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On June 9, Emmitsburg priest the Rev. Father Leo Patalinghug participated in a "throwdown" with celebrity chef and Food Network host Bobby Flay at Mount St. Mary's University for Flay's show "Throwdown! With Bobby Flay" whipping up fajitas in front of a crowd.

Exactly three months later, the crowd was a bit bigger as the show aired nationwide, with the winner of the throwdown ultimately being the priestly chef, who watched the results along with others last week.

Patalinghug celebrated the showing with a block party in Baltimore's Little Italy in a restaurant parking lot. About 300 people attended, braving the threat of rain to watch the outdoor screening with the priest.

"God pulled through and we had a rain-free screening," he said. "It was great fun as it brought out many family and friends who had family meals in Little Italy restaurants."

Patalinghug is the founder of "Grace Before Meals," a movement that encourages families to eat meals together as a communal activity to keep youths from getting into trouble. He has published a cookbook and blog of the same name.

The Food Network told Patalinghug that they wanted to film a cooking show based on Grace Before Meals, but he was unaware of the throwdown brewing behind the scenes. Producers showed up June 8 at the university, where Patalinghug was hosting a Grace Before Meals seminar and demonstration, speaking to families and cooking his specialties.

On June 9, as Patalinghug was cooking in front of about 60 people gathered for the event, Flay showed up unannounced, obviously surprising Patalinghug.

"With God as my witness, I'm not afraid! Bring your fajitas, let's throw it down!" he said after recovering from the shock, as he and Flay began to create their versions of fusion steak fajitas, standing side-by-side before a crowd.

Patalinghug said shows on his Grace Before Meals Web site had already prepared him for lessons in patience and humility that come with working in front of a camera.

"You see and hear everything," he said. "It can be a bit shocking at first."

He said he thought the Food Network did a great job of being respectful and informative of the "Grace Before Meals" movement.

"They put in there everything that was needed for the half-hour show," he said.

After the airing of the show, Patalinghug said he has received hundreds of e-mails from people of all faiths saying they enjoyed the show and banter between Flay and Patalinghug while being inspired by the message.

Judges declared Patalinghug the winner of the "throwdown" which he said was a great, but sobering thrill.

"He [Flay] is a great chef… I make no claims that I'm better than him in any way… it didn't really matter who won or lost, as the purpose of food was the center of the show: the food brought family and friends together," he said.

Patalinghug was born in the Philippines and raised in the Baltimore area. He developed a love for cooking while attending the seminary at the North American College in Rome. He was ordained in 1999 and served as a parish priest for five years in Westminster. He has been a member of the faculty at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary since July 2007.

Thurmont Lion ‘puckers up'

for diabetes donations

Thurmont Lions Club member Paul Cannada has agreed to kiss a pig. Bur there's a catch. He will only "pucker up" if he can collect more funds than his fellow-contestants for Diabetes research and awareness.

The district secretary for the Lion in five Western Maryland counties, Cannada has promised to participate in the Kiss-A-Pig Contest planned in conjunction with the Diabetes Walk in Frederick's Baker Park on Oct. 11.

According to a press release from the Lions Club, since the very first insulin was derived from pigs, the diabetic world considers pigs as very special animals. Thus, it will be a "privilege" for Cannada to kiss the pig.

To help Cannada earn the privilege of kissing the pig, tax deductible donations may be made payable to TLC Foundation, Inc., noted for Kiss-A-Pig Contest and mailed no later than Sept. 25 to the Thurmont Lions Club, P. O. Box 306, Thurmont, MD 21788, ATTN: KAP Committee.

In addition, some of Cannada's friends are creating an online silent auction among the members of the Lions Clubs, residents of Jer-Mae, and other interested persons.

For more information, call 301-271-4020.

Seton Center holds job search ‘jumpstart' program

The Seton Center, Inc. Outreach Program hopes to help people find jobs or improve their job situation through its third "Jumpstart Your Job Search" program. Planned for Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Joseph's Provincial House Conference Center, 333 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, the program will offer free expert advice, clothing and resources to help find and/or keep a job, according to a press release from the Seton Center. 

The half-day session is open to all area residents, and includes sessions on: resumes and cover letters; interviewing skills; applying for a job on-line or on paper; the many free job search and training resources available in Frederick County; and advice on "dressing for success" in various work environments.  

In addition, each woman will have the opportunity to select one or more free, gently used business/business casual outfits for interviewing and starting a job, according to the release. Men will be given clothing vouchers for Goodwill. Free childcare, complimentary breakfast and lunch, and vouchers for discount children's clothing at the Seton Center Thrift Shop will also be provided. 

For more information or to register, call 301-447-6102. The first 15 people to register will also receive a free haircut, courtesy of The Temple School, a Paul Mitchell training school. Transportation and assistance for those with special needs may be available.

Helicopter company

plans fundraiser

Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation, the charitable arm of Frederick-based Advanced Helicopter Concepts, will host a fundraiser at the Landmark Executive hangar in Frederick on Sept. 19.

The evening will include a live benefit auction and dance, as well as a memorial event for the July 23 helicopter crash which killed three of the company's employees and one passenger.

Tickets will cost $30, and $10 of the ticket price can be put toward an auction item.

The auction will include four rounds of golf at Maryland National Golf Club, a half-hour helicopter ride, and other items donated by local businesses.

"This will be an evening to remember and the genesis of a yearly event that I'm sure will become an exciting staple in local residents' social calendar," said Neal Lanning, founder of Advanced Helicopter Youth Foundation. 

Funds raised during the evening's event will benefit the Advent Home Learning Center, a remedial Christian School in Calhoun, Tenn., and Teen Challenge USA, a Christian organization that works with teens suffering from substance abuse problems.

More information, visit www.adventhome.org.

The company will also take time to memorialize Niall R.Y. Booth, 43, of New Market; Jeffrey D. Nordaas, 24, of Columbia; and George H. Tutor, 39, of Westminster, the three employees who died in the crash, and Kim R. Felix, 48, of New Market, a passenger in the helicopter and also died in the crash.

The four victims were returning home from a trip to Hagerstown, where they were participating with the Hagerstown Business Association's efforts to raise money and awareness for teens with emotional and substance-abuse problems on July 23.

For more information or tickets for the fundraiser, visit www.AHYouthFoundation.org or call 301-694-5313.

Do you have an item for North County Notes? E-mail frederick

@gazette.net or call 301-846-2100.