Taste of the Nation 2011

by Steven Doyle

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation is the country’s premier culinary benefit, featuring top chefs, barmen and sommeliers, all of whom come together to donate their time, talent and passion to end childhood hunger in America. 100% of the funds raised last night will go to fight hunger.

There are over 40 such events that take place across the country and last night Dallas had their go at it with Stephan Pyle’s taking the reigns hosting the dinner along with area top chefs in his battle to personally fight hunger. Read on for more about this exciting event.

Chefs participating at event held last evening included Matt Raso from Nobu, Dan Landsberg from Dragonfly, Tim Byres from Smoke, Bruno Davaillon from Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Pat Robertson from Five Sixty, Blythe Beck from Central 214, Scott Gottlich from Bijoux, J Chastain from Second Floor, Scott Romano from Charlie Palmers at the Joule, John Tesar from Commissary, Teiichi Sakurai from Tei An, Randall Copeland from Ava, Samir Dhurandhar from Nick and Sam’s, Eric Dryer and Jill Bates from Fearing’s, Katherine Clapner from Dude, Sweet Chocolate, Graham Dodds from Bolsa, Stephan Pyles from Samar and Stephan Pyles along with his executive chefs, Joel Harrington and Jon Thompson.

Scott Romano and Tim Byres

The event had each of the chefs creating their own menus to serve a table of ten with the exception of Pyles and Sakurai who shared a table of twenty guests. Each table had a totally different concept, décor and of course dishes. Some chefs brought along their own sommeliers who served different wine from the rest of the tables, while Mansion’s Davaillon decided to bring his own seating to elaborate the evening.

The chefs arrived early and cooked fast and furiously in harmony. There is nothing quite like the camaraderie felt in a room when chefs band together.

Jill Bates and Blythe Beck

I was able to be seated at Mansion’s table courtesy of Bruno Davaillon and will share that experience in photos with you, and as a bonus I was able to convince my good friend Farah Fleurima to share and those photos follow my experience:

Davaillon’s first course was this beautiful Avocado Ball filled with Dungeness Crab and Ostera Caviar paired with Reserve Torrontes, Terrazas 2009

Foie Gras Custard, Morels, Asparagus cappuccino, Parmesan, Pistachio Oil paired with Botrytis, Vionier 2009

Grilled Lamb Loin, Roasted Baby Carrots, Eggplant, Mint, Yogurt Sauce paired with King Estate, Pinot Noir 2008

Carmalized Banana, Peanut Streusel, Caramel Custard, Peanut Butter Ice Cream paired with Yalumba, Muscat

Meanwhile, across the room at the Nick and Sam’s table, Samir Dhurandhar and Rodman Shields presented these dishes to their guests. Photos courtesy of the Dallas Diva: