FT33 and Executive Chef and Owner Matt McCallister invite some of the nation’s most progressive chefs into the FT33 kitchen for a night dedicated to innovation, collaboration, and fantastic food. Kicking off in January 2015 and curated by Matt, one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs 2014 and a James Beard Award Semifinalist: Best Chef Southwest, the FT33 guest chef series knows no bounds. While all dinners will feature an eight-course menus with optional wine pairings, the menus will each capture the distinct essence of Matt and the visiting chef, who collaborate to produce the final product. One of the most notable evenings from the 2014 series featured no electricity, another showcased the food and sounds of a renowned DnB artist.
The guest chef dinners will take place at FT33 on the third Monday of each month. The remainder of the 2015 series will be announced midway through 2015 at a cost of $105 for eight courses, with a wine pairing at $55.
The chef line up looks fun:
Monday, January 19: Chef Ed Lee|610 Magnolia, Milkwood
Monday, February 16: Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich | Rich Table
Monday March 16: Chefs Greg and Gabrielle Denton | Ox
Monday, April 20: Chef Justin Carlisle | Ardent
Monday, May 18: Chef Tim Maslow | ribelle
Monday, June 15: Chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan | [ONE]
Monday, July 20: Chef Matt Accarrino| SPQR
Here are the bios for each of the chefs:
Chef Ed Lee | 610 Magnolia, Milkwood
Edward Lee is Chef/Proprietor of 610 Magnolia, The Wine Studio, and Milkwood, all in Louisville, KY. He is a multiple finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award Best Chef: Southeast. He is the author of the best-selling cookbook, Smoke & Pickles, published by Artisan Books. He appears regularly on television, most recently the chef/host for Season 3 of the Emmy-winning series, Mind of a Chef. His signature small batch bourbon with Jefferson’s Reserve called Chef’s Collaboration Blend has garnered praise from that nation’s top publications. He resides in Louisville, KY and is an avid karaoke singer.
Chefs Evan and Sarah Rich | Rich Table
Rich Table is the first venture as joint restaurant owners for Evan and Sarah Rich. The two met during their tenure at Bouley in New York, and in 2007 set out on a West Coast scouting expedition from Los Angeles to Seattle, encountering culinary sights and deciding where to settle. The two quickly embraced San Francisco as their new home. Evan started straightaway as Chef de Cuisine at Quince, where he expanded his pasta-making and Italian cuisine vernacular, while working closely with Michael Tusk. From Quince, Evan went to Coi, cooking with Daniel Patterson as Chef de Cuisine, and was onboard when the restaurant was awarded its second Michelin star. Sarah acquired a position as Sous Chef at Michael Mina, working closely with Mina himself and Chef de Cuisine Chris L’Hommedieu. Sarah then started at Coi, rounding out her skills both on the hot line and with Pastry Chef Bill Corbett. They then opened Rich Table.
Chefs Greg and Gabrielle Denton | Ox
Born in Schenectady, New York and raised in Rutland, Vermont, Greg knew he wanted to be a chef from age four. He started working in kitchens at age nine. Gabrielle’s passion for food developed at a young age as well, during summers spent in her grandmother’s kitchen in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. Both Greg and Gabrielle graduated from culinary school with honors, Greg in 1996 from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and Gabrielle in 1999 from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Greg and Gabrielle met while working under Chef Hiro Sone at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Terra, in Napa Valley. They both worked their way through the various kitchen stations. Greg eventually became the first titled Chef de Cuisine and Gabrielle, Sous Chef. Together, the two chefs opened Ox Restaurant in April of 2012 in Portland, Oregon.
Chef Justin Carlisle | Ardent
Justin Carlisle grew up on a small beef farm in rural Wisconsin. Food has always played a large part of his life. He has worked in some of the country’s top kitchens with stints at The Greenbrier Resort and Tru Restaurant before becoming Executive Chef at Harvest Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. While he was there, Harvest was rated “Top 20 Restaurants in America” by Organic Magazine, and “Top 8 Farm to Table restaurants” by Bon Appetit. After that, he embarked on a three year tour to expand his knowledge. First, he became the Executive Chef at Restaurant Muramoto and studied Asian cuisine. Next was 43 North where he was nominated for a James Beard Award Best Chef Midwest within three months of opening. He has also worked with the Milk Marketing Board on advertising campaigns and taught culinary class at Madison College. He is now chef/owner of Ardent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which opened in October of 2013 and was a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. Ardent was also named one of the “Top 15 New Restaurants in the Midwest” by Conde Nast Traveler and Chef Carlisle one of the “30 Chefs You Need to Know” by Plate Magazine.
Chef Tim Maslow | ribelle
Tim Maslow’s passion for food started from his hometown of Watertown to Philadelphia and New York and back home again. After attending The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia and earning a certificate from New York’s French Culinary Institute, he kicked off his career with an internship at the original Momofuku Noodle Bar. His previous posts include a total of seven years with the Momofuku restaurant group at both Noodle Bar and Ssäm Bar, James with Chef James Burke in Philadelphia, and Mario Batali’s Del Posto. While interning at Katjisu in New York where he was educated about Shojin cuisine, the vegetarian cooking style still employed today by Buddhist monks in Japan. In April 2011, Maslow returned home to his father’s neighborhood diner, Strip T’s, in Watertown. There, he brought his extensive culinary expertise to the table, running specials and gradually altering the dinner menu to reflect his perspective on and passion for food. Maslow’s smart and inventive dishes quickly gained traction with both diners and critics, earning him recognition as the Improper Bostonian’s “Rising Star,” Boston magazine’s “Best Chef: Up-and-Coming,” and a place on Eater’s “Young Guns” list of the most distinguished restaurant professionals across the country. Most recently, Maslow was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards’ 2013 “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award. In summer 2013, Maslow opened his first restaurant concept, ribelle, to extensive acclaim.
Chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan | [ONE]
Kim and Daniel spent the past ten years traveling and working across the U.S. and abroad at such highly lauded restaurants as Per Se in New York City; The French Laundry in Yountville, CA; Alinea and Tru in Chicago; Mugaritz in San Sebastian; and el bulli in Roses, Spain. Most recently, they worked together on the executive management team at the three Michelin-star Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa, CA, where Kim was executive sous chef and Daniel was sous chef. Both gained valuable knowledge and skills in each place they worked, and their strong personal relationship reinforced their mutual goal of one day leading a restaurant of their own. Since taking the helm at [ONE] restaurant in August 2013, Kim and Daniel have been focused on blending their mastery of classic fine-dining technique with a progressive vision for contemporary American cuisine. The pair first met in 2003, while they were both working at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO.
Chef Matt Accarrino| SPQR
Matthew Accarrino is the nationally recognized chef of SPQR in San Francisco, CA. Born in the Midwest and raised on the east coast, he moved west to California in 2007. His unique culinary style draws inspiration from his Italian heritage, personal experiences, and classical training with some of America’s best chefs, coupled with his embrace of the bounty of opportunities that California ingredients present. With a strong belief in direct sourcing, Accarrino endeavors to play a role in the growing and development of many of his ingredients. The result is an intensely personal cuisine that is both technically polished and soulful; and which has garnered praise from publications such as Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Saveur, San Francisco Chronicle, 7X7 and San Francisco magazine. Under his direction, the restaurant was recognized with a Michelin star in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 guides. Accarrino has been nominated three times by the James Beard Foundation as a semi-finalist for “Best Chef: West.” Food & Wine named him a “Best New Chef” in 2014 and Food & Wine readers named him a “People’s Best Chef California” in 2013. Accarrino co-authored and released his first book, published by Ten Speed Press, SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine, in October 2012.
so excited…just made my reservations for March 16