Cooking for a Cause

Chef Celebration, benefiting culinary education, serves patrons all month

October is certainly a month of change. Starbucks acquires its new menu with everything “pumpkin” flavored and harvest festivals bring the community outdoors to celebrate, even if there are no leaves to rake. With the weather still too warm to break out my faux Ugg boots from Costco, I was determined to find some other way to kick off this month in style. Chef Celebration, a culinary nonprofit scholarship organization, was beginning its annual five-course dinner at Hillcrest’s Terra restaurant, and that little black dress was just asking to be worn…

On a Wednesday night, my guest and I sauntered across Cleveland Avenue in our new heel, prepared to experience culinary greatness. We waited by the bar in the entrance after announcing our reservations to the hostess, who was surprisingly mature in age in comparison to the college age demographic that typifies the position. She attempted to secure our table after a few minutes by getting the attention of one of the busy servers. We were seated at a table near the center of a dining room occupied by 50- to 60-year-olds. Not quite the scene we had expected, but it was a weeknight. The couple seated next to us were only about a foot away, so we made sure to use our “inside voices.” The menu was a collaboration of culinary creations from a team of local chefs, lending their expertise for five nights of fund-raising. Bernard’O, Pamplemousse Grille, Trattoria Acqua and Thee Bungalow are also among the restaurants to host the dinner.

Waiting patiently for the first course to arrive, we reshaped our elegant basil flan amuse bouche with an eager appetite. Soon the first course was served. Although the presentation was slightly awkward as we worked carefully to avoid colliding our forks into the delicate edges of a glass containing Caprese salad, the flavor was excellent. The presentation of the balsamic vinegar in gelatinous cubes was an exciting discovery as well. A filet of marinated hiramasa paired with green curry was the second course, which I sampled, wishing with every bite that I liked sushi more. This gave my guest the opportunity to “appreciate” both servings. The third course was a tortellini dish stuffed with duck, which I devoured readily in all its fully cooked glory. Open-minded and a bit more full, we progressed to the final meat dish, a slice of beef strip loin, served rare with wilted greens. A few bites was all I could fit as a pink residue began to accumulate on a plate, and I tried to remind myself that it was fashionable to eat nearly raw meat.

The room, which our eyes scaled between bites and conversation, was decorated in the theme of an unidentifiable era — if I were to guess, with an influence from the ’90s. Wooden borders that framed the ceiling boggled my mind and the paintings of brightly colored flowers on the wall behind my guest were an explosion of color that seemed slightly out of place. We both determined that the cuisine and the décor of the restaurant were an odd couple, although it was not a bad experience.

The dinners continue throughout October, on the 14th, 21st and 28th. $65 donation per person, with $35 directly benefiting the nonprofit scholarship fund. For menu information and reservations, visit chefcelebration.org.

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