True Sabres fans already know that goalie Ryan Miller and rightwinger Pat Kaleta cook on the ice, but many may not know that they’re
both pretty good sous chefs away from the rink. The Sabres teammates lent their assistance Thursday to two of the area’s most well-known chefs, Paul Jenkins of Tempo restaurant and Mike Andrzejewski of Seabar, who took part in an Iron Chef competition. The contest was actually an auction item from Miller’s Steadfast Foundation Catwalk for Charity event that was held last year. And while there weren’t enough cooks to spoil any of the delicious offerings in Thursday’s friendly competition, there were plenty of other tangential players to keep track of. In addition to the competing chefs and the Sabres-cum-sous chefs, there were Chris Koch, chief executive officer of New Era Cap Co., and his wife, Lindsey, who were the highest bidders for the Catwalk for Charity auction item and who got to invite 18 of their best friends to act as judges in the competition. “I like great food and great service and I got to know some of the restaurateurs in town. I wouldn’t call it a hobby or anything. I just like going out to dinner,” said Chris Koch, explaining his desire to bid on the Iron Chef competition at last year’s Catwalk for Charity auction. Local wine connoisseur Kevin Lo- Vullo and his wife, Jackie, were the actual hosts for the cook-off, which was held in the spacious backyard of their North Forest Road home in Amherst. “This was a no-brainer,” said Kevin LoVullo, explaining why he agreed to host the cook-off.
“The Catwalk was one thing, but Paul Jenkins&mdasha good buddy of mine &mdash added [to] the enthusiasm, which convinced me and my family to say, ‘Why not Let’s do this.’ And here we are,” said LoVullo.