Tickets are on sale now for the Leader Holiday Dinner, which is returning to Jefferson College after a two-year hiatus. This year’s event is slated for Friday, Dec. 16, in the Field House on the Hillsboro campus.
Tickets cost $25 per person and include a six-course meal, live music, food demonstrations and a recipe book.
VIP tickets also are available for $40, which adds a pre-dinner reception sponsored by Villa Antonio during which each guest will get a coupon for a few wine and beer tastings and one glass of their choice of beer or wine.
Proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit Jefferson College’s culinary department.
The college’s culinary students and staff will prepare and serve the dinner, which will include a main dish chosen by the culinary staff. For the other dishes, the staff will prepare the five winning recipes in the annual Leader Holiday Recipe Contest.
The winners are Avocado Caviar in Fried Plantain Cups, an appetizer recipe submitted by Melissa Mantl of Hillsboro; Mimi’s Comfort Soup Italiano from Kathy Poss of Herculaneum; Roasted Beet and Kale Salad from Melissa Mantl of Hillsboro; Gemelli and Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Vinaigrette, a side dish recipe from Kelli Fraley-Williams of Cedar Hill; and Taffy Apple Tartlets, a dessert recipe from Teri Shirah of Pevely.
Each category winner will receive a $50 cash prize. At the dinner, guests will vote for their favorite of the five winning dishes and that home cook will receive an additional $250 grand prize.
The winning recipes and others submitted for the contest will be published in a Holiday Recipe and Gift Guide special section included in the Dec. 8 Leader.
As part of the dinner, some of the college’s jazz musicians will perform. Also, the culinary students will sell vinaigrettes they make, with proceeds benefiting the department.
To buy tickets online, go to bit.ly/Leader-Dinner-2022. For more information about the contest or the Holiday Dinner, call the Leader at 636-931-7560.