Mayors cook up some friendly competition
N.B. represented in third annual Mayors Healthy Cook-off
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
Seven mayors from across the state left state Sen. Joseph F. Vitale (D- 19th District), former New York Giants wide receiver Stephen Baker, also known as "the Touchdown Maker," and WCTC radio's The Restaurant Guys - Mark Pascal and Francis Schott - with full and happy stomachs as they judged each dish during the third annual Mayors Healthy Cook-Off at the Wegmans supermarket in Woodbridge last week.

The seven mayors - Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac, Pennington Mayor Anthony Persichilli, North BrunswickMayor FrancisWomack, Clark Township Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso, Nutley Mayor Joanne Cocchiola, and Koestler - participated in the cutthroat competition to see who could prepare the most healthful dish as part of the Mayors' Wellness Campaign's effort to promote healthier living and more active lifestyles.

The Mayors' Wellness Campaign is an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

Major funding was provided by Aetna. The campaign supports mayors as champions of community health. The goal is to increase opportunities for New Jersey residents to participate in daily physical activity with a long-term goal of reducing health-care costs secondary to obesity.

McCormac addressed the 50 or so people who came to watch the competition and to support the mayors on May 7.

"This is not fair,"McCormac said. "I am Irish, and our idea of a [healthful meal] is boiling six potatoes in a pot. I'm competing with Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso, MayorAnthony Persichilli,Mayor Joanne Cocchiola…I give up- the winner of the cook-off will be a last name ending in a vowel, and they will definitely beat me."

The mayors, in chef hats and aprons, spent a half-hour or so preparing their meals in the Wegmans kitchen with executive chefs from the supermarket supervising them.

McCormac prepared a cedar-plank salmon with brown sugar and cracked pepper blend.

Bonaccorso, who has been mayor of Clark for eight years, picked his special summertime salad, which included a large head of romaine lettuce, one pound of crabmeat, a half pound of lobster and a dozen large shrimp.

"I chose my summertime salad because we are close to the summer time … it's simple, tasty, and enjoyable," he said. "I cook as a hobby, it's a lot of fun … it's my meditation."

Cocchiola, with the help of Tarik Huggins, culinary arts instructor at Nutley High School, and five of his students, prepared a raw zucchini salad, a chickpea salad with poached tuna, and lemon basil sorbet, which was all topped off with a pomegranate limeade.

"I sat with Tarik and he helped me create a healthy yet delicious meal," said Cocchiola, who added that the students were selected as contest winners of the school's Iron Chef competition. "We worked as a great team."

Persichilli prepared a dish of whole wheat pasta with turkey sausage and broccoli rabe.

"I'm trying the dish with the turkey sausage for the first time," he said. "I usually use regular meat sausage, but we are here to cook a healthy dish, so we'll see how it works out."

Koestler, who participated in the North and South Jersey cook-offs, with the help of his brother Pat prepared a chicken piccata dish, which was topped off with chardonnay wine.

"We picked the dish we picked because we came here with the intent to win," said Koestler, who added silverware, lit candles, and flowers to the place settings. "Chicken is extremely healthy. I cook a wide variety of dishes at home, from the chicken dish to steak."

Womack could not make the event, but his wife, son, and a councilwoman attended the event in his place. They prepared the mayor's healthful meatball soup, which included beef bouillon, six slices of dry or toasted white bread, and bread bowls.

Judy Doyle, the director of the Mayors' Wellness Campaign, said they decided to hold the event in Woodbridge because the township has shown an abundance of programs to curb obesity.

"There are so many programs that stand out for the youths, seniors, employees, and community," she said. "Mayor McCormac has been leading the charge in fighting obesity within his community.We hold two events a year and try to highlight different locations for north, south, and central New Jersey. This is our Central Jersey event."

Doyle said the wellness campaign is amazing and unique.

"What more could we do to embrace and entice more people in the community than utilize the mayors?" she said. "Out of the 566 mayors in the state, we have 230 mayors committed to the campaign, which is 46 percent of the mayors in the state."

For more information, visit www.mayorswellnesscampaign. org.