Anthony Bourdain will be at the ArshtCenter’s magnificent Knight Concert Hall on November 14 and Alton Brown will be live on December 13 with Michelle Bernstein. Each engagement includes an intimate interview about the celebrity chef’s personal culinary journey hosted by one of Miami’s own top chefs, a mouth-watering live cooking demonstration, and a question-and-answer session with the audience. VIP ticket holders will mingle with the Chef and sample food prepared during the demonstration at the VIP party after the show. Tickets from $25-$150. (Giada De Laurentiis has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. Contact the Box Office for refunds).
November 5: Post-Election American Wine Dinner with Winemaker Peter Figge
The FairmontTurnberry Isle, 19999 West Country Club Drive in Aventura, (786) 279-6926.
No matter who wins the United States presidential election, award-winning Executive Chef Hubert Des Marais will celebrate by hosting a five-course American wine-paired dinner in collaboration with renowned California winemaker Peter Figge of Figge Cellars. Menu highlights include autumn mushrooms, Maine lobster, yellow fin tuna, American kobe beef tasting, artisanal blue cheeses, and a warm kona chocolate tart. Event begins with a reception in the chef’s garden at 6 p.m., followed by dinner in a private dining room. $150 per person, includes tax, gratuity and valet parking. Non-refundable. Complimentary valet parking. Advance reservations and payment required.
Miami’s own Chef Jeff McInnis, Contestant on Bravo TV’s TOP CHEF
Jeff got his culinary start at age 15 by cleaning local fish while working on Florida fishing boats and a year later began peeling shrimp, cleaning squid and cutting fish for The Marina Café. Jeff embarked on his professional career as a Sous Chef at Atlanticville Restaurant and Café outside of Charleston, South Carolina while attending school at Johnson & WalesUniversity. He went on to hone his culinary skills as a Sous Chef in San Francisco at Azie, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant, and later served as a Sous Chef at the Five Star Orient Express resort in Virginia where he expanded on his knowledge of French and American cuisines. Returning to his native Florida, Jeff worked directly under Chef Norman Van Aken and then joined The Ritz-Carlton, SouthBeach culinary team. He currently serves as Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club. His recent sabbaticals include traveling to North Africa, Turkey, Italy, and the Greek Isles to discover new techniques which he uses daily at home with Florida ingredients.
MARCO FERRARO IS THE NEW CHEF AT WISH RESTAURANT,SOUTHBEACH
Wish at The Hotel, 801 Collins Avenue, (305) 531-2222 or (305) 674-9474.
Just months from it’s 10th anniversary, chef Marco Ferraro is the new Chef at Wish Restaurant, replacing Michael Bloise. According to Jessica Goldman-Srebnick, co-owner of the restaurant, Marco’s food is elegant without pretension, and he is the right chef to take the restaurant into its second decade. On the menu there are new appetizers ($14-$21) such as gazpacho poured tableside; poached seafood over polenta; foie gras with blueberry compote, wasabi and white chocolate; and Maine lobster ravioli with green peas, pickled radish and cardamon-yuzu foam.
AU PIED DE COCHON SLATED TO OPEN IN JANUARY 2009IN SOUTHBEACH
Au Pied de Cochon, 81 Washington Avenue, 305.674.1844.
Au Pied de Cochon, a Paris-based brasserie near Les Halles since 1947, is slated to open at 81 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach’s SoFi (South of Fifth Street) District in January 2009. Au Pied de Cochon in SouthBeach will be the first location in Florida, and the second in the United States. The 6,000-square foot indoor outdoor restaurant in an Art Deco building on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue, will be open 24 hours, and offer breakfast, lunch and dinner.