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Parish kitchen cooks gourmet-to-go meals for homebound

St. Bernard Church teamed up with chef to prepare, deliver food twice a week

Published: August 17, 2020   

By Alesia Schaefer
Rogers Correspondent

Alesia Schaefer

Michael Young, grand knight of the Knights of Columbus at St. Bernard Church in Bella Vista, helps Jeff Wetzel and Mario Eschavarria prepare meals to be delivered to the homebound of the parish Aug. 6.

Alesia Schaefer

Michael Young, grand knight of the Knights of Columbus at St. Bernard Church in Bella Vista, helps Jeff Wetzel and Mario Eschavarria prepare meals to be delivered to the homebound of the parish Aug. 6.

BELLA VISTA -- If there is one thing Jeff Wetzel knows how to do, it is how to feed people. So as the pandemic set in, he found a way to do what he does best: cook and connect with his community.

Since late April, Wetzel, a local gourmet chef, has been turning out home-cooked meals twice a week from the parish hall kitchen of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Bella Vista. With the help of the Knights of Columbus and other friends, Wetzel and the team have fed homebound parishioners and other local residents in need.

Knight Mario Echevarria and Wetzel cooked up the idea in a conversation and found the parish in Bella Vista, with its well-appointed kitchen, the perfect pairing. 

“We had hired Jeff a few years back to cater a Christmas dinner for the Knights, and he received rave reviews,” Echevarria said.After getting approval from pastor Father Barnabas Maria-Susai, they began serving nutritious meals every Tuesday and Thursday. On those evenings, a team of five drivers and nine servers, packagers, baggers and dishwashers come together for a couple of hours to feed those who are homebound or those in need.

On Aug. 6 as a drizzling rain fell, a line of masked volunteers formed inside the parish hall to pick up some comfort food -- chicken and dumplings and a homemade snickerdoodle blondie. 

“This was the 29th meal the group has prepared,” said Russ Anzalone, parish manager who is also a Knight. “We have prepared over 2,650 meals for delivery and pickup since we began on April 29.”

One parishioner made it all possible, Anzalone said, donating money to buy the food when the ministry first started. Other donations for the meals have since come in to make the ministry self-sustaining. Extra funds are even being used to pay bills or otherwise help those who have lost their jobs and had financial setbacks during the pandemic.

It started with 25 homebound meals being prepared and delivered and has now multiplied into 150 meals being prepared, delivered and picked up curbside. With each passing week, the numbers increase and more meals are requested, said Anzalone.

“It is the quality of the meals, being made from scratch, that has attracted more people to order the meals,” said Anzalone.

Wetzel, a classically trained French chef, has experience in preparing both meals that must be meticulously plated and downhome fare, such as shrimp and grits. A graduate of the Art Institute of Houston, he began working in a sports bar as a dishwasher when he was 15. He said he stayed in the food business, next as a banquet chef, executive chef and head French chef of a five-star Michelin restaurant. 

Wetzel also worked under executive chef Bart Black of Houston who “helped me learn to balance being a chef and having a family.”

Wetzel went on to own and run “The Yellow House Café” in Magnolia, Texas, for three years before he moved with his wife and three daughters to Bella Vista where they have lived since 2014.

“I have spent most of my time in fine dining and right now I just want to feed people,” said Wetzel, who has plans to open his own restaurant at the end of the month. 

His new restaurant, B List Burgers, will feature gourmet burgers, brunch, his fan favorite of shrimp and grits and specialty seasonal dishes.

Wetzel’s meals have also garnered the attention of local baker Lisa Clark, owner of Heavenly Bites Bakery and Catering. Clark now provides  a home baked dessert to go with the meal. 

“I have been in business almost three years, and it has not been easy, but this is something I feel as if people really appreciate,” Clark said.

In April, the Knights of Columbus and parishioners made masks for the community as a way of showing their support. 

“We made over 1,000 masks that we gave to the community, such as Mercy (Hospital), local firefighters and police,” Anzalone said. “But we were looking to do more and this really was a great partnership.”

Looking ahead, Anzalone said the plan is to continue the meals for the homebound once Wetzel opens his restaurant. 

“Jeff will continue to prepare one meal a week for our 25 homebound parishioners, but the second night we are asking parishioners to step forward and prepare their favorite dish,” he said. “We will continue to package and deliver the meal. This has been an important ministry for these individuals and our community.”

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