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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; After he enjoyed a meal of piggies, pierogies, haluski and other Eastern European specialties, Bob Shertza took Bernadine Tarasek aside to thank her personally.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s more than food,&#8221; he told Tarasek, who is president of the Wilkes University Polish Room Committee. &#8220;It&#8217;s memories of my grandmother and how she cooked in her kitchen. It&#8217;s just wonderful.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t get this kind of food that often anymore.&#8221;</p><p>Along with many other fans of Polish cuisine who study or work at Wilkes, Shertza, who works in the information technology department, knows he can count on an old-fashioned, home-cooked feast on one special day each fall.</p><p>That&#8217;s when members of the Polish Room Committee bring all sorts of sweet and savory creations to serve every interested person from the Wilkes community who stops by the library.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s our way of thanking Wilkes for letting us have the Polish Room here,&#8221; Tarasek said on Thursday as she stood near the room, filled with books, furniture and artifacts, that is &#8220;dedicated to the memory of settlers from Poland who since 1856 have made their home in Wyoming Valley.&#8221;</p><p>While Tarasek, of Plains Township, and her fellow committee members dished out sauerkraut, kielbasa and desserts, dozens of students, faculty and administrators sampled foods that may have been old favorites, or new experiences.</p><p>Biology major Kabita Kandel, who is a native of Nepal, said she knew she would enjoy the pierogies because &#8220;I tried one two months ago, at a festival. I had one and then I bought five.&#8221;</p><p>Her friend Stephenie Gyidei, a biology major from Allentown, tried one of the potato-filled treats for the first time on Thursday. &#8220;It&#8217;s good. It&#8217;s smooth,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what I expected.&#8221;</p><p>Pyschology major Allisa Jones, of Dunmore, admitted she&#8217;s not a fan of regular sauerkraut, but when she tried a sweeter-than-usual version of the fermented-cabbage dish at the Polish Room meal, she decided &#8220;it was pretty good.&#8221;</p><p>Lots of people gave a thumbs up to the sauerkraut, Polish Room Committee member Susan Najaka, of Glen Lyon, said as she scraped the last spoonfuls from a slow cooker to give one more person a taste.</p><p>Not wanted to take any credit herself, Najaka explained a friend of hers had prepared the sauerkraut, using a recipe from the Kaminski family. &#8220;They&#8217;ve got to get the credit,&#8221; she said, explaining that brown sugar and butter give it a different flavor.</p><p>When a bystander asked library director John Stachacz about his favorite Polish food, he exploded with laughter. &#8220;Are you kidding? My favorite? There&#8217;s no one favorite food. I like them all. These ladies are the best cooks in the world.&#8221;</p><p>One of those &#8220;best cooks&#8221; had made kielbasa at home, using pork, garlic and an electric meat grinder.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m an old-fashioned lady,&#8221; said sausage maker Mary Ann Pudlosky, of Hunlock Creek. &#8220;It&#8217;s a family thing. We make our own sauerkraut, too, and I can a lot.&#8221;</p><p>Joyce Latoski, of Wilkes-Barre, had contributed pineapple squares to the dessert buffet. &#8220;Sure, they&#8217;re Polish,&#8221; she said with a laugh.</p><p>&#8220;You have to use butter, never margarine,&#8221; Jean Levandowski, of Wilkes-Barre said, talking about the ingredients in her haluski, which is a mixture of cabbage and noodles.</p><p>&#8220;I was up all night cooking. I was cooking for days,&#8221; said Tarasek, who had contributed her own homemade piggies, potato salad, and a fruit and pasta salad along with store-bought kielbasa and rye bread, plus pierogies from St. John the Baptist Church in Larksville.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing,&#8221; a grateful Deanna Drako, who is an assistant director of the afterschool SHINE program at Wilkes, said of the Polish meal. &#8220;We look forward to this all year.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The piggies are delicious and we know it&#8217;s a lot of work to make them,&#8221; said SHINE director Carol Nicholas. &#8220;We appreciate it.&#8221;</p><p>Glancing at a long line of prospective diners, Nicholas added, &#8220;This is why we come here early.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jean Levandowski, Wilkes-Barre, looks for the next person who wants to taste haluski, a cabbage and noodle dish that was one of many foods Wilkes University&#8217;s Polish Room Committee served on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jean Levandowski, Wilkes-Barre, looks for the next person who wants to taste haluski, a cabbage and noodle dish that was one of many foods Wilkes University&#8217;s Polish Room Committee served on Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University faculty member Steve Batory, of Dallas, near right, waits for Susan Najaka, of Glen Lyon, near left, to serve him sauerkraut that has been sauteed with butter and brown sugar. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes University faculty member Steve Batory, of Dallas, near right, waits for Susan Najaka, of Glen Lyon, near left, to serve him sauerkraut that has been sauteed with butter and brown sugar. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Debra Narchavage, Wilkes-Barre, looks over a table full of desserts served by the Polish Room Committee at Wilkes University.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Debra Narchavage, Wilkes-Barre, looks over a table full of desserts served by the Polish Room Committee at Wilkes University.  </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"> Deanna Drako, Wilkes-Barre, left, and Katie Lykon, Larksville, enjoy Polish foods at the Wilkes University library. &#8216;We look forward to this all year,&#8217; Drako said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-4.jpg</photo3><caption3> Deanna Drako, Wilkes-Barre, left, and Katie Lykon, Larksville, enjoy Polish foods at the Wilkes University library. &#8216;We look forward to this all year,&#8217; Drako said. </caption3><photoCredit3>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sharon Nolan, of Shavertown, left, and Dawn Harding, Dallas, wait in line for a taste of Polish delicacies members of the Wilkes University Polish Room Committtee served on Thursday in the university library. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_Polish-Food-Wilkes-5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Sharon Nolan, of Shavertown, left, and Dawn Harding, Dallas, wait in line for a taste of Polish delicacies members of the Wilkes University Polish Room Committtee served on Thursday in the university library. </caption4><photoCredit4>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Polish Room Committee serves up a feast</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes University Polish Room Committee serves up a feast