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Beard Dinner Wrap-up

Written By Scott Joseph On June 23, 2010

NEW YORK — Central Florida was well represented Tuesday by a team of chefs who cooked an impressive dinner at the prestigious Beard House in

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Julie Petrakis, Ravenous Pig sous chef Nick Sierputowski and James Petrakis look over the blueberries that will be part of the dessert.

New York’s Greenwich Village.

Jamie McFadden of Cuisiniers Catering, Kevin Fonzo of K Restaurant, Scott Copeland of Antonio’s La Fiamma, and James & Julie Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig prepared a five-course meal that featured products from Central Florida farms and producers. The dinner, which was preceded by a champagne and cocktail reception on the townhouse’s courtyard patio, was attended by approximately 75 guests who were seated in various rooms of the former living space that once was James Beard’s private home.

Besides the five courses of the dinner, the chefs also prepared the hors d’oeuvres for the reception. Guests nibbled on rabbit terrine, grilled Florida octopus, cheese tarts made with Winter Park Dairy products, miniature biscuit BLTs, and quail eggs with house-made duck ham while sipping Rotari rose champagne.

The guests began arriving at 7 p.m. and made their way — through the kitchen, just like most people’s homes — to the patio. The evening had a nice breeze but the rain started to pour just as guests were invited to find their tables. Just before the guests began to arrive, the chefs were noticeably nervous. They had been cooking all day, most of them there when the house opened at 8 a.m. During the day they were jovial and joking and plotting how the dinner would flow and who would assume which duties. Although they work at different restaurants, the chefs are all good friends and work well together — which is good because the small kitchen means they were elbow-to-elbow and cheek-to-cheek, if you know what I mean.

But at 6 p.m. the mood turned solemn as the enormity of the evening began to set in. They’ve all cooked for large groups before, and for important guests. But this was the James Beard House. To be invited to cook here is a huge honor. And they all understood that they not only were representing their own restaurants but also Central Florida in our community’s continuing struggle to be recognized as a place with fine dining.

They needn’t have worried. The dinner was a hit. (Click here to see the full menu.) The highlight for me was the Zellwood sweet corn veloute with a hushpuppy made with frog leg meat and oysters. It was heaven. Other folks said the cobia cured cobia with orange smoked habanero sorbet was their favorites; others cited the smoked pork and chicken fried beef tongue. The food was the topic of conversation throughout the dining areas, and everyone enjoyed it.

The guest list included many Central Floridians who traveled to New York to experience the dinner. There were also New Yorkers, members of the James Beard Foundation, who paid to attend. It would have been nice to have more New Yorkers there — part of the reason to do this sort of event is to get the word out about the quality of restaurants available in Orlando. But it’s a process that takes time, and many steps. The New Yorkers who attended out of curiosity will undoubtedly tell others about the terrific food they enjoyed from the Central Florida contingent of chefs; and the people they tell will remember when they visit Orlando. Others will follow.

Our chefs were terrific ambassadors.

We hope you find our reviews and news articles useful and entertaining. It has always been our goal to assist you in making informed decisions when spending your dining dollars. If we’ve helped you in any way, please consider making a contribution to help us continue our journalism. Thank you.

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