Local restaurateur gets a kick out of cooking for charity

The Super Bowl party (with a purpose) must go on.

Amid reports of tepid demand for $800 seats and Cadillac, Playboy, Maxim and others pulling parties at the annual NFL bacchanal in Florida, Twin Cities restaurateur Wayne Kostroski is busily preparing in Tampa Bay for the big dinner that has become the charitable statement of Super Bowls for 16 years.

"The figure I heard from the host committee is that there might be a $20 or $30 million shortfall in economic impact," said Kostroski, founder of the Taste of the NFL. "I think even the scalpers are going to have a tough time. It's a challenging year. ... "If ever there was a year to do well, in a tough economy, this is it. The folks at Second Harvest Heartland say food shelf use is up by 30 percent year-over-year."

You'll recall that the Twin Cities was host of Super Bowl 1992. There was a memorable ice fishing contest. But we proved that a cold-weather Super Bowl draws short stays by NFL patrons who attend private parties.

Somehow, the beaches of Lake Calhoun don't invite revelry in January.

However, if in no other way, we made our Super Bowl mark through Kostroski's first Taste of the NFL party in the atrium of the AT&T Building.

Since then, Kostroski & Co. have raised an average of $400,000 with their annual Super Bowl dinners and distributed more than $10 million through it and annual fundraising dinners cooked by volunteer chefs in each of the 31 NFL cities.

Cuisine Concepts, owned by Kostroski and two understanding partners, is the umbrella company for Tejas, Bar Abilene and the Franklin Street Bakery.

Years ago Kostroski decided that he would make his living from food. His charitable purpose would be linking his industry with the needy and nutrition.

"Giving is always good for business, and you give as you go," Kostroski said. "I think we may get a little better-quality employees and little more business as a result of all this. But if you took away the NFL thing, I don't know that we would do that much less in sales."

Second Harvest, now known nationally as Feeding America, buys and distributes nutritious food for cents on the dollar to local food agencies.

Kostroski will take Tropicana Field Saturday night with his team of chefs, NFL player volunteers and others who will serve meals to about 3,000 diners, who individually or through corporate patrons, will pay at least $500 apiece to dine and mingle with celebrities. The dinner and related events and exposure drives awareness for local hunger-fighting organizations that get football fans and others to raise money and volunteer.

For more information: www.tasteofthenfl.com, www.feedingamerica.org or www.2harvest.org.

Bremer steps up

Bremer Bank and the Otto Bremer Foundation are coming up with $4.2 million in emergency financial assistance to hard-pressed families and human service agencies in the Upper Midwest, including nearly $2 million for Twin Cities-area nonprofits, in response to joblessness that has put some folks on the brink. The nonprofits include Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, Dakota County Community Services, Merrick Community Services and St. Stephen's Human Services.

"These grants represent a helping hand to those who are most in need during a difficult time," said Steve Mead, president of Bremer Bank Twin Cities.

Bremer joins a group of several foundations and businesses that have accelerated giving or targeted more toward basic needs in recent months.