A few months ago, a friend, Chez Pascal bartender Deb Hickey, knowing that I loved to cook, suggested I prepare a meal for some friends with perhaps a few courses (for experience, excitement, and risk) and a suggested donation to cover the cost. Instantly enamored by the possibility of cooking a high-stakes, all-out meal, I immediately began hashing out the menu and test-running dishes. This past Sunday, the idea came to fruition, thanks to my brother as pastry chef and a former chef (Nate Kelly) overseeing it all.

The meal, titled “Tasting”, sprung from my personal love of cooking. Looking for a way to share my passion, the opportunity to cook a multi-course meal fit the bill. Cooking the volume of courses for the volume of people proved challenging, while still hugely rewarding. One highlight of the meal was the drink; wines were thoughtfully paired with each course by Deb and provided by local Campus Fine Wines. Keegan Bonds-Harmon, a local young artist, provided the menu’s stunning artwork. The delivery of the meal involved lots of hard work, including devoting the entire weekend to the final 3 hour dinner. But, based on the overwhelming positive feedback as well as the pleasure we received from the meal’s creation, we’re hoping to do it again in the near future… For now, a view behind the scenes of what was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner. Click here for the evening’s menu, including wine pairings.

Keegan’s stunning menu artwork.

 Deb’s wine selection.

A layered vegetable terrine.

The first course, plated at the pass.

Seafood salad is garnished with chickpeas and chives.

Rich, brown-butter roasted carrots are glazed with butter and plated with crispy sage leaves, carrot pureé, and a sage pesto.

Duck breast is carved.

The finished duck plate.

Pork tenderloin sitting in a beefy-cider sauce.

Pastry chef Dylan Itkin scoops cake batter into molds for the final course.

Chefs at work.