Bacon Off Orlando 2012

Yesterday we attended the Bacon Off event at the East End Market on Corrine Drive. It was a bit pricey but well worth it, lots of delicious food, great music, beer and people.

It was C&S Brisket Bus vs. Big Wheel Truck to see who could make the best combination of items on one plate using bacon.

The competition plate from Big Wheel was Creamy Bacon Polenta with Big Wheel Provisions Bacon lardon & redeye gravy, Local Berkshire Brown Sugar Bacon, Big Wheel Bacon Dip

The competition plate from C&S Brisket bus was Root Beer marinated pork belly bacon, Bacon Cured Chicken Wing, Bacon Spoon Bread, Bacon Maple Compound Butter, House Made Bacon Jam, Crostini, Arugula, Tomato

Also on hand was Batter Bowl truck serving up bacon brownies!

Here are the pictures

Caja China for cooking the pigs

Delicious Crispy Pork Skins

Pulled Pork

Big Wheel Competition Menu

Big Wheel Competition Plate

C&S Brisket Bus Competition Menu

C&S Brisket Bus Competition Plate

Trophies and Dishes

Food Network UK featuring Orlando Food Trucks

Food Network UK will be taping with the Big Wheel Food Truck today at the Maitland Food Truck Cafe Pod at Lake Lily!

More info via Anjali Fluker BizJournals:
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2012/05/food-network-uk-visits-big-wheel-truck.html

" Big Wheel Truck’s Tony Adams is getting ready for yet another taste of stardom.
Chef Adams, who last November joined two other local mobile eateries on Cooking Channel’s Eat Street TV show, will be filmed by Food Network UK for a show called Street Feasts at the May 23 Maitland Food Truck Cafe food truck gathering. Here’s more details on that event.
Big Wheel Truck plans to highlight its locally grown and produced ingredients and expects the taping to be from about 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
Twisted Cuban and Fish Out of Water food trucks also will be featured on the show. Twisted Cuban was filmed on May 22 at the Tasty Tuesdays pod in downtown Orlando's Milk District. Check back for more details on the sushi food truck.
You can still see reruns of the Orlando food trucks on Eat Street. Check out the schedule for Big Wheel Truck here, Yum Yum Cupcake Truck here and Crooked Spoon here."

Blu

http://www.winterpark.org/content/know-your-neighbor "Opening in Fall 2012 will be a new restaurant, “Blu” On Park Avenue, This steak and seafood house is affiliated with 310 Park South and will focus on specialty martinis and fine wines.  Fresh ingredients will be used for the drink selection, and infused items will be listed as well.  " via Winter Park .org

Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen Winter Park

Went for a private party where we rented out the back room called the Napoleon Room. It fits 12-20 people and had a TV in it and music playing on the speakers, the room also had great decor and art.

Service was outstanding.

Since we had a decent sized group of about 15 our host ordered an array of appetizers for us all to sample. Alligator & shrimp "cheesecake", onion rings, fried pickle slices, French bread, shrimp in a hearty sauce. All these were quite good, I personally liked the huge onion rings with the Remoulade sauce. Many others raved about the cheesecake which despite it's name is not a dessert at all but more like a loaf or casserole. Only bad thing was the cheesecake was kinda hard to slice up and split with people, I personally thought it was good but not great, though most everyone else loved it.

Onion Rings

Shrimp & Alligator Cheesecake Shrimp, alligator meat, three cheeses & Panko bread crumbs.

Shrimp Remoulade Appetizer

Fried Pickles

Crawfish Etouffee

Our server wisely kept the drinks flowing, they had a wide variety of cocktails: Hurricanes, Sazerac, Mint Juleps, and beers served in large heavy chilled thick glass goblets. While drinking my Abita Turbodog, I felt like a medieval king because of the goblet I was drinking it out of.

Drink Menu

For my main course I ordered the shrimp and grits with Andouille and caramelized onions. I love grits but most places don't know how to make them. Tibbys sure does! This dish was spectacular, tons of rich flavor, it had a dark broth pooled around the edges which had a great rich flavor. The Andouille were finely diced and the onions were cooked until soft and glistening but not darkened. Onions which are typically the strongest flavor of a dish were a nice mild light bite which complemented the other bold flavors if the sauce, grits and sausage. The grits were thick and well flavored with cheese. I was very impressed with this dish.

Sautéed shrimp, andouille sausage & sweet onions over cheese grits & finished
with a red wine gravy.

We finished off with Beignets, piled with powdered sugar they were large and pretty good, I had to specifically ask for chicory coffee, which our server should have suggested, but it was the middle of the day so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. I must have chicory coffee to dip my begets in and stir in some of the excess powdered sugar. Make sure you don't laugh or breath too heavy while eating your Beignets or you may end up looking like Tony Montana with white powder all over your face.

