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What: Ninth Annual March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction

When: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16

Where: The Casino at Lakemont Park, Altoona

Tickets: $65 per person, $550 for a table of 10 and $1,000 for corporate tables; Call 696-9691 or e-mail dfiscus@marchofdimes.com for tickets

Gentlemen, start your ovens.

A show of cooperation and culinary expertise with the goal of better health for children, the March of Dimes' Signature Chefs Auction marks nine years this fall.

The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at The Casino at Lakemont Park and brings together top chefs from around the area to provide food for guests and a delicious backdrop for three auctions - one silent, one live and one "Chinese" auction. All proceeds from the event go to the March of Dimes.

Over the years, the event has exhibited "the generosity of the community members, my committee and the chefs," said Eric Fiscus, senior community director of the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes is an organization whose goal is "to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality," according to its Web site.

Fiscus also said that the event's goal for the Signature Chefs Auction this year is $50,000. Last year's event raised $39,000 for the group.

Not only does the event provide for a good cause, but "you get to taste unbelievable food by these incredible chefs," Fiscus said.

The number of chefs has increased each year, he said.

"We have a total of 11 chefs," Fiscus said. "My committee does a fabulous job. They keep bringing new people and organizations (to the event)."

This year's participating restaurants are: The Casino at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Burley's in Tyrone, The Phoenicia in Altoona, Amici's Restaurant in Ebensburg, Parkhurst Dining at St. Francis University in Loretto, the Black Bear Inn in Claysburg, Chef Bill Sell in Altoona, Sheetz and Sheetz Coffee, Marzoni's Brick Oven and Brewing Co. in Duncansville and the Altoona Hotel.

A staple of the event since the beginning has been Chef Doug Simon. Simon is the event's chairman, as well as the executive chef and owner of the Casino at Lakemont Park.

"I was part of the originating group," Simon said. "It's a great event. It's for a good cause [and] it's well-run."

Simon said this year's event has the theme Peasant-style foods.

"Chefs have been focusing on using less extraordinary cuts of meats and making (simpler dishes)," Simon said. "They're things that are more comfort foods."

What's more comforting than dessert?

That's the thinking behind the menu from Parkhurst Dining Services at St. Francis University, which will be making its first appearance at the event.

Executive Chef Terry McMullen and Executive Sous Chef Michael Passanita will take care of the dessert portion of the event.

"It's going to be all mini-deserts," McMullen said. "It'll go from miniature brownies to mojitos, to cheesecakes. It'll be five or six different things."

Parkhurst came to the event thanks to Mike Miduri, the general manager of Parkhurst Dining Services, a food service contractor partnered with St. Francis.

"I went to the event last year just as a guest," Miduri said. "I said, 'This is cool, I think I can make it better.'"

"Making it better" meant bringing his own chefs to the event. McMullen warmed to the idea quickly.

"I thought it was a great thing, a good idea for the community," he said.

This year's Signature Chef Ambassador Child is 9-year-old Jazmin Kennedy of Claysburg. Jazmin was born a healthy child on Oct. 11, 2000. Routine newborn screening tests found that Jazmin had a birth defect called Congenital Hypothyroidism.

A thyroid hormone deficiency that retards growth and brain development, the condition affects 1 in 5,000 babies.

Detected early enough, the birth defect can be treated to permit normal development. Jazmin now shows no signs of her birth defect, thanks to regular medication.

"I don't even want to think about where Jazmin would be today without the invaluable screening tests that the March of Dimes has helped put into place as a routine test for every newborn baby," Jazmin's mother, Heidi Kennedy, said in a release for the Signature Chefs event.

Mirror Staff Writer Keith Frederick is at 946-7466.