Abandon's Chef's Table: August 2016

It's so crazy to think that our last Chef's Table event was eight months ago! Since then, life has been insane for all of us, and between work and personal schedules, we never got the time to plan and execute another event. Sad face. But, sure enough, after a summer crawfish boil that we all attended, Chef Chanse was itching to get cooking again, and we got August plans together and excitedly mapped out our next ventures for October and November.

This time around, our friends Lauren and Josh kindly offered to open up their home in St. Pete to our guests - Lauren set up three beautiful tables for them to dine at. pH was mixologist for the evening, shaking up Sidecars and muddling mint for his Rum Swizzles.

This Jenn Girl - Chanse's Chef's Table Aug 2016 - 1

Craft Cocktail of the evening: Rum Swizzle

August's Chef's Table event featured an inspiration-themed menu, with dishes that fuel Chef Chanse's passion for cooking along with some family recipes that he loves. Of course, we couldn't start Chef's Table without his seriously addicting special roasted edamame. I'll let the rest of the images explain our delicious seven-course meal from the evening:

Jalapeno and cucumber tuna sashimi atop lotus root crisps | Truffle-orange Japanese scallops atop taro crisps | Red snapper sashimi with black bean sauce atop wonton crisps

Grilled lamb atop pureed eggplant, served with charred romaine and corn salsa

Oven-roasted Key West lobster served with a spicy tamarind fish sauce

Steamed chicken thigh atop rice, wrapped in banana leaves and topped with a ginger sauce and fried chicken skin

And for dessert: Assorted flavor mochi ice cream

It was another wonderful, successful event, with 20 guests total. We all got to explore new food, new flavors and new textures, and as usual, it was a great time connecting with all of our guests over our mutual love for food. What I love most about Abandon’s Chef's Table is that he consistently encourages his guests outside of their comfort zones when it comes to what they're "used" to eating - for instance, this time, he introduced us to medium-rare prepared lobster, which was absolutely delicious.

Don't miss out on our next Chef's Table event - be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and upcoming event dates!