A Dinner in the Dark: Eating Without the Sense of Sight

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Published on Monday, 28 January 2013 11:49

Written by Scott Joseph

A picture of my dinner.I attended an unusual dinner over the weekend. It was hosted by my friends Anne and Steve Deli at Country Club of Orlando, and it was conducted entirely in the dark. I don’t mean low lighting, I mean pitch black darkness. The room was so dark that the waiters had to wear special night-vision goggles that Anne had purchased especially for the occasion.

The guests first gathered in the bar area where we sipped on special cocktails fashioned by Aaron Christiansen of Thee Mixology (who is planning on opening a bar of his own in downtown Orlando; details soon). Each of the 30 or so guests had been asked to dress in “black casual,” and upon arrival we were given a “survival kit”: a Harley Davidson fanny pack with chopsticks, a fork, a napkin, a small bottle of water and several packets of moist towelettes. (The Delis own the Harley Davidson dealership, so the fanny packs were easy to come by.) We had been admonished not to bring in anything that might illuminate, such as cellphones or glowing watches.

Who's Your Favorite Sous-Chef?

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Published on Friday, 25 January 2013 11:04

Written by Scott Joseph

I was doing some planning yesterday on some upcoming events with my friends at Vibrant Rioja. We’ve got some fun things planned that I’ll be sharing with you soon, but I wanted to tell you about one right away because I need some suggestions from you.

With the awards season for movies in full swing, everyone seems focused on who the best actors are and which director should get the Academy Award. In almost every case, those who are in the running for the top awards were once supporting actors or assistant directors.

It’s the same in the culinary world. We’re always focused on the Top Chef or the chef de cuisine in charge. But most of them, too, started out in supporting roles, usually in the position known as sous-chef, or second in command. These are the star chefs of tomorrow.

So we’re planning an event that will showcase the up and coming talents of the area’s sous-chefs, letting them shine for an evening. It will be a unique opportunity to taste some of the creations of the executive chefs of the future, sort of like attending a Broadway show and seeing the understudy in the lead role before she becomes a headliner.

So here’s where I need your help. I’ve got a few people in mind already, some sous-chefs I’ve been watching for a while. But I want to hear about some others I don’t know about. Chefs, fellow line cooks, culinary insiders, fans: let’s hear your nominations for men and women currently working as sous-chefs to participate in our big sous-chef event. I’m also open to a great name for the evening. Right now we’re using the working title, “Sous-Chefs on Top,” but we can do better than that.

Please leave your recommendations in the comments below (please don’t leave your comments on Facebook or Twitter -- it’s better if they’re all in one place). Thanks for your help, and be watching for more details in the coming months.

Next Pop-Up Restaurant Will Feature Chefs of East End Market

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Published on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 15:35

Written by Scott Joseph

Are you ready for the next SJO Pop-Up Restaurant experience? We had great fun at the first one, which was held in the fish processing room of Gary’s Seafood in downtown Orlando. The next one is going to be a lot of fun, too.

I think just about everyone who likes good food and restaurants is excited about the new East End Market. EEM will bring several chefs and food purveyors under one roof to Corrine Drive in Orlando. You can read more details about East End Market here. The development, however, will not open until at least April -- that’s the projection for now, but you know how the permitting process can drag things out. I don’t know about you, but I’m already tired of waiting.

So I’ve gathered some of the chefs who will have a presence at East End to be a part of the SJO Pop-Up. This will be a unique opportunity to get a preview of one of the most anticipated culinary happenings of 2013. (I’ll parse out some more details about the chefs as we go along, but I can tell you that Henry and Michele Salgado of Spanish River Grill in New Smyrna Beach will be there to preview their new Txokos Kitchen.)

The date of the dinner will be Saturday, March 2. And the location...well, I’ll keep that a secret until the last minute. We can’t do it at East End Market because it’s a construction site. But I can tell you we will be within a two mile radius of there. And it’s a place with a logical location for a pop-up dinner, especially for people who love...no, no more clues.

Tickets for the dinner will go on sale shortly and will be announced in a special newsletter. To ensure that you’re among the first to know about it and to make certain you get a ticket, sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already.