After the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way groups could gather, organizations were forced to get creative and digitize their events. The Diocese of Allentown was no exception and began brainstorming new fundraising methods after parishes were forced to cancel summer festivals.

After being inspired by the community’s love for festival foods, the diocese devised an online cooking competition - Cooks with Collars - featuring 27 parishes vying for the title of favorite chef.

Each parish submitted a cooking tutorial video where viewers can vote and leave donations. The highest-grossing video will be deemed the winner.

The Cooks with Collars fundraising competition began Jan. 15 and is scheduled to last a month. A goal of the event is to swap out the altar for a kitchen and showcase the person behind the clerical collar.

“They never imagine [the priest] putting on an apron and cooking his own dinner,” said Paul Wirth, spokesman for the Allentown Diocese.

The fundraiser has already brought in more than $100,000 in donations and almost $70,000 in sponsorship contributions. Each parish will be able to keep their earned donations, while sponsorship contributions will be allocated to support Catholic Charities ministries.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church, Fullerton, is one of the local parishes participating in this fundraiser. Father Pendzick shared his recipe for soft ginger cookies in an easy-to-follow tutorial incorporating the eighth-grade class at St. Elizabeth’s Regional School.

The students helped with production and appear throughout the video as the camera catches them stealing the display cookies. As of press time, the video earned $2,305 in donations, with days left before the deadline.

Voting ends Feb. 15, and the champion of Cooks with Collars will be announced the next day. To keep up with fundraisers and vote, visit cookswithcollars.com.