Beignets

I can't wait to return to Tibby's and try the gumbo, po boys, crawfish pie and everything.

http://www.tibbysneworleanskitchen.com/

Saturday Evening Celebrity Chef Feast at Luma as part of the Florida Film Festival 2012

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a special event at Luma. The Saturday Evening Celebrity Chef Feast at Luma as part of the Florida Film Festival 2012.

"Ever wonder what happens when great chefs cook for one another? Find out at this one-time-only gathering of gastronomical geniuses. Brandon McGlamery, the visionary who created LUMA ON PARK and PRATO, hosts an intimate five-course dinner in his private dining room."

It was held in the private dining room/cellar downstairs in Luma Winter Park. It was a wonderful experience with great conversations, drinks and food. My favorite course was the onion & cauliflower soup with excellent fried onions and olive cream, and the buttery crust of the Gruyère tart. Some of the other attendees raved about the ceviche and the veal sweetbread pot pie.

Chef Brandon and his team prepared all the dishes and the celebrity chefs listed below dined with us.

Frog song farms onion & cauliflower soup
Gruyère tart, pickled-fried onion, olive cream

Yellowfin tuna & red snapper ceviche
rabbit run farms tomato, lemon verbena compressed melon, serrano, hazelnut

spring ramp gnocchetti sardi
Georgia royal red shrimp, guanciale pangrattato, Cortez bottarga

local African pompano
roasted mushrooms, asparagus, eggplant agrodolce, stinging nettle broth

ribeye of wagyu beef
veal sweetbread-beef cheek pot pie, pea shoot purée, golden raisin jam

yogurt panna cotta
king farm blueberries, Thai basil-lime sorbet, cornmeal crumble

Chef bios:

•  

• Brandon McGlamery, Executive Chef at LUMA on Park and Prato, is a graduate of California Culinary Academy and has gained an array of international culinary experiences during his tenure at some of the most prestigious restaurants across the nation. McGlamery has held positions at Stars Restaurant, French Laundry, and Chez Panisse in California; the Ritz-Carlton in Naples; Guy Savoy in Paris; and Bacchanalia in Atlanta. His passion for creating fresh, original, and inspiring cuisine is apparent in every dish he presents at both LUMA and his new restaurant PRATO. McGlamery is dedicated to supporting local farmers, purveyors, and sustainable products. He most recently received an award from the Monterey Bay Aquarium for his support of finding sustainable choices in seafood.

•  

• Jeff Potter

  A science and food geek, Jeff Potter is the author of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food, which the Washington Post called “one of the most useful books on understanding cooking.” He has appeared on NPR, The Today Show, CNN International, Food Network, and the Cooking Channel. Jeff has been featured on television newscasts and radio shows throughout the country, spoken at science festivals both in the United States and overseas, and is a trustee and spokesperson for Awesome Food, part of the Awesome Foundation.
  
  
  
• 

  Chad J. Galiano

  Chad J. Galiano, Chef de Cuisine at Trump International Beach Resort Miami, birth in the culturally rich rural bayou areas of south Louisiana, Bayou Lafourche (which is French for “the fork”), instilled in him—along with a southern/cajun philosophy—an appreciation for all things edible. Seeking to learn more, Chad moved up to Rhode Island to attend Johnson & Wales University and earn a degree in Culinary Arts, followed by a brief return to New Orleans and a longer sojourn to Santa Fe to gain experience with American Southwestern cuisine and a position as sous chef at the St. Francis Hotel where he found an outlet to experiment with new ideas. Chad eventually moved back to New Orleans, continued to work in grand hotels, and married a Taiwanese woman, Shiau-Ming, gaining exposure to an entirely new food culture. Following Hurricane Katrina, Chef Chad was contacted his old friend, Kurtis Jantz, the Executive Chef of the Trump International Beach Resort in Miami, and gained the position of Chef de Cuisine. Chefs Galiano and Jantz felt the synergisitic ambition to boost their food knowledge further and create a contemporary environment for learning. It was during this time that Chad created the blog, Chadzilla (http://chadzilla.typepad.com).
  
  
  
• 

  Martha Hall Foose

  Martha Hall Foose is a daughter of the Mississippi Delta. She apprenticed at California’s famed La Brea Bakery and trained at a world-class French pastry school before opening Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Mississippi. She has also served as a food editor for Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks and the Food Professionals Network in Minneapolis. After all these accomplishments, she returned home to Pluto, her family’s plantation. She has since received the James Beard Award for American Cooking and Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for her first book Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook, which tells the history of the Mississippi Delta and details Foose’s personal journey through life. Martha recently released her new book A Southerly Course: Traveling Foodways Close to Home, her second collection of recipes and vivid stories.
  
