March of Dimes Gala

Barbara at Cafe Pignoli
239-541-0800
Cafe' Pignoli Gourmet Delicatessen & Bistro
Catering by Pignoli

Cafe Pignoli wins People's Choice

The News-Press
Roseodellking@gmail.com

Cape Coral, Florida - 9/18/10 - When you have FOX4's Wild Bill Wood on your team, anything is possible.  On Saturday night, over 450 guests attended the March of Dimes Celebrity Chefs Auction and Gala at the Sanibel Harbour Marriot Resort and Spa to sample delicious foods from 16 area restaurants and bid on silent and live auction items to raise money for the March of Dimes.  Cafe Pignoli, from Cape Coral, took home the coveted Peoples' Choice Award for their creative display and food.  Wild Bill was the celebrity chef on team Pignoli, and, under the watchful eyes of Chef Robert Cardoos, served up Ravioli Diablo, in keeping with the team's "sinfully delicious" devilish theme. 

Chef Robert Cardoos has been in the food business for over 40 years.  Since moving to Florida from Boston 5 years ago, he and his wife Barbara live and work in Cape Coral, and are involved in many charitable events.   

Cafe Pignoli is located at the Cape Harbour Marina in Cape Coral, and is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is live entertainment 4 days a week, and wine and beer is available by the bottle or by the glass.

Cafe Pignoli wins People's Choice

Every year the Signature Chefs Auction, which benefits the March of Dimes, looks to celebrate our local restaurants with a gala tasting party all while raising money for much needed research and prevention programs. Beautifully attired attendees stroll around the tasting stations sampling the top notch cuisine and voting for best dish.

The award went to Chef Robert Cardoos at Cafe Pignoli in Cape Coral for his Ravioli Diablo, a spinach-mozzarella masterpiece served with a fire roasted red pepper cream.

If you weren't lucky enough to sample this dish, Chef Robert told me that he would make this winning ravioli available on his Thursday Pasta Nights for the next few weeks. And, don't let the hot sounding name scare you; Chef Robert makes all his dishes flavorful but never too spicy.

While I didn't get a chance to taste very much of the offerings Saturday night because of my celebrity chef duties (which I thoroughly enjoyed), friends did stop by to bring me dishes they loved. I especially enjoyed the cuisine from Chef Daniel Virola of the Twisted Vine, Chef Christopher Wakeman of Pure Urban Oasis, Julio Ponce of The Prawnbroker and Chef Josh Mitchell of Blue Coyote Business and Social CLub.