sMAC Down: Mac n' Cheese Cook-Off for a Cause

By: Brent Runyon, February 17, 2012

1st Annual sMAC Down - Taste-test the best mac n' cheese in town and work off the pounds in a sumo suit in a benefit for bone marrow research on Sunday, February 19 at The Beach House.

For years, the debate has raged throughout the Upper Cape—who makes the best macaroni and cheese?

That question will finally  be answered this Sunday, when professional and amateur chefs compete in the First Annual sMAC Down to Benefit Bone Marrow Disorder Research at the Beach House Restaurant from noon to 4 PM.

 Attendees will get to sample macaroni and cheese from local restaurants including The Beach House, Bleu in Mashpee Commons, British Beer Company in Falmouth, Cranberry’s Restaurant & Pub in Pocasset, Corner Cafe in Pocasset, 444 North Bar & Grille in North Falmouth and Stone L’Oven Pizza in Falmouth.

There will also be amateur chefs competing in their own category including InsideOUT's own Esta’s Kitchen, Sharon Thompson of Falmouth, Maura Magill of Bourne, Linda Devoe of Stoughton, Barbara and Derrick Hall from Abington and Carl Koebler from West Roxbury.

Attendees will vote for their favorite in the professional and amateur categories and the winners will be named “The Big Cheese.” There will also be raffles and a sumo wrestling ring, where attendees can “smack down” opponents.

The event is organized by Kimberly Fernandes-Huff to raise money for the Michael A. Fernandes Foundation, which raises money to donate to organizations that research bone marrow-related illnesses, like leukemia, aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

No laughing matter

Although the tone of the event is light and fun, the cause it benefits is very serious. Fernandes-Huff has lost three immediate family members to bone marrow-related diseases. Her brother David died of aplastic anemia at age 8 in 1971; her mother, Joan F. Fernandes, died of leukemia at age 62, in 2001, and her older brother, Michael A. Fernandes died at age 31 in 2003, of myelodysplastic syndrome.

Fernandes was diagnosed two weeks after his mother died. Because of the course the disease had taken in her, he was told that a bone marrow transplant would be the only way to save his life.

After an initial search yielded no donors, his family began a bone marrow drive in the community. They found a match in February 2002, but the donor fell through. A second donor was found, and Fernandes underwent a transplant that October. He lived for almost a year, before dying of complications from the disease.

Fernandes-Huff, who lives in Bourne and owns Cape Cod Kayak, is already planning another fundraiser for the Michael A. Fernandes Foundation. The Third Annual Wing Fling is scheduled for April 15.