Something exciting is happening next week, especially for those who like to following cooking shows on TV. Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay will be hosting an “An Evening in Culinary Excellence”. This charity dinner will have not one, but two famous chefs that have previously visited the community through the Celebrity Chef Series - Chef Fabio Viviani and Chef Jet Tila. The two chefs will each perform a cooking demonstration for the audience in addition to orchestrating meals for dinner. Chef Tila will be performing a cooking demonstration of Black Cod Misoyaki, Forbidden Rice and Chef Viviani will cook Fresh Egg Pasta. The charity event benefits the Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Guests will be enjoying some of Fabio's wines from his collections, an open bar, and a four course meal directed by the chefs. The meals will be made up of both the chef's recipes and prepared by the Westminster-Canterbury Culinary team under the leadership of Executive Chef Sandra Suria. The team at the retirement community is top-notch and knows how to execute a big meal like this so it's done right. I was very impressed when I had my meal there and am very excited about this one.
After the meal guests will get the opportunity to vote for their favorite entree! Here’s what’s cooking:
Amuse
Arancini with Pancetta (Fabio Viviani recipe)
Petite Salads
Butter Lettuce Salad with pomegranate seeds, apples and shaved celery (Fabio Viviani recipe)
Yuzu Crab and Avocado Salad (Jet Tila recipe)
Duo Entrée (plated separately)
Burrata, blistered tomatoes, pine nuts and marinated beef filet (Fabio Viviani)
Black Cod Misoyaki, Forbidden Rice (Jet Tila)
Dessert
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with tropical fruit (Jet Tila)
Shared Table Dessert Signature Chocolate Lavender Truffle (Westminster-Canterbury Culinary Team)
Though I didn’t get to attend Chef Viviani’s dinner at Westminster a few years ago, I was able to catch Chef Tila when he was here and it was a ton of fun. There was a lot of banter, moving around with tables and of course the food! Auction was held at the end of the demonstration that got a little out-of-hand, but in a good way. The proceeds for that also went to Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Also, if I recall correctly, Chef Tila said something along the lines of taking down Chef Viviani if the the two of them ever met at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay in the future. Looks like that day has come! This should be a lot of fun to watch and I really appreciate being invited to attend.
Here's a little bit about the chefs.
The Le Cordon Bleu trained Chef Tila has been in working in the industry for over 20 years and is famous for Thai and Chinese cooking. Being part Thai and Cantonese he grew up with the two distinct cooking styles and spent a lot of time in his family’s well-known, Los Angeles based restaurant Royal Thai. After committing himself to his work he’s been involved in countless projects around the country and has appeared on several television shows such Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped. He was a contender on Iron Chef going head-to-head with Chef Morimoto – Tila didn’t win but he only lost by two points!
Florence born Chef Fabio Viviani is best known for his run on Bravo's hit reality series Top Chef earning the title of "Fan Favorite". By the time he was 27 he operated 7 restaurants in his hometown and was involved in several other ventures. He moved to California in 2007 opening Café Firenze, and later, Siena Tavern in Chicago, IL. Afterwards he put a few more openings under his belt and even launching his own wine line - Fabio Viviani Wine Collection. Viviani is now a regular on the food entertainment circuits including television appearances, festivals, global food events, and signature cookware.
General admission tickets ($125) include the demonstration and dinner, while the VIP tickets ($250) allow you to attend an early Cocktail Reception an hour before the dinner. Sponser Tables at two different levels Table Sponsor ($2,000) and Silver Sponsor ($1,000) can be purchased too, head over to the site to see the details for each level of benefit associated with the purchase.
The event will be held at 6:30 P.M., October 25, 2016 at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay, 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach.
To purchase your tickets and reserve a seat, follow this LINK or call 877-320-2066.
Sorry Chef Viviani, I have lots of photo of Jet from his visit last year ;)