For those of you who watched Top Chef season 5, you’ll recall Fabio Viviani‘s famous line: “this is Top Chef, not Top Scallop” (referring to Jamie’s lack of variety after making her umpteenth scallop dish). I had the chance to meet Fabio this weekend at the inaugural Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival. And during our first encounter at one of the tasting booths, Fabio mentioned that he hates cilantro and I smartly replied, “same here, it’s not Top Cilantro after all.” Yeah…not quite as funny when I say it…
Anyway, I accompanied @foodiecritic to the event as her unofficial photographer. I’ll let her give you an in-depth recap in her Belles of the Sound blog post on Friday — be sure to check it out. In the mean time, I would like to give a shout out to the brilliant folks at Anthony‘s for these insanely delicious Ahi tuna crisps — definitely my favorite nibble of the day.
Summer really kicked off this weekend in Seattle with amazing weather and fun food events like Mobile Chowdown, Ballard SeafoodFest and Chocolate Salon. And next weekend, we have the premiere Seattle summer food event to look forward to: Bite of Seattle at the Seattle Center (fingers crossed the nice weather sticks around). Of the many fun activities lined up, I’m particularly excited for these:
The Bite Cooks!: 30-minute cooking demonstrations by several of Seattle’s top chefs. Emceed by chef Thierry Rautureau (AKA The Chef in the Hat).
The Alley: A multi-course meal of tastes from over a dozen of Seattle’s best restaurants, and even some up-and-comers. Hosted by Tom Douglas and benefitting Food Lifeline.
Wine Tasting & Jazz: Vintage wines from over a dozen Washington wineries, and contemporary jazz performances.
Check out this page for info on other featured events — looks like the Deen Brothers (yes, as in Paula Deen‘s sons) and the plumped Foster Imposter chickens will be making special appearances . And if the food, wine and music aren’t enough to entertain you, try your luck at snagging a cutie and 15-minutes of fame at Comcast’s booth where they will be filming their “Dating ON DEMAND” TV segment
For those who missed out on last month’s Dine Around Seattle, you have another wonderful opportunity to try out some of Seattle’s finest restaurants at an affordable price. Next week kicks off the first-ever Seattle Restaurant Week, presented by the Seattle Restaurant Cooperative and SeattleTimes.com.
Over 100 amazing restaurants throughout King County will be offering 3-course dinners for just $25 (Note: valid Sun-Thurs only). Some restaurants will also be offering lunch for $15. Need I say more? If you haven’t already done so, make your rezzies now – the restaurants are booking up fast!
For more information and the list of participating restaurants, check out the Seattle Restaurant Week website. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook for a chance to enter giveaways/contests.
I went to my second Foodportunity networking event (read about my first experience here) last night at Tom Douglas’ Palace Ballroom, and had an absolute blast. I mean, how could I not — tons of amazing food from some of Seattle’s top restaurants, Q&A session with local chefs/restaurateurs, speed networking session (which looked more like speed DATING for foodies ), the list goes on.
With all the mingling, I barely had time to eat n’ tweet (tragic, I know!) or even take any photos — so you folks will have to just deal with a drab and wordy recap this time around. Of the nibbles I did get a chance to try, here are my favorites (in no particular order):
Garlic smoked oysters from Hama Hama (their pickled oysters were pretty bomb, too)
If you haven’t been to a Foodportunity event, ummm get on it. For an affordable price (tickets are usually under $30), you get to experience everything I highlighted above and then some. Here, I’ll make it easy for you — follow Keren (event organizer) on Twitter for details on upcoming events.
Now back to packing for my big trip to Korea — only T-minus 3 days left!
Last night, I had my rookie volunteer experience at FareStart’s Guest Chef Night, an incredible event with an even more incredible group of people.
FareStart is a Seattle-based nonprofit that brings hope and opportunity to the less fortunate through the wonderful world of food – from training homeless/disadvantaged adults for careers in the food industry, to providing nutritional meals to shelters and low-income childcare centers. Check out this video to hear some truly amazing and inspirational testimonials from the instructors and students:
Every Thursday is Guest Chef Night at FareStart’s restaurant. This highly-coveted event is beyond fabulous and is a win-win situation for everyone involved. For one, the students have the unique opportunity to train with some of Seattle’s top chefs. It’s also a great way for the general public to enjoy fine dining at an affordable cost (3 courses for just $24.95!), while giving back to a wonderful cause. This week’s Guest Chef was Jason Franey, executive chef of Canlis, and it was no surprise that the event was sold out, with over 100 people still on the waiting list.
Chef Franey was nice enough to take a quick pic with me
Needless to say, I picked one of the busiest nights to volunteer and had to learn fast and move even faster. Having ZERO experience serving food/waiting tables, and with my tendency to trip over my own two feet, I was a nervous wreck from the get-go. And it didn’t help my nerves to have one of FareStart’s top board members sitting at my first table. Luckily Mr. M has a heart of gold and was very patient and encouraging with me. I managed to make it through the night without hurting myself, my guests or causing any physical damage to the property. Whew!
Chef Franey and team created a delightful menu for the guests (volunteers/staff also got to enjoy the spread at the end of the night – the food was phenomenal!):
Amuse Bouche: Pea soup shooter w/ crème fraiche
Starter: Canlis salad (romaine, bacon, Romano cheese, fresh mint, oregano w/ a dressing of lemon, olive oil and coddled egg)
Entrée: Beef tenderloin w/ carrot puree, peas and cumin
Veggie entrée: Risotto w/ black truffle oil, parmesan and mascarpone
Dessert: Vanilla bean crème bruléew/ market fruit
The real highlight of the evening was the graduation ceremony – what a wonderful way to honor the students’ hard work and success in the midst of a large gathering of supporters.
This week's graduate awaits his Certificate of Completion. Congrats!
I had such a great time volunteering, that I look forward to doing it again soon. I definitely have a newfound appreciation for all kitchen staff and servers – you people work your tails off and are not recognized enough! My hats off to you!
My rockstar teammate Nita and I still smiling after a very busy night!
. And if the food, wine and music aren’t enough to entertain you, try your luck at snagging a cutie and 15-minutes of fame at Comcast’s booth where they will be filming their “Dating ON DEMAND” TV segment 
Jenn Davis
