The Star Chef Series gives us the opportunity to turn over our kitchen to our colleagues and friends, to share ideas, and to appreciate what some of our favorite chefs are working on. It is a refreshing experience to collaborate with others in the food community in order to create great menus for each event. However, the best reward from these dinners is sharing an evening of delicious food and wine with you!

Our first 2014 Star Chef dinner was held on March 24th, 2014. We were honored to welcome Chef Evan Mallet, Owner and Chef of Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This was his fifth appearance at Gracie’s as part of our Star Chef Series. In 2011, and again this year, Evan was named as a James Beard semi-finalist for Best Chef, Northeast. He is actively involved in the food community, and sits on the boards of Chefs Collaborative, Slow Food Seacoast, and the Heirloom Harvest Project, an initiative to join farmers, chefs and educators to identify and restore a food system native to the Greater New Hampshire Seacoast. Here is the menu from Chef Evan Mallet’s dinner:

Passed Hors d’ oeuvres

bay scallop, tomato vinegar, candy cap mushroom oil

potato sausage, creme fraiche, mustard caviar

ricotta cheese cornets, soft herbs, honey

chermoula chicken kebab, fresh coriander, harissa ketchup

Menu

cauliflower tempura, tahini aioli, green chickpea vinaigrette, Lebanese mint

berbere bison tartare, pickled quail egg, watercress, rooibos onion jam

golden tilefish, wild things broth, lardons, sorrel risotto, morel conserva

Intermezzo

bee balm, walnut bitters?

warm terrine of socca and lamb sugo, roasted peppers, black olive, absinthe tomato cream

fried avocado ice cream, banana flan, toasted coconut, cashew cheese

Our next Star Chef Series dinner will be on Monday, June 9, 2014 at 6 p.m. Chef Michael Ginor, of Lola, in Great Neck, New York will join us for this five-course dinner, paired with wine from The Savory Grape. Chef Ginor has won numerous awards, including the 1996 Award for Excellence from the James Beard Foundation. We hope you will join us for a wonderful evening of food, wine, and friendship. For reservations, contact Keira at keira@graciesprov.com, or call Gracie’s at (401) 272-7811.

The post Gracie’s Star Chef Series first appeared on Gracie's Providence.

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Melissa Denmark

April 15, 2014 marks a special day for us here at Gracie’s and Ellie’s. Our friend and pastry chef, Melissa Denmark, will be honored as a Rising Star in the Coastal New England culinary scene. She is one of 32 people to receive this award from the online culinary magazine, Star Chefs.

Who are the rising stars? They are a group of culinary professionals who represent the forefront of American cuisine. Creativity, ambition, presentation and, most important, delicious food or drink, is the hallmark of a StarChefs’ Rising Star.

Here is what they have to say about Melissa:

“For Melissa Denmark, pastry wasn’t so much a career choice, as it was a biological imperative from a young age—baking is in her bones. Now, as a bonafide pastry chef at Gracie’s in Providence, she leaves no resource untapped in a constant search for flavor, product, and ideas. Ambitious and focused, she takes broad concepts like romance or common ingredients, like the bay leaf, and conceives singular composed dishes. But all Denmark’s desserts share a common bond: they have it all.

 

No matter the technique or profile she’s highlighting, every plate is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, smooth, spongy, crunchy, creamy. Even Denmark’s “sweet” has subtle variation: savory-sweet, tart-sweet, rich-sweet. And if her work at Gracie’s—a restaurant synonymous with Providence—wasn’t enough, she has spearheaded the bread and pastry program at Ellie’s Bakery, making Denmark’s food an imperative in Providence.”

White Yam Custard, Brown Butter Shortbread, Pomegranate, Crème Fraîche Ice Cream, and Sorrel

The winners of the Rising Star award have strong, compelling culinary philosophies, and are committed to building a culinary community by sharing their knowledge with fellow professionals. They are the future of American cuisine.

We are thrilled, honored, and grateful to have Melissa working with us. Congratulations Melissa! You deserve it!

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