Scenes from a collaboration dinner: Please at Pallet23 2.4.2014

Tonight's Please pop-up dinner was not only tasty and inventive, it was especially fun to have a kitchen-side seat to watch talented chefs work together. It was billed as a collaboration dinner between chefs Ryan Santos of Please and Julie Francis of Nectar, and included a couple more talents.

My thanks for a memorable and delicious evening.to (left to right) Dave Taylor, Ryan Santos, Julie Francis, and Amanda (sous-chef and pastry chef at Nectar).

Second Sunday on Main Chef Demos Start Tomorrow!

Squid cooked in ink, blood sausage, black chickpea puree,
black mint, bull's blood greens,

created by Chef Jackson Rouse for Cincinnati's Diner en Noir

Have you been to the Second Sunday on Main Celebrity Chef Demos? I hadn't until last year, and now I can't get enough. This season's May-Oct. series launches tomorrow, with chef Jackson Rouse and beverage dude Rom Wells of The Rookwood in Mt. Adams as featured demo-ers, in a new location this year: the side room of Mr. Pitiful's, at 1323 Vine St. Come watch – and taste – what these talented guys create tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. for FREE! City Cellars will return this year with wine pairings, and there should be some sweet gifts to be raffled off as well. Did I mention this is all FREE?

When I learned about the SSOM Chef Demo series last summer, I couldn't believe it had already been going on for more than five years and I'd just caught wind of it. That was one of several experiences that led me to take this blog (more often its fb page) in the direction of sharing news of under-reported local food events that get me excited, and seek them out myself. In the casual environment of these demos, I had the opportunity to taste the food of some of Cincinnati's top chefs and learn a bit more about them. I talked friends into meeting me for OTR brunches beforehand, explored whatever wacky events were going on in middle of of Main St. (closed to vehicles between 14th and Liberty between noon and 5:00 the second Sunday of each month for this street fair), checked out some businesses and eateries unfamiliar to me, and usually ended up with a StreetPop at their shop on the north end of Main.

Laura Chenault has been the organizer of the SSOM Chef Demos for the last five years, and it was through this series that I met her and learned about her new business, a "flexible event space + urban kitchen" called Pallet23, which has hosted, among other food events, pop-up dinners by Jose Salazar as well as Diner en Noir, organized by Rom Wells and featuring the dish at the top of this post created by Jackson Rouse (wish my photo did better justice to it). Great collaborations!

I hinted on fb that I had an announcement coming up. If you (like my parents) were wondering what the heck I was talking about, here it is. Laura reached out to me for assistance now that she must tend to her new business. Wearing my hat as a Slow Food Cincinnati board member (I'm the Communications Chair), I will be pitching in as a volunteer organizer for this year's Chef Demos, along with friends, Slow Food compadres, and the delightful Cat Amaro of The Birdhaus, which hosts fun out-of-the-box classes with local entrepreneurs of all sorts.

Please join us tomorrow!

Jose Salazar and Mark Bodenstein Doing Pop-Up Dinners at Pallet23

I’ve had my eye on the progress of Pallet23 for a while. This “event space/urban kitchen” in a converted Northside warehouse at 3932 Spring Grove Ave. is set to open Jan. 18 with a private reception 5:30-8:00 followed by an open house. I can’t wait to see all the uses it will be put to!

Its “demo-style” kitchen will be available to chefs, emerging chefs, and local food artisans, says owner Laura Chenault, who also intends for Pallet23 to act as a “hub and platform for the food community.” Laura has organized the Second Sunday on Main Celebrity Chef Demos for the past five summers in OTR and confirms similar events will take place at Pallet23 on weekends. The space is equipped for photo and video shoots and available on flexible “a la carte” rental terms for recipe testings and demos, dinner parties ranging from BYO/potlucks to fully catered events, corporate meetings, off-site brainstorming sessions, art shows, movie screenings, dance parties, benefits, and community outreach. A Springboard business, Pallet23 will also serve as a showcase for other Springboarders Laura has partnered with to bring her business to life.

I’m itching to see the space in person and will bring back pics and more info when I do. Meanwhile, Laura tells me Pallet23 will host a 14 to 24-seat private Sunday Supper Club with targeted invites initially. Jose Salazar, formerly of The Palace and now chef at Abigail Street, will kick off the inaugural Supper Club. Mark Bodenstein, now chef at Nicholson’s, is slated to do the second. Pricing will depend on each chef’s menu, Laura tells me.

Stay tuned for more about this unique Cincinnati business!

P.S. Today is my blogiversary. I had planned what would have been a long-winded post about all the things I’m looking forward to in year #4. But maybe I’ll make good on my resolution to keep things shorter and more newsy. At least sometimes. Big thanks to all who have followed and supported this blog, and to my food-loving friends old and new!