And the only conclusion one can come up with after reviewing this scenario is that these guys know food. But hidden beneath the surface is how Joe, who co-chairs the food committee, came to Beethoven.
"How it played out was probably about 15 years ago, we came down here for Fiesta with my sister," Joe said one evening as he sat at the bar. "My daughter, who was at the time nine years old, 10 years old, met David Nelson's daughter. His daughter was telling her all about the Kinderchor and how fun it was. I sat in here and was oblivious to everything. We got home and she said, 'I met this girl and they have this group that sings and I want to join.'"
Incidentally, they both forgot all about the conversation and about Kinderchor until about a year and a half later.
"So we came down here (to Beethoven), she went to practice, I immediately felt welcomed," Joe said. " She started getting involved in the Kinderchor and I got roped into volunteering on the food line."
Prodding came courtesy of member Gary Sheets. Joe began like everybody else, schlepping potato salad and sauerkraut. At that time there was food guru Fritz Loeschel who cooked at events. He liked to work the second shift, but a cook can only spend so much time on his feet before they've got to sit down.
"He said 'Hey, why don't you take over for me?'" Joe recalled. "I got baptized on the grill very quickly and never looked back. It became a situation where every event, second shift, I was cooking brats."
Soon, not only was he cooking -- he was changing things.
For one, he didn't care for how the Leberkäse was pre-cooked. (In German, Leberkäse literally means "liver cheese.") He started making them to order. He also began toasting the bread. Little changes here and there started making a big difference for revelers at Beethoven events.
Improvements on the food line and Joe's willingness to volunteer much of his time lead to the obvious question: why aren't you on the board of directors? Joe admits Herb Kriese was able to successfully nudge him to run. "I ran, got elected - that was a surprise - and now I can't get off!" Joe declared.
 |
| Joe Moulder, left, and Phillip LaMonica, serve food at UIW for the Irish festival. |
Years ago, Joe remembered, the food committee would cater weddings and private events. But they had spent all their time wrapped up working events. Nowadays, they still cook for private occasions, but only for members.
"I like to cook. I found my own little niche. I enjoy it," said Joe. "It's a lot of work. I don't know how many burns I've had on my hands and arms. To me it's been a very rewarding education. I've learned a lot about cooking for a lot of people." Like when Beethoven hosted the national Saengerfest several years ago, 700 people partook in Joe's famous schnitzel plates. The line circled around the garden.
Joe's favorite food at Beethoven is shockingly simple.
"You just can't beat that plain old grilled cheese that we make. It's one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches around," he said.
Joe and his team go out of their way to make all the favorites enjoyed at Beethoven. Much of it is local, like the red brats and Leberkäse that come from Granzin's Meat Market in New Braunfels and the bread that's baked at the New World Bakery in Kyle. The white brats are shipped from Schaller and Weber in Long Island. The food guys pick up hundreds of pounds of sausage from the airport when it arrives.
Even after all the hours he spends at Beethoven, Joe still enjoys cooking at home. And, he said he volunteers his time cooking for SAMMinistries.
"I get up on Tuesday and Thursday at 4 o'clock in the morning and make breakfast for kids at the SAMM shelter. It's not a pat on the back, it's just that I like to cook," he said. Joe flips pancakes and makes dozens of sack lunches for the children so they have a meal to eat at school.
It's Joe's passion and he believes it's literally in his blood to make his second home at Beethoven. "This place grows on you. I liken it to Cheers because you walk in and everybody knows your name," he said.
He would like to recruit new members to Beethoven to be in the food line. He's working on getting more responses from newbies who check "food" on their membership applications.
"It's our club and if we want our club to be around, then we need to take care of it."
