Residents of Gloucester, Mathews and surrounding areas are in for a very special treat on Saturday at Apostles Lutheran Church in Gloucester. The members of the church, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, are holding their first German Festival. The feast is both a means of community outreach and a fundraiser.

The church’s fellowship and evangelism teams have organized the dinner with "the support and help of the entire congregation," said Elizabeth Huegel. "It’s a project we talked about last year but we never got it going until this year," added Irene Albert, who is a native of Germany. She will serve as executive chef for the German dinner that is going to be held in the Fellowship Hall from 5 to 7 p.m., "to eat in or take out."

When dinner guests see what’s on the plate, they are bound to want to take some home as well.

The menu: German potato salad, goulash with noodles, Frikadellen (German hamburger), red cabbage, applesauce, sauerkraut, pork loin, bratwurst, knackwurst, pumpkin bread along with other homemade breads, assorted desserts and a beverage of choice. All will be served for $7 per plate. To test all of these dishes beforehand, Heinz and Irene Albert held a tasting at their home in Gloucester Court House. Both Heinz and Irene are exceptionally good cooks. They work in the kitchen together all the time. "Heinz makes most of the breads. We have only homemade bread, but we can make it together and we do," explained Irene. They also make the bread for their church affairs, "hot buns included."

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, the Alberts’ kitchen will be filled with many church members, serving as sous chefs, but it’s Irene who is head chef, with Heinz serving as her assistant.

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