St. Paul’s Mardi Gras Beef Dinner Celebrated Golden Anniversary

The happy kitchen crew was tired, but delighted to serve over 500 Mardi Gras Beef Dinners. Photo by Karen Haave.

The happy kitchen crew was tired, but delighted to serve over 500 Mardi Gras Beef Dinners. Photo by Karen Haave.

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By Karen Haave
St. Paul the Apostle’s festive Mardi Gras Beef Dinner returned with a flourish as hundreds of hungry diners flocked to the Peotone Atrium for the annual pre-Lenten feast.
The event marked its Golden Anniversary, one of the longest-running and most popular church-sponsored dinners in the village.
“This Mardi Gras dinner was special because it was our 50th dinner,” noted Chairperson Sherri Parker. “We had taken two years off because of COVID and, on February 21, we hosted the dinner again. 
“We prepared 586 meals, dine-in and take-out. That’s about on par with what we normally do. We have about 400 pounds of beef that we serve, and 20 gallon cans of corn, 20 gallon cans of vegetables, and too many potatoes to count. 
“We order 600 dinner rolls, and we have many desserts and jellos donated by parishioners, which are all included in the meal.”
Dozens of volunteers prepare, serve, and clean up, and while Parker did not have a headcount on helpers, she noted this year’s event included “some non-parishioners helping and donating food.”  
“This is a huge fundraiser for the Council of Catholic Women (CCW), and the proceeds from the dinner go to special projects per Father Roger Kutzner‘s request. “Our raffle brought in more than $3,000, profit as well as (funds from) the dinner.”
The 2023 Mardi Gras dinner was bittersweet for Parker. 
“The very first year I served as chair was 1994, and I was full-term pregnant with my first-born child,” she recalled.
“Then I became chair again in 2014 and have hosted this dinner since. This is my last year because I am moving to Tennessee to be with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild, due in May. I’ll miss being with my church family as much as hosting this dinner; it’s such a great way for us all to get together. 
“I would love to thank all of the volunteers who helped out and a special thank you to Travis Bush, who on his day off from school, showed up at 8:30 in the morning and dedicated half of his day to preparing for the dinner. I’m not sure who will be the event chair next year. 
“I’d also like to thank Paula Prium. Because of her dedication to church, everything runs so much smoother!”

St. Paul teens were on hand to make sure Mardi Gras diners had everything they needed for an enjoyable meal. –Photo by Karen Haave


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