Savory dishes and sinister doings were on the menu for Saturday’s sold-out Murder Mystery Dinner, held in the Mountain Laurel Room of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Thompson Professional Development Center. Chef Mike Ditchfield and his student managers – Kyle Madison, Steve Malizia and Zack Mausteller – handled the culinary portion of the evening … while a troupe from Thomas Ball Entertainment, Hershey, served up a whodunit titled “Deadly Verses of Love.” The event, in which audience members solved the premature demise of a poet, was sponsored by the Student Activities Office and the School of Hospitality’s catering class.

–  Photos by Marc T. Kaylor, student photographer

The table is set for dining (and sleuthing).

Nefarious deeds or a simple fix-it project?

The plot thickens

Actors circulate among dinner guests, serving up clues and red herrings.

Stephen A. Manley, executive chef at the college’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, wields a letter opener as the mystery unfolds.

Enjoying an interactive dining experience

Whether helped or hindered, patrons ponder new revelations.

A lineup of the “usual suspects”

Could this be the culprit?

Or maybe this gentleman?

Young ears listen intently, in hopes of cracking the case.

Closer to the truth or off the trail?

Engaging the audience

Mischief and mirth were among the night’s ingredients for success.

A well-attended winter diversion