.
“We don’t want to exclude anyone who feels they need the meal or the help,” Kacvinsky said.
Santa Claus also will be at the restaurant to spread some holiday cheer and listen to the wishes of children.
The meal, which includes a drink and cookies for dessert, will be made and served in honor of Peter “Papa Pete” Ferrante, who died earlier this year.
“I think the dinner is something Papa Pete would have enjoyed,” Kacvinsky said. “He was always about the community.”
Kacvinsky said she hopes to continue the hot-meal tradition “in honor of Papa Pete and with the people who loved him so much.”
“Everyone at the winery is pouring their hearts out for this event,” she said. “From the food to the service to the Santa Claus, we are all working to spread a little Christmas cheer at a time when a lot of people need the help and support.”
