by Steven Doyle photos by Robert Bostick
The hottest ticket in town last night was definitely the Chefs for Farmers Oyster Bash which took place at the Dallas Farmers Market in Shed One among plenty of farmers, and a smattering of chefs. A few hot restaurants like Knife, TJ’s Seafood Market, The Grape, Stock and Barrel and Gemma represented as wine flowed and revelers danced and paraded through the big Shed as they enjoyed grilled oysters, oyster stew, a clam bake and even seafood stew loaded with plenty of seafaring critters prepared by host Matt McCallister.
Iris McCallister is definitely one of the city’s most gifted event coordinators, and certainly prepared a wonderful evening. The idea actually sprang from the thoughtful mind of Michael Martensen, co-owner of both Driftwood and Proof and Pantry, each known for the oyster prowess.
Although the city of Dallas frowned upon the notion of serving hundreds of raw oysters, the chefs stepped up with the cooked versions that were extremely pleasing.
Chefs for Farmer’s mission is modest: to highlight some of the area’s best chefs and raise awareness for local farmers and artisans through a series of composed events. What started out as an intimate, long table dinner on a farm has transformed into a casual, outdoor food, wine and spirits festival. Stay tuned for information on their annual gala event.
Check out what we saw last night.
Matt McCallister and Jimmy Contreras
The Tesar crew
Trina Nishimura and Brian McCullough
TJ’s Thai Char Broiled Oysters
The Mav’s Drumers
Sarah Snow and Brian Luscher from the Grape
Jon Alexis and Rare Edible’s owner Borz Azarian at the TJ’s booth
The Gemma plate with grilled oyster and grassfed beef tartare was the judges favorite
