Chef Don flips pancakes with a smile!

BY DEXTER MCCREE, Feature Writer

ST. PETERSBURG — On this one Saturday morning, an overcast fill the sky as a ray of sunlight pierced through the waving clouds. A slight breeze fanned through the air as a passerby completed a morning routine of exercise. One after another their paces take them by the church with the sign reading pancake breakfast.

Inside the church building, melted savory butter slowly dripped from the plate of stacked hot-griddled pancakes, peppery Jimmy Dean sausage and crispy end, golden bacon prepared by Chef Don Ketterer. Ice cold, fresh orange juice accompanies the meal along with a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee.

Supporters inside smiled and shared stories of another successful exercise day and the new neighbors who’ve joined the unofficial exercise club. It’s what happens once a month at Trinity United Church of Christ. It’s the very thing that puts a smile on Ketterer face.

“I’ve been cooking every first Saturday for some five or six years,” said Ketterer. “We stopped for a while there when we got really slow and people were moving about, but we picked right back up where we left off.”

The pancake breakfast held every first Saturday of the month is Ketterer’s way of giving back to the community along with his church.

In November, the Pancake Breakfast will include a full garage sale.

“What better way to enjoy the holidays than to have a cleaned out garage, a few dollars in your pocket and hot pancakes with some friends,” said Ketterer.  “I just really enjoy the fellowship and all the nice people that come around. We do what we can to better the people in the neighborhood.”

You can find Ketterer on Sat., Nov. 1 at Trinity UCC and Multicultural Center, 1150 49th St. N. from 8 – noon. He’ll be the gentleman with a smile on his face, a spatula in his hand and flipping pancakes on the griddle.

Hopefully, on that Saturday the sun will be shining bright with a cool breeze comfortable enough for a garage sale and some of Chef Don Ketterer’s pancakes.