Local Executive Chef, and US Navy Veteran, Art Phetsadasack, is taking his culinary skills outside – literally outside – into the cold weather to create an ice sculpture that honors our Veterans and draws awareness to the H.E.R.O.E.S. Care organization. Chef Art will conduct an Ice Sculpture Demonstration at the Regency Conference Center in O’Fallon, IL on Saturday, February 27th. The demonstration will begin at 9 am and conclude by 1 pm. Warm refreshments (coffee, hot cocoa, and cookies) will be available to guests who come by.
“Art has been a long and valuable member of our staff and his unique talent of creating ice sculptures never ceases to amaze me!” said John Van Cleave, Vice President of Operations at the Regency Conference Center. “He has created sculptures for our guests to use as centerpieces at events and they too find it fascinating. It is amazing what he can create from a block of ice. In fact, for the past two years, Chef Art has earned the top prize at the Fete De Glace Festival held in St. Charles for his talents! We’re really excited he is part of the Regency family.”
With the recent cold weather upon us, it is a perfect time to create something that can sustain the cold while doing something that can also help those who may also be impacted by the cold! Being near a military community, like Scotts Air Force Base, and being a Veteran himself, Chef Art and the Regency have been long supporters of Military personnel, particularly through the non-profit, H.E.R.O.E.S. Care. They help Veterans and their families feel warm and loved for their service to our country. By providing Veterans and their families with adjustment to deployment and then additional help when they return, like career transition, financial and mental health support, H.E.R.O.E.S. Care plays a critical role in keeping our valued Veterans off the streets and out of the cold.
Per Van Cleave, “In the past, we have partnered with H.E.R.O.E.S. Care to donate a portion of the proceeds of specific events that we have held here. Since the pandemic has caused a reduction in our event bookings, it has limited our ability to support them in normal ways, so we thought this would be a fun, social-distanced way to enjoy the cold weather while bringing awareness to an organization that helps so many in our community.”
The Regency Conference Center is a banquet and conference center located in O’Fallon, IL. Chef Art Phetsadasack is Navy Veteran and the Executive Chef at the Regency Conference Center. He oversees all food services at the Regency, including on-site food service and Catering To Go options. To learn more about this event, please contact Aimee Dowling, Sales Manager for the Regency Conference Center, at adowling@hmahotels.com, or by calling 618-624-9999. To learn more about H.E.R.O.E.S. Care visit their website at www.HEROESCare.org.
