The Chef Dana Paint & Chew Experience
Have you ever been to a Chef Dana dinner? If you attended one, you know that each dinner is different, fun and special. He wrapped up 2017 hosting a Paint & Chew dinner with Tiffany Bradford of Picasso Playdates. This dinner featured a seven course BYOB dinner and an opportunity to paint your own masterpiece. Chef Dana started his introduction and then Ms. Bradford stepped in and showed us her saucy, super enthusiastic personality. You just knew this would be a fun filled experience!
As the event began, we started with our canvases. They were prepared traced with the image of a wine bottle, wine glass, grapes and small opening in the wall. Our paint was given to us and it was time to create something beautiful!
The first course was prepared and on it's way out. We were served a puff pastry with cream cheese, oven dried tomato and a vinaigrette. A similar pull pastry was served at a pervious event, but this one had a different spin to it. Another guest and myself were very happy to see this featured. The texture was fluffy, creamy in the middle and the garnish on top gave it a little crunch. Libations were also served during this event. I made sure to indulge on one on two, yummy.
Coming up next was the second course. Chef Dana created a Pear Soup with blueberries, pomegranate seeds and a touch of prosecco. It was also topped with a long whole grain crouton with raisin butter and blue cheese. Honestly, I've never experienced anything like this before. The prosecco added sweetness and the pomegranate seeds were a nice addition. I LOVED it! The only thing missing were four more bowls with my name on it, haha! This was different and I enjoyed every spoonful of it. On to the third course. We were served a pumpkin salad with cranberries, apples, candied pumpkin seeds and gruyere cheese. The dressing was an apple cider vinaigrette. The ingredients all blended perfectly together. It was a mildly sweet salad and the apple cider vinaigrette gave it a nice balance.
The fourth course was a sweet and savory dish, something that Chef Dana is known for. Served was chicken and cornbread. The chicken was made with a funnel cake batter, very tasty. The cornbread had a little corn in it and was topped with mashed potatoes with a sweet garlic gravy. The chicken had a little crisp to it which was great. The funnel cake flavor was also noticeable and delightful. Well done with creating this flavor. I also enjoyed smearing the gravy all around the cornbread. This was a nice taste mixing the sweet cornbread with the savory gravy.
At each dinner hosted by Chef Dana, he usually features a palate cleanser. After serving dishes with so many flavors, he usually likes to clear our palates before tasting more flavorful dishes. We relaxed and chatted amongst each other while enjoying a refreshing lemon sorbet (fifth course). We mingled and enjoyed the energy that Tiffany was giving us as we continued to paint the night away.
And now, we have the sixth course! We were presented with a pasta dish. This consisted of oven roasted sweet potato, carrots, collards, sweet vidalia onions, barbecue chicken, shrimp and a hint of jalepeno. O....M....G....everything from the shrimp down to the sweet potatoes, this course made me very happy. If you weren't stuffed already, then you were definitely full after this one!
Now it was time for the seventh and last course. By now, I wasn't sure if I could finish anything else! Every Chef Dana Experience isn't complete without serving a dessert. Lastly, we were served a vanilla panna cotta with grapefruit citrus compote, made with oranges, lemons and cinnamon stick. The molding was very cute and the creamy, vanilla flavor and texture composed well. Each dessert by Chef Dana has never let me down. I was full by now, but I made sure to clean my plate before the night was over!
This was one of many enjoyable, belly busting events I've attend by Chef Dana Hubert. If I had to pick a favorite course, it would be a tie between the Pear Soup and the Panna Cotta. Each dish had its own twist, but those two really stood out to me. Thank you Tiffany Bradford for assisting with our paintings and making sure we had a lively experienceI And thank you so much Chef Dana for another successful dinner event! I will be looking forward to whatever you have planned in the future!
For more information on Tiffany Bradford and Picasso Playdates, follow www.instagram.com/artbytiffany_picassoplaydates and for more information on Chef Dana and future events, please follow him at www.instagram.com/dessertsbydana and check out www.dessertsbydana.com
