500,000th Meal Celebration

Celebs Join In Milestone Event at Anaheim White House

Mix together 1 Oscar winner, 2 star NHL players, a couple of local newscasters, a reality TV star and a man with a giant heart and what do you get?   Tons of love and compassion for one of the neediest segments of our population -- 200 local area “motel kids” who will attend the Anaheim White House gala celebrating the 500,000th meal served through the nonprofit Caterina’s Club.

Before diving into the food, the children will have a ball -- literally -- as 30 massive beach balls and 2 bounce houses will help transform the lawn outside of the restaurant’s West Wing into a colorful playground.  On hand to help serve dinner afterwards are Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, Anaheim Ducks players Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne, “OC Housewives’” star Vicki Gunvalson, newscaster Wendy Burch and 2 of the world’s biggest celebs whose identity will be revealed at the event to be held Tuesday, February 19 at 3 p.m. (887 South Anaheim Street, Anaheim).

In honor of his mother, Bruno Serato founded Caterina’s Club, an organization dedicated to making sure the region’s most vulnerable population – its children -- receive a hot meal before they are tucked into bed each evening. The milestone dinner served on Feb 19 will include stuffed ravioli, filet mignon with mushroom sauce & chocolate cake.  Usually, they enjoy pasta dinner, which is served 7 nights a week.  In addition to the nightly meals, Serato has begun placing some of these families into homes of their own.

Serato's extreme generosity has earned him worldwide status.  He was named one of CNN's 10 Heroes of the Year and has been featured in magazines (People, Elle, Vogue), television ("CBS Evening News," "EXTRA,") and newspapers (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, OC Register) countless times.  He is due to become knighted by the Italian government, was honored on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with a humanitarian award and has received any number of proclamations, Man of the Year awards and other forms of recognition.

Mark Sanchez & Chef Bruno: OC Register

QB Mark Sanchez makes a different kind of completion

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD AND KENNY CONNOLLY / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Hung in succession along a hallway of the renowned Anaheim White House Restaurant are autographed portraits of the most recognizable celebrities of this generation.

Brad Pitt. Pierce Brosnan. Sir Elton John. Richard Gere. Robert De Niro. Sidney Poitier. The portraits lead to Bruno Serato's kitchen.

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, right, cuts broccoli as chef Bruno Serato gives him directions in the kitchen of his Anaheim White House Restaurant.

KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It is through this hallway that New York Jets quarterback and Mission Viejo High alum Mark Sanchez walks to begin an offseason workout like no other.

"I might fire him," a jovial Serato said in his heavy Italian accent.

No more than two weeks removed from returning to Orange County, Sanchez caught wind of Serato's well-publicized program: Through his nonprofit Caterina's Club, Serato feeds 300 children, many low-income, nightly at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim.

"I want to meet these kids – whether I'm playing handball with them or giving them food to eat," Sanchez said. "Let's interact. Let's do some hands-on stuff; some low-key stuff that doesn't get a lot of attention, and this is perfect."

Adorned in a white chef's jacket embroidered with "Bruno Rocks!" above the left breast, Sanchez – who frequently credits his success to those who lent a hand during his formative years – enters the steely kitchen.

"This means a lot, because you actually do some of the work," Sanchez said. "The demographic of these kids – there's a lot of Hispanics, and that means a lot to me; helping underprivileged kids that don't get a ton of help. ...

"These are the kids we really want to channel our energy and effort to help."

Approximately four years out of practice, Sanchez – once a server at Phil Trani's in Long Beach while at USC – starts by dropping noodles into a pasta boiler. He then slices tomatoes and broccoli, and places each ingredient into a large mixing bowl filled with marinara sauce.

Chicken, pre-cut, completes the recipe as Sanchez stirs it all together.

"He's been hired!" Serato exclaims.

After a few minutes of stirring, Sanchez does a couple of television interviews prior to commencing the second half of his afternoon.

Before he leaves the kitchen, however, the 26-year-old endorsed a check for an undisclosed amount and hands it to Serato.

"Pass it on," Sanchez said. "When you receive, pass it on."

With the food freshly prepared and in hand, Sanchez and Serato made their way over to the Boys and Girls Club in Anaheim. As he entered through the back door of the building, the children who recognized the former Trojan standout ran over and greeted the quarterback.

Sanchez took a tour of the club, signed autographs, took pictures and interacted with the 50-plus children before he was called to the kitchen to start serving.

Each bowl of pasta was accompanied with a high five.

Sanchez joked with one of the children wearing a Patriots jersey saying, "It must have been laundry day today, right?"

Eleven-year-old Shaun McHale made sure he came prepared, wearing his No. 6 Jets' jersey for the quarterback to autograph.

"My dad told me he was coming, so I wanted to wear his jersey," McHale said. "It was really cool."

After passing out the food, it was time for the quarterback to dish out some passes to all of the kids who lined up outside.

Some of the teens went deep, while the younger kids ran comebacks.

McHale ran a post pattern, caught his pass and proceeded to impersonate Sanchez's trademark Jets celebration – spreading his arms out and pretending to glide like a jet.

"We want to get in there and have a good time." Sanchez said. "You see these kids, they're awesome, and all they want to do is come up and give you a high five and they smile. ... It's a great thing to see."

Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com or kconnolly@ocregister.com