  
  
• 

  Gui Alinat

  Gui Alinat is an ACF Certified Executive Chef, food writer, and a culinary instructor at the
  Art Institute and the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy in Tampa Bay. His first book, The Chef’s Répertoire has won a Cordon d’Or International Culinary Award for Best Culinary Literature. He has since published Molecular Cuisine: Twenty Techniques, Forty Recipes and is working on his third culinary book. Born, raised and classically trained as a chef in France, he traveled extensively, working in restaurants around the world to finally settle in Florida. In Tampa Bay, he has catered high-end private events with his own company for the last 12 years. With an exclusive client base, and media recognition, his team became a recognized force in the Tampa Bay culinary scene. Gui regularly contributes to the St. Petersburg Times food section and Creative Loafing’s
  
  
  
• 

  Marcel Vigneron

  Dedicated to gastronomy and honing his skills as a chef, Marcel Vigneron lives to express creativity, personality, and passion through his own style of cuisine, coined “Modern Global.” With his new company, Modern Global Tasting, Marcel brings the future of gastronomy to any themed party, event, or venue. The notorious chef has tantalized audiences with Syfy Network’s Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen and infamous appearances on Bravo’s Top Chef and Top Chef All-Stars. At an age when most chefs are just beginning, Marcel has traveled and cooked throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States in search of both gastronomic experience and world knowledge. After attending the acclaimed Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York, Marcel served as Sous Chef to Dwayne Lipuma at the school’s award-winning Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici. He has also worked around the globe with world-renowned chefs, including Joël Robuchon, Michael Mina, and José Andrés.
  
  

Florida Film Festival opening night party, Luma, Ravenous Pig, White Wolf, Sushi Pop, Black Bean Deli

Tonight is the opening party for the 2012 Florida Film Festival at the Wonderful Enzian Theater. Lots of food and local restauarnts will be on hand serving up tasty eats. 

Central Florida is teeming with culinary all-stars. Enzian and the Florida Film Festival are proud to have some of these top quality local restaurants represented on-site for one delicious night of food, drink, and revelry. 

Food includes: Eden Bar, The Ravenous Pig, White Wolf Cafe, K Restaurant, Black Bean Deli, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Whole Foods Market, and Sushi Pop!  

Your party ticket includes tastes from all the above restaurants,  and..

BeveragesWidmer Hefeweizen, select mixed drinks, select wines, and the following Festival Specialty Cocktails:
Sunshine State
St. Germaine, cranberry juice, homemade lemonade, and fresh squeezed citrus juices, and topped with champagne
Ginger Lemonade
Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka, Canton Ginger liqueur, fresh squeezed lemonade, and topped with a splash of ginger ale
Blueberry Lavender
Stoli Vanilla vodka, Skyy vodka, homemade blueberry lavender syrup, and fresh squeezed lemonade

Entertainment by
The Mud Flappers. 
 

Complimentary Valet Parking

Date:Fri. April 13
Time:
8PM-MID
Location:
Enzian
Party Cost:
$85

I'll be there live tweeting from the event about the dishes served. I highly suggest you attend it's always a good time.  https://twitter.com/#!/EatLocalOrlando

Scott Joseph Pop Up Dinner

Saturday March 24th, 2012 there was a Scott Joseph Pop Up Dinner at Gary's Seafood near downtown Orlando.

The chefs were two James Beard Award nominees, Hari Pulapaka of Cress in Deland (@cressrestaurant) and Henry Salgado( Link) of Spanish River Grill in New Smyrna Beach.

The event was held at Gary's Seafood which is one of the largest providers of seafood to restaurants in Central Florida and around the country. In addition to seafood Gary's is also a purveyor of such specialty items as Kobe beef, Kurobuta pork, truffles, infused salts, vinegars, foie gras, game birds, caviar and gourmet cheeses.

Wines were provided by Vibrant Rioja from Spain. http://us.riojawine.com/en/

Here are write ups and other pictures from the event via Scott Joseph himself (Link) & Tasty Chomps(Link)

Here are my pics:

Left:Daring Downs Wagyu Beef hanging tender, jerk spices, apple wood smoked Vo-Lasalle Farms onion cream, kerala green peppercorns &Parmigiano-Reggiano cookie

Right: Chef Henry: Local Cedar Creek Clam steamed in Sherry tomato water, green Olive-Marcona almond pesto

Chef Henry: "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet" Candied Kurabota pork belly, cider glazed Mote Marine sturgeon with eggs, "Migas Extremadura"

Chef Hari: Florida Gulf Coast Snowy Grouper, Pasture Prime Farms house made Andoullie, sauce Creole, grilled royal trumpets, signature Cress organic Grits

Chef Hari:Stewed Goat with Pappadam, pickled vegetables, carrot, cucumbers, beets, shredded collard greens

Collaborative Savoury Course: Chef Henry:"Surf & Turf" Seared Sea Scallop, kombu salad, sake braised Wagyu beef cheek, caramelized Florida spring onion puree, roasted fingerlings.

Tenderloin of domestic Ostrich, blackberry habanero reduction, parsnip puree, cardamom foam

From Left:Chef Hari, Gary of Gary's Seafood, Rioja Wine Rep Dhane Chesson , Chef Henry, Scott Joseph

If you enjoyed this post or have any questions please leave a comment, nothing is firmly planned for the next pop up but as soon as it is I will post on my blog and twitter about it. Thanks