Taste Of Cuyuna Lakes Raises Money For Kinship Partners

Local restaurants, breweries, and wineries showed off their stuff at the 5^th annual Taste of Cuyuna Lakes, an event which benefits the Crosby Area Kinship Partners Program.

“Kinship Partners is community-based mentoring,” says Karen Downing, the group’s Brainerd Program Coordinator. “It matches adults with children, which we’ve been doing for 31 years now.”

Taste of Cuyuna Lakes models itself after Taste of the Lakes, which Kinship Partners has been running in Brainerd for 30 years.

“Five years ago, we decided it would be really fun to do a mini-event, similar to Taste of the Lakes, in the Cuyuna Lakes area,” says Denny Davis, the Crosby Program Coordinator.

“Taste of Cuyuna Lakes has its own personality,” says Downing. “It’s a little more casual and a little smaller. My personal opinion is that it’s a little more fun, too.”

The event is a great way for local restaurants to show off their food to the community while supporting a great cause.

“It supports the community, supports the cause, and that’s a good thing,” says Brian Chaffee, the chef at Maucieri’s Italian Bistro, Bar, and Deli. “Tony, the owner of the restaurant, has been doing this event and the Taste of the Lakes since its inception.”

“The chefs love to come,” says Davis. “They’re bringing their best, they’re competing with each other, and because of that, we think a lot of people who come to this event will go to their restaurants.”

“We’re kind of new to the community – we’ve only had one full year of business,” says Scotty Stocco, the head chef at the Iron Range Eatery. “We’ve really had a warm welcome into the community.”

Another priority is keeping the money raised at the event right in the Cuyuna Lakes area.

“That’s really important to people who contribute,” says Davis. “They like to see the money stay right in this area.”

Kinship Partners will host its 31st annual Taste of the Lakes on Friday, November 9 in Nisswa.