I only wish that every Fred Harvey fan in the country could have had a chance to taste what we got to eat in Harrisburg, PA the other day. And maybe, if word gets out about this inventive Harvey event, you might get that chance.

Ten students of the Olewine Center for Culinary Arts a Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC)—led by chef/instructor/caterer Autumn Patti—put on an unprecedented (and amazingly delicious) Harvey banquet for 90 people before I lectured about Fred and the book. It was followed by a dessert reception for 200. Between the butlered hors d’ouevre, the sit-down dinner and the lavish dessert buffet, they used seventeen different archival Harvey recipes from the book—in some cases, even combining two to make one dish. (One canape featured a dollop of Harvey Cole Slaw on one of El Tovar’s classic Rice Griddle Cakes”; one dessert used the rum-soaked strawberries from the legendary “Hot Strawberry Sundae” from KC Union Station, serving them over a corner of the Harvey dining car favorite “French Toast a la Santa Fe”.)

What was particularly brilliant about the whole event was the creative partnership. The place where I was speaking reached out to the local culinary school asking if it was interested in a unique opportunity, and the school’s leaders volunteered to do all the prep, cooking and serving as a class project—for just the cost of the ingredients, and the chance to cater a banquet.

The genius of this is that it could be done in any community with a local culinary program: the folks from HACC are open to trying it again, at places close enough to Harrisburg, but would also be willing to share their recipes with other culinary programs. I bet Fred would have loved this—his dishes used to train a new generation of chefs, restaurant managers and staff.

Adding to the students’ challenge, the event was held at the house of worship where my family has belonged for generations in Harrisburg, Temple Beth El—so the dinner also had to be completely kosher!

Let me tell you about some of the other delicious stuff we ate. The other hors d’oeuvre: the famous “Harvey Girl Special Little Thin Orange Pancakes” from St. Louis Union Station were served with an herb citrus creme, “Guacamole Monterey” served in cherry tomatoes, and “Mrs. Ford Harvey’s Baked Eggplant” served on crostini with roasted tomato coulis. Dinner started with the classic Harvey “Cream of Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup”, with “Old Virginia Sour Milk Biscuits”, then “Fillet of Flounder Gloria” with a stuffed “Bell Pepper, Ford Harvey Style” and duchess potatoes. For dessert they created the following bite-sized delights: “French Apple Pie with Nutmeg Sauce” tartlets, phyllo cups filled with “New England Pumpkin Pudding” and “Butterscotch Pie Chantilly,” “French Pancakes filled with Apricot Cottage Cheese” and the “Chocolate Puffs” filled with peanut butter creme.

Thanks to everyone involved in this amazing Fred Harvey event: Autumn Patti (who actually came back early from her honeymoon for this) and her enthusiastic and talented students from HACC; Marcia Cohen, the mastermind of the entire event and chair of the hard-working committee that organized and aggressively marketed it; the supportive professional staff at the synagogue especially executive director Mike Schatz and Rabbi Eric Cytryn; and all our friends and family in Harrisburg.

May Fred be with you all.

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