Longboat Key church transforms into a hofbrauhaus for Oktoberfest

Pick Hall at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church looked like a hofbrauhaus Friday night. Steins decorated the tables, and members came dressed in their best lederhosen for the church’s second annual Oktoberfest. 

“Last year was probably the best party we’ve had here,” Chuck Sobieck said. 

About 100 church members attended. Not everyone dressed in the clothing of a traditional German, but everyone ate like one. 

Metz Culinary Management of New College of Florida catered the event. The menu included pork schnitzel with creamy dill sauce, sauteed sweet and sour cabbage, bratwurst with sauerkraut and apple strudel.  

Church member Joey Bertucci took care of the appetizers. He was busy in the kitchen pulling trays of pretzels in and out of the oven. Between pretzel and pretzel bites, he made more than 300 of the salty snacks.

Bertucci also added German sausages and sides of mustard and cheese sauce. He donated the food and prepared the baskets himself. 

It was an all-hands-on-deck approach. Jack Mueller was making coffee, while other members took turns playing bartender, filling beers from the tap and uncorking wine bottles. 

Eric Walalich entertained the crowd in lederhosen, playing an accordion. Toes were tapping, and glasses were clinking. 

Steins dotted the tables, all donated by a single church member. Three were auctioned off at the end of the night. Winners were able to take home the stein of their choice. 

The main raffle prize was a handmade charcuterie board by Susan DiNatale. 

“It’s a 200-year-old piece of olive wood that I had shipped in from Turkey,” she said,” And then I did epoxy resin work around it.”

Then DiNatale sanded it for five hours. The end result was a gorgeous piece of functional art that everyone wanted to take home. Raffle tickets were sold for $25 a piece. 

As with many things these days, the lederhosen was not handmade but purchased on Amazon.

“It’s like putting a mask on, and you become someone else,” Michael Cichon said. “It’s fun.”