St. Rocco's beer and wine tasting toasts success

SPECIAL SERVINGS: Alex Paliotta and Denise Branca are busy at work filling a tray full of the homemade stuffed mushrooms that dozens of people enjoyed Saturday evening inside Cafe Rocco in Johnston. (Sun Rise photos by Pete Fontaine).

HAPPY HOSTS: Richard Montella, Debbie DeFazio, Robin Okolowitcz and Rev. Angelo Carusi are all smiles at one of food stations featured Saturday evening at Café Rocco – a.k.a. the St. Rocco’s School multi-use cafeteria – during the annual Craft Beer and Wine Tasting event.

MARVELOUS MUNCHIES: These people – and dozens of other folks – enjoyed what folks called “an abundance of foods” during Saturday night’s unique fund-raiser held inside St. Rocco’s School in Johnston.

SPECIAL SERVERS: These ladies who helped make Saturday’s annual Craft Beer and Wine Tasting an overwhelming success and poured glass after glass of beverages courtesy of Knight’s Liquors, are from left: Marissa Monteiro, Sarah Labbe, Kelly Soares, Jessie Cipriano and Rachel Harmon.

Posted Friday, November 2, 2018 11:23 am

By Pete Fontaine

Cafe Rocco never looked more festive than it did Saturday evening when dozens of people paid to sample such foods as shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms and other appetizers to help feed other folks who may never enjoy such delicacies.

Amid soft lighting, fall-oriented centerpieces of pumpkins filled with colored leaves and the sounds of Musical Director Christopher Caramello’s talented piano playing, as well as six fantastic food stations, the St. Rocco’s Church Women’s Guild and Holy Name Society held its annual Craft Beer and Wine Tasting.

Saturday’s fun and food filled event was made special by what Chairman Richard Montella called “the tremendous support of Knight’s Liquors right here in Johnston.”

Knight’s Liquors had a number of beer and wine selections that Montella emphasized “provided our guests was much, much more than we could have hope for.”

Knight’s Liquors selections were as plentiful as the food at the different stations and were poured by Marissa Monteiro, Sarah Kabbe, Kelly Soares, Jessie Cipriano and Rachel Harmon into glasses that featured an imprint and the words Saint Rocco’s School.

“Much like our annual (parish) feast, a variety of food was in abundance tonight,” Montella said while praising Women’s Guild. “Our parishioners who volunteer at these types of event pride themselves in preparing and presenting fine foods,” her said.

As noted, there was shrimp with cocktail sauce, a much-talked about spinach dip, cheese and cracker displays, fresh fruits like chilled grapes, assorted vegetables with dip, small pieces of stuffed celery, stuffed mushrooms that were homemade and many more munchies, as Montella called them.

To add more local flair, Brooklyn Brothers Restaurant, which is located a stone’s throw from St. Rocco’s School and Church on the Cranston side of Atwood Avenue, provided some delicious Italian sandwiches and fresh cut fries.

Event goers also enjoyed what Montella termed “a tremendous antipasto as well as an assortment of seafood, namely shrimp cocktail.”

At night’s end, Montella announced, “Once again our proceeds topped $2,000 and we want to thank everyone who attended and helped make this a special success.”

A success that allows the parish to provide hot meals throughout the year at the Emmanuelle House in Providence.