Last year Walter Reynolds barbequed 400 pounds of ribs and gave them away at the Business Expo in 2-ounce cups. He ran out an hour and a half before the day was done. On Saturday, April 2, the head chef at the Fore Seasons Restaurant at the Southbrook Golf Club will be back in his booth with another, possibly bigger, batch of ribs ready for tasting. Fore Seasons will be one of five businesses doling out tasty tidbits of food at the Expo. Petty Brothers Meats will be there with a variety of summer sausage, hot dogs and brats to survey; Marketplace will be back handing out slices of cake, and new this year are Gourmet 2U and Homestyle Country Cafe. Reynolds’ barbecued ribs, slow cooked in his special homemade sauce, are a “little piece of heaven,” he said. “I had one guy last year who wanted to pay me for some. He had $1.10 in his pocket. He got 11 of them,” Reynolds said. Kelly Kirchner, owner of Gourmet 2U, a home-based catering service, hopes 300 samples of fudge truffle cheesecake will be enough to satisfy the crowd. She’ll also have on hand 12 loaves of almond poppy seed bread with almond orange glaze, mini ham salad croissants and chicken salad croissants. The veteran cook puts together all of her dishes in the certified kitchen of Thayer’s Historic Bed ’n Breakfast. This will be Gourmet 2U’s first appearance at the Expo. Kirchner has been going strong for about nine months, delivering homemade meals right to her customers’ doors. Homestyle will make its debut at the Expo with samples of its homemade chicken wild rice soup and sought-after broasted chicken. “We’re known for our broasted chicken,” said co-owner Jeanine Driste. Part of the secret to its tastiness is the fact that it’s marinated overnight in a special seasoning, then broasted. Customers also “absolutely love” their chicken wild rice soup. Probably, she said, because it’s thick with lots of chicken. Marketplace is probably the longest running Expo attendee. The store has had a booth at the event since it started nine years ago, manager Chad Provo said. Marketplace annually goes through five sheets of cake, sheets that can serve up to 96 people apiece. Cakes survive In the past it’s given away samples of cakes and salads, but over the years the cakes are the treats that have survived. As always, Marketplace will serve up a variety of chocolate, marble and white cake with two types of frosting, the creamy, not-so-sweet kind and the traditional, sweeter-flavored frosting. They’ll have some prettily frosted cakes on display for visitors’ viewing pleasure as well, done up by the store’s new decorator. Those won’t be cut up and served until the end of the Expo. Jim Petty has been at the Expo for the last five years. Last year he gave away three whole hams and an estimated 40 pounds each of hot dogs, brats and sausage. Petty likes to try out new recipes on the Expo crowd. Last year it was the bacon wild rice brat that went like hot cakes. This year he’ll introduce the jalapeno cheese brat. For those who want something a little less spicy, they can check out his cranberry cheese summer sausage. “I like to bring something that’s a little unusual,” he said. More food All of the booths see their fair share of people. The three veterans know about the lines and sometimes the frantic scramble for more food to give away. Provo stays on standby back at the store, ready to rush over another sheet of cake should the Marketplace booth need it. Reynolds may substitute talk of golf for ribs if his supplies run low. “I have the gift of gab,” he readily admitted. Petty doesn’t worry about running out. “I can always get more,” he said.
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