HughE Dillon: Cole & Heidi Hamels Host a Dinner Party

Jennifer Carroll cooks for fund-raiser that brings out Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and more.

Cole and Heidi Hamels (left) hosted a private dinner prepared by Philly’s own former Top Chef contestant Jennifer Carroll (right), at the Dilworthtown Inn in West Chester last night. Proceeds from the intimate, 40-person dinner party benefited the Hamels Foundation. G-N Kang (second from right) is director of operations for the foundation. Not only was Cole the host, but he assisted Chef Carroll in preparing the five-course dinner, which included Pedro Ximenez espuma and ricotta salata, NJ Day boat scallops and Hudson Valley duck.
 

 
The Hamels Foundation has been dedicated to bringing an end to extreme poverty and hardship. Every year, the foundation works on projects here in Philadelphia as well as in Malawi. Below: Kristen Celins, of the Hamels Foundation, explains to Meg and Chris Veno a current project in Philly at the Bayard Taylor Elementary School, where they will be improving the school yard with a new playground, basketball court and even a green house where the kids can grow vegetables.
 

 
Below: Doobie Morano, Brian Morano and Greg Morano, CEO at Univers Workplace Benefits, were big fans of the Maryland crab salad.
 

 
Below: Krystal Campbell and Ryan Howard are excited for the upcoming year, not only because of the Phillies, but in December, the pair will be married. During the dinner, the first baseman told me he is planning his Third Annual Celebrity Server event at Morton’s in Philadelphia. After watching Cole prepare dinner at this event, he might even give up his apron this year, and jump behind the grill himself.
 

 
Below: Meg and Chris Veno, with Jim Maransky, developer/broker at EnVision Realty Group, and Nadia Maransky.
 

 
Below: Lou Pantalone, executive vice president at Univers Workplace Benefits, and Jo Panalone, won the 26-pound limited edition “Official Major League Baseball Opus Classic Edition,” which was raffled last evening.
 

 
Below: Harold Robinson, sales associate for Benari Jewelers, Kyle Kendrick, and Helen Curran, store manager at Benari Jewelers.
 

 
Below: Joe and Kellie Anthony, owners of Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon in Glen Mills, with Peter Madden, of AgileCat, and Celeste Madden. The Anthonys tell me their charity event “Style Wars,” where hairstylists compete against one another, will be in September … hopefully not on the same day as a Phillies playoff game like last year.
 

 
Below: Justin Wineburgh and mom Iris Wineburgh.
 

 
Below: Steve and Tamar Olitsky, owners of Table 31, tell me that they will be kicking off the spring season at Table 31’s plaza on May 3rd with a Patron Party on the Plaza starting at 5 p.m.
 

 
Below: New Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon and wife Ashley. The two met right after high school when they were 18, and became good friends in college at Mississippi State, before they began dating. They’ve now been married seven years and have two kids. He’s the cook in the family and tells me his best dish is duck. He marinates the duck in Coca-Cola and Italian dressing. Then he stuffs it with cream cheese and hot peppers, wraps it in bacon and fries it. He calls the specialty Duck Poppers. He says as soon as they settle into their new home, he’s going to make me a batch. OK. In the meantime, you might find Ashley and I hanging around Rittenhouse Square looking for Colin Farrell as she’s a fan too. She even shared an elevator with him earlier in the day as he headed out to the Sporting Club in gym clothes; he was reportedly running on the treadmill in the afternoon.
 

 
Below: Lisa Moreno-Dickinson, president/CEO of Stop CAID Now, and Steve Rockman, Digital Strategy.
 

 
Below: Jen Carroll waits to hear the verdict from Shane Victorino on the vanilla tapioca, rhubarb, banana and roasted pistachios dish served for dessert, as Cole Hamels serves to the other guests. He liked it, and why not? It was delicious. A fun night all around for a good cause: The event raised $10,000 for The Hamels Foundation.