Penn College Hosts Anniversary Food Show, Annual Chocolate House Charity Auction

A sweet silent auction, held each December, puts Pennsylvania College of Technology students in touch with the effort to provide affordable housing to area residents in need. Students in Penn College's "Chocolate Works" class design and create chocolate housesthat are sold in a public auction to benefit Williamsport/Lycoming's Habitat for Humanity.

This year, the auction will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, at Penn College's Thompson Professional Development Center. The chocolate houses will be on display at the annual Penn College Foods Show from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Chocolate house bids will be taken throughout the day until 6:30 p.m. The minimum bid for any of the chocolate houses is $30. The winning bidders will be announced at 6:45 p.m.

The chocolate houses are 12by 16 inches or larger and contain 10-15 pounds of chocolate, according to Chef Monica Lanczak, who instructs the Chocolate Works class. This year's creations will include: Point Maine Lighthouse by Mary Schlear, Hamburg; Savannah by Heather McRae, Williamsport; Mountain Hideaway by Alice Schultz, Danville; Castle Weinberg by Ryan Schramm, Lewisburg; Home Sweet Home by Christopher Timko, Annandale, Va.; Santa's House by Gregg Neu, Duncansville, and Grandpa's Country Cabin by Beth Young, Hazelton.

The foods show and chocolate house auction have special significance during this year of "Diamond 10" anniversary celebrations at Penn College. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the food show and the seventh annual "A House for a House" auction. It also marks the 25th anniversary of hospitality education at the institution. In addition, Penn College is celebrating 85 years of education at the Williamsport site and 10 years as a Penn State affiliate.

In support of the anniversary celebrations, the food show will offer displays of foods that were in "vogue" through the history of the program, as well as special "food-related memorabilia". Also on display will be final projects demonstrating the accomplishments in cooking and baking from students enrolled in Fall 1998 classes including: Classical Cuisine; Advanced Garde Manger; Spa and Nouvelle Cuisine; Artistic Buffet Decorating (ice carving display); Cakes and Decorations; Cakes, Pastries and Desserts, and Chocolate Works classes. The end-of-semester finale demonstrates that student objectives for the term have been met.

The food show and auction will be open from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for visiting high school students, college students and faculty/staff and from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for the general public and faculty/staff. During the evening hours, the School of Hospitality's Chef Paul Mach, co-host of "You're the Chef," also will offer live cooking demonstration and tasting activities for guests.