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Leland resident and former Gilchrist Farm Winery chef Jennifer Lee Jackson found herself once again in the racetrack pit during the opening episode of “Top Chef”—just as when she cooked burgers and fried chicken sandwiches as a teenager at the racetrack her father operated in rural Georgia. But this time she honed her craft in front of hundreds of thousands who watched her on television. Jackson and her partner, Detroit native Justin Tootla, are competing in Season 23 of the popular Bravo show, which premiers March 9. Competing on the show “was so much harder than we thought it would be,” Tootla told the Glen Arbor Sun. “We’ve been huge fans of the show and have watched it since Season 1. For 20 years we’ve played ‘Monday morning quarterback,’ judging contestants as much as they were judged on the show. “But when you’re in the mix, when the clock starts and you’re cooking, it’s intense! Being in other people’s kitchens, you have to adapt on the fly.”

During the statewide school shutdown prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the food service staff at Suttons Bay Public Schools are preparing 180 bag breakfasts and lunches every weekday for students who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals. The meals are delivered to the student’s homes in two vans, and with the help of community volunteers.

Premonitions Pizza and Arcade in Suttons Bay is running “Play for Paws” now until Dec. 16, to benefit animals at the Cherryland Humane Society. Patrons are encouraged to bring a toy, food, old blankets, towels or any household goods that would benefit dogs or cats. Donors receive a 30-minute arcade pass.

The Bay Theatre in nearby Suttons Bay runs award-winning foreign films monthly between September thru April. The cozy small-town theatre is just a 45-minute drive from Glen Arbor, or 20 minutes from Traverse City.

Each fall, Empire residents Robert Foulkes and Robin Johnson travel from northern Michigan to southwest Ireland to labor on their 20 acres in County Cork along Glandore Harbor — also known in the native tongue as Cuan Daire or “Harbour of the Oaks.”