Chocolatier to be Honored at Wine Tasting and Former Rookies Chef on Reality TV

Mary Alice Meinersman, owner of BonBons Chocolatier, will be honored this Friday at the Huntington Historical Society's 20th Annual wine tasting event, An Evening of Wine Under the Stars. If you're a chocolate lover who has ever visited Huntington, chances are you've been inside the store, at 319 Main Street in the village. This is the real deal, with many of the confections handmade on location. Tours, including yummy samples, are available by appointment.

Meinersman has been a Huntington resident since childhood and has been involved with many local organizations personally and through her business. She is president of the Huntington Business Improvement District, has served as president of the Huntington Business and Professional Women's Club, is a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce and a long-time member and supporter of the Huntington Historical Society.

It's not unusual to see BonBons represented at many of the charitable events around Huntington. The chocolate sheep at the Sheep to Shawl, candy apples for the Historical Society's Apple Festival and the incredible reproduction of the Kissam House at last year's wine tasting are all examples of their continued commitment to the community.

If you're interested, contact Claudia Fortunato at cfortunato@huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org for more information or to buy tickets.

And look for Patch's full coverage of the event later this week.

ROOKIES FIRST HEAD CHEF TAKES ON REALITY TV

At 10 p.m. last night, friends of executive chef Marc Anthony Bynum gathered at Rookies Sports Club for a viewing party to watch their friend, and Rookies original head chef, as he competed on the Food Networks "Chopped Champions." Because the show is taped, Bynum was there among his friends as Rookies' 20 TV screens played to a packed house.

The fact that Bynum was appearing on this particular episode means that he is already a winner. "Chopped Champions" brings together four chefs who have won during the regular "Chopped" season, beating their competitors and winning a $10,000 prize. "Champions" raises the stakes by bringing together the best and raising the stakes for a chance at $50,000.

On "Chopped," chefs are presented with a basket of food, filled with unknown and often unusual ingredients, and are given 20 minutes to create something beautiful enough, and delicious enough to impress the judges – professionals in the food industry who take their jobs very seriously. One by one through the appetizer round, the entrée round, and finally, the dessert round, they are eliminated until only one chef remains.

Last night, Bynum impressed as appetizer ingredients of Catfish, liverwurst, dandelion greens and Greek yogurt, were transformed into a dish that received judges comments that included "fun and inventive." Alligator, ginger beer, pickled daikon and okra became Pan Roasted Alligator with Okra Stuffing, a "flavorful dish that absolutely worked." For dessert, Bynum stated, "I went from not knowing what I was doing, to making a bangin' dish; a champion caliber dish," as key lime juice, hallumi cheese, pepitas and hot dog buns became Apple Pie with Cheese Sauce.

Although the results were already known, the crowd at Rookies went wild, when Bynum was crowned the "Chopped Champions" champion. Winning this level of the competition means that Bynum moves on to the next round – and the chance to win $50,000. If he wins the big prize, Bynum said he hopes to open his own business: "I want to start a legacy for my son."

On Tuesday, Sept. 28, the crowd will be at Rookies once again, to view the episode that may, or may not, make that dream come true.