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Friday, February 25, 2011

Emerging Chefs Sacrilicious Event Review

On Wednesday, February 23rd Emerging Chefs put on their latest culinary experience titled "Sacri-licious."  This event featured Chef Jeff Fisher of Touch Supper Club, and was held at "The Church" at 6415 Detroit Avenue.  Emerging Chefs group and Chef Fisher were very excited about the venue, and when my fiancée and I arrived we were impressed with the appearance of the exterior of the church.  The architecture and style combined with the natural weathering of the copper on the building was impressive. 
The interior of the church continued to impress.  The main "alter" was set up as the final prep area for the dishes and drinks.  The pews were turned around and converted into seating for some, while others had normal table and chair seating arrangements.  

Chef Fisher kicked off the night with everyone taking "Communion."    This consisted of a wafer that had a spread of chicken liver foie gras mousse with kumquat jam.  It was paired with homemade wine.  Together this crunchy bite had a slight nutty flavor and the sweet and sour of the kumquat really stood out.  
Our first official course was inspired by the 4th day of Genesis which brought up the age old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"   This course consisted of Hot tomato water with mini gnocchi, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a poached quail egg.  It was paired with an El Diablo Ketchup Martini.   Everything about this course was amazing.  The quail egg was poached perfectly and the tomato water really impressed our whole table with how flavor packed it was.  Being a "Food and Brew" guy who actually doesn't like Ketchup, I was very skeptical about the Ketchup Martini.  Simply put, it was awesome!  When paired with the tomato water the spiciness of the martini really came out.   I love when a drink elevates a dish and vis-versa. The food and the drink were paired perfectly!
Our second course was inspired by the Last Supper and Saint Germain.  It was a St. Germain cured salmon tartar, with squid ink tweil, savory lemon curd, caramelized sweet Maui onions and creme fraiche.  I have never had salmon tartar before and I must say, paired with the lemon curd and the creme fraiche is really was delicious. The squid ink tweil added a bit of texture to the mouth-feel of the tartar.   The St. Germain's Lime Soda it was paired with might have been my favorite drink of the night.  The drink was light, fresh, bubbly and perfectly flavored, it had a little mojito feeling to it (minus the rum).  I hope to recreate this drink this summer!  Again this food and drink pairing were spot on!
Course three was inspired by the Lamb of God.   It was a lamb carpaccio, tempura battered egg yolk, crispy fennel and shallots, parmesan cheese and white truffle oil  It was paired with a Cather in the Rye cocktail which was mostly bourbon with a cherry inside.   The lamb carpaccio was shaved ultra thin and reminded me off an ultra lean prosciutto, it was very tasty!  The white truffle oil can be overpowering, but in this preparation it was used perfectly.  The crispy fennel and shallots along with the crispy slice of bread added texture to the soft carpaccio.  The dish itself was a big hit.  The drink however could have used something else added to it to help cut just how strong the bourbon was.  
Our fourth course was Asian braised pork belly, with forbidden rice, and blood orange star anise sauce, and five spice cotton candy.   It was paired with a Vodka/Saki drink called Grapes of Wrath.   The braised pork belly had very good flavor, but it was slightly cold.  The rice and blood orange star anise sauce was as good as rice can be for me (I'm not a fan of the texture.)  I asked my fiancée her thoughts because she really likes rice and she thought the anise was a slight too strong for her tastes.  The vodka/saki drink had grapes right in the glass.  The grapes absorbed some of the flavor of the drink and were quite good.  The drink however was to much sweet for me, and I felt that something with a little carbonation would have made this drink a little easier to drink.  
Our Dessert course was beet foam with angel food cake, devils food cake, passion fruit coulis, with raspberry teardrops paired. This final course was paired with two drinks, a Plum Brandy with caramelized sugar and Limoncello.  The dark chocolate flavor in the devils food cake was amazing.   The angel food cake and the raspberry tear drops also were delicious. The richness of the devils food cake and the lightness of the angel food cake brought together with the fruit coulis was genius!  The small shot of plum brandy was also very good when paired with the sweet dark chocolate!
The plating of each course was absolutely spectacular.  Each plate was eye catching and very creative.  What also really impressed me was the creative spin Chef Fisher put on the menu from the venue inspiration.  Each dish was carefully thought out and prepared, very Iron Chef like in my opinion!   For me the event was a blast. The food was very good and the atmosphere was fun and friendly.  We even had a chance to talk with Chef Fisher after the event and the bloggers manged to get a great photo with an amazing Chef!  If you would like to know more about Chef Fisher check out the interview I did with him prior to the event! Chef Jeff Fisher Interview.

I want to thank the Emerging Chefs group for planning an amazing event, and giving me an opportunity to attend and interview Chef Fisher.  I also want to thank Chef Jeff Fisher for cooking up a wonderful set of dishes and for sharing his passion for food with everyone.  I look forward to the next Emerging Chefs event coming in March.  Be sure to check my blog for more information about that event very soon!

Be sure to check out my blogger friends reviews of this great event at Hungry In Cleveland, Poise In Parma, and Journeyman Cook.

Disclosure:  I was given a single free media pass to attend the event in exchange for promoting it.  This review is 100% my own thoughts and opinions.


Emerging Chefs > Sacri-licious > Event Highlights from Emerging Chefs on Vimeo.

3 comments:

BrewersDaughter said...

Excellent and very thorough review, Brad. Great photos too! It was my favorite of the three Emerging Chefs dinners I've attended so far. Love the photo of Chef Fisher and all the bloggers!

Unknown said...

Great recap!! I also like how I had to peek out from behind Chef Fisher since he is so tall and I am so short :)

Alicia from Poise in Parma said...

A very nice recap Brad. I think you captured a lot more than the average diner would have during the entire meal. Definitely planning on linking this post when I get around to getting mine up in the next few days. Can't wait for the next one!

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