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Article by Amanda Spadaro
Posted on Sunday Dec 25, 2016 at 10:32 PM
Updated Dec 25, 2016 at 10:32 PM
Posted on Sunday Dec 25, 2016 at 10:32 PM
Updated Dec 25, 2016 at 10:32 PM
ELLENVILLE - Rather than unwrap presents on Christmas, volunteers gathered at the Aroma Thyme Bistro to prepare hundreds of free meals for those who needed assistance.
The Aroma Thyme Bistro is owned by Jamie and Chef Marcus Guiliano, and this was the 14th Christmas the family delivered meals with the help of about 75 volunteers.
Marcus Guiliano knew from his early days as a chef that he wanted to give back.
"As a young chef, a chef apprentice working for other people, I said 'Whenever I own my own restaurant, I want to be able to give back,' " he said. "I always thought it would be Thanksgiving, but the way we opened here, it just turned out to be Christmas."
That first Christmas was a week before the restaurant's actual opening day on New Year's Eve in 2003.
The Aroma Thyme Bistro is owned by Jamie and Chef Marcus Guiliano, and this was the 14th Christmas the family delivered meals with the help of about 75 volunteers.
Marcus Guiliano knew from his early days as a chef that he wanted to give back.
"As a young chef, a chef apprentice working for other people, I said 'Whenever I own my own restaurant, I want to be able to give back,' " he said. "I always thought it would be Thanksgiving, but the way we opened here, it just turned out to be Christmas."
That first Christmas was a week before the restaurant's actual opening day on New Year's Eve in 2003.
Chef Marcus and Jamie Guiliano, owners of the Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, are always accepting donations to help off-set the cost of the Christmas dinners.
This year, by serving 550 meals, the total cost would be about $3,000.
To donate, contact Aroma Thyme Bistro at (845) 647-3000 or visit www.aromathymebistro.com.
This year, by serving 550 meals, the total cost would be about $3,000.
To donate, contact Aroma Thyme Bistro at (845) 647-3000 or visit www.aromathymebistro.com.
That year, the Guilianos served about 25 free meals, allowing people to eat in the restaurant's dining room, but the operation grew quickly, requiring an assembly line through the restaurant and eliminating a dine-in option.
"We realized we could impact 10 times the people if we did deliveries," Marcus Guiliano said.
This year, with 15 families that volunteered as delivery drivers, the 550 meals spread out across a 25-mile radius.
The only time the Guilianos could not deliver to a person who requested a free meal, they footed the bill for Chinese food.
"One year, we bought Chinese food for somebody who lived across the river and we just couldn't deliver to," Marcus Guiliano said. "We said, 'we'll buy you Chinese food today.' "
The tradition spread to include the entire family, changing the typical Christmas celebration to focus on volunteerism rather than materialism, Jamie Guiliano said.
Marcus and Jamie used to decorate a Christmas tree and give a few presents when their children were younger, but the dinner eventually became the main event.
"It was never about the abundance and the materialistic things," Jamie Guiliano said. "My father works in the kitchen for weeks before. My mother has arranged all the delivery stuff. We have family friends (involved). Most of the people who are here today, I call our family."
Jamie's retired father, Gary Dickman, joked that the Christmas dinner became his full-time job in the weeks leading up to it.
For the last four years, Dickman, a former food service distributor, has been in charge of the kitchen, cooking and carving turkeys.
By Dickman's tally, this year's dinner involved 55 gallons of soup, 15 gallons of gravy and 75 turkeys -- a whopping 900 pounds.
To help with that heavy lifting, the Guilianos have their children: Justin, 14, and Courtney, 17. The two have been helping out since they were little, but in the past five years, Courtney Guiliano said she became much more involved.
This year, she arrived at the restaurant before her mother; it became second-nature to head to the restaurant on Christmas morning.
While her peers were worried about what gifts they would receive, Courtney Guiliano was focused giving back, saying that she already has everything she needs.
"The meaning of Christmas should be helping," she said. "Why not give back to people who can't get everything?"
As is another Guiliano tradition, Courtney and Justin made the final delivery of the evening. And one year in the future, the Guilianos hope they can deliver 1,000 meals.
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"We realized we could impact 10 times the people if we did deliveries," Marcus Guiliano said.
This year, with 15 families that volunteered as delivery drivers, the 550 meals spread out across a 25-mile radius.
The only time the Guilianos could not deliver to a person who requested a free meal, they footed the bill for Chinese food.
"One year, we bought Chinese food for somebody who lived across the river and we just couldn't deliver to," Marcus Guiliano said. "We said, 'we'll buy you Chinese food today.' "
The tradition spread to include the entire family, changing the typical Christmas celebration to focus on volunteerism rather than materialism, Jamie Guiliano said.
Marcus and Jamie used to decorate a Christmas tree and give a few presents when their children were younger, but the dinner eventually became the main event.
"It was never about the abundance and the materialistic things," Jamie Guiliano said. "My father works in the kitchen for weeks before. My mother has arranged all the delivery stuff. We have family friends (involved). Most of the people who are here today, I call our family."
Jamie's retired father, Gary Dickman, joked that the Christmas dinner became his full-time job in the weeks leading up to it.
For the last four years, Dickman, a former food service distributor, has been in charge of the kitchen, cooking and carving turkeys.
By Dickman's tally, this year's dinner involved 55 gallons of soup, 15 gallons of gravy and 75 turkeys -- a whopping 900 pounds.
To help with that heavy lifting, the Guilianos have their children: Justin, 14, and Courtney, 17. The two have been helping out since they were little, but in the past five years, Courtney Guiliano said she became much more involved.
This year, she arrived at the restaurant before her mother; it became second-nature to head to the restaurant on Christmas morning.
While her peers were worried about what gifts they would receive, Courtney Guiliano was focused giving back, saying that she already has everything she needs.
"The meaning of Christmas should be helping," she said. "Why not give back to people who can't get everything?"
As is another Guiliano tradition, Courtney and Justin made the final delivery of the evening. And one year in the future, the Guilianos hope they can deliver 1,000 meals.
[email protected]
