Les Dames d’Escoffier Cleveland is hosting “SummerDine”

         Enjoy an excellent meal at one of the Cleveland Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s SummerDine fundraiser’s participating restaurants while helping to raise money for scholarships and other good works.

            The Cleveland chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, which represents women in the food-service industry, is hosting a citywide culinary celebration on Aug. 16.

            Les Dames “SummerDine” is actually one big dinner party. Fine Northeast Ohio restaurants have agreed to donate one table for two to 10 diners for dinner on the same night, 6 p.m., in a unique location in their establishment.  The evening’s menu will consist of four to five courses that reflect each establishment, paired with two glasses of wine, or two signature cocktails.  Participating restaurants are Fire Food and Drink, Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, and Spice Kitchen and Bar.

            SummerDine supports an organization that includes Northeast Ohio’s top women in the culinary and hospitality industries: fine food and wine experts, and artists of the table; entrepreneurs; key influencers and journalists. With your help, these women will be able to continue funding their Green Table Initiatives grant programs, and to support other women in the culinary industry through scholarships.

            Past beneficiaries include: the “Take Charge and Learn Food” program at the Coit Road Farmers’ Market; the Case Western Reserve University farm; Veggie U; the Countryside Conservancy Farmers’ Market Jr. Chef Program; and the Tremont Urban Learning Garden.

            SummerDine tickets, priced at $75 each, are sold directly through the Les Dames d’Escoffier Cleveland website at www.cleveland.ldei.org, under events. Payment can be made on the site through PayPal. Les Dames is handling all reservations and payment confirmation.

            For additional information, contact Paula Hershman, owner of Storehouse Tea, at paula@storehousetea.com or 216-406-9139.

Margaritaville in the Flats is set to open on July 11

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant is set to open in Cleveland's Flats district on July 11.

The 498-seat restaurant and rooftop bar with 153 outside seats and 345 seats indoors will hold a soft opening on July 3. A grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony and Margarita toast is slated for July 11 at 10 a.m.

"We are ecstatic to bring the rocking Margaritaville lifestyle to Cleveland," David Crabtree, president of International Meal Company U.S. said. "Margaritaville is all about treating yourself to great food and drinks while enjoying great music and escaping reality."

In addition to frozen boat drinks, house-made Margaritas and cold LandShark Lager, the Margaritaville menu includes Cheeseburger in Paradise, buttermilk fried chicken, LandShark battered fish and chips, Asian salad and Volcano nachos.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will by hosted by Sirius XM's Radio Margaritaville DJ JD Spradin. Margaritaville and International Meal Company executives will participate in the ceremony, which is not open to the public. The restaurant and bar will open immediately after the ceremony. Soloist Island Troy will perform from noon to 4 p.m., followed by the Collage band from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Margaritaville will be open from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Margaritaville Cleveland will be operated by IMCMV Holdings, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Brazilian listed company IMC Alimentacao S.A. International Meal Company owns and operates Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville throughout the United States.

Ohio's Chef's Garden plays a part in Bocuse d'Or win

Team USA brought home their first ever gold medal at the 2017 Bocuse d"or competition in Lyon, France.

Culinary teams gathered from around the globe for the 30th anniversary of the cooking competition on Jan. 25. The USA team was led by Head Chef Matthew Peters and Commis Chef Harrison Turone, both from Thomas Keller's Per Se restaurant in New York City. Their winning dishes included their interpretation of chicken and crayfish plus, for the first time, a vegetal dish containing vegetables and fruits, legumes and grains. The Chef's Garden, a family farm in Huron, OH, provided the products for the team during their practice sessions and the competition in France. Team USA visited the farm during a fundraiser in July and hand-selected the products that were custom-grown for their plate designs.

"I'm not sure I can begin to express my pride of the extraordinarily talented and hardworking Team USA," Lee Jones of The Chef's Garden said. "They are an inspiration to all of us at The Chef's Garden and the Culinary Vegetable Institute, as well as to aspiring chefs and farmers everywhere, and we are honored o have played a supporting role in their journey. I also want to thank Chefs Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Jerome Bocuse for their strong leadership and I hope everyone can fully appreciate the importance of this win, of the United States being recognized as the best in the world."

Every other year, 60 countries choose their best chefs to represent their teams. Twenty-four countries make the finals, where they cook for five hours and d35 minutes. Team USA has participated in Bocuse d"or since 1987. Prior to 2015, when they placed second, they had never placed  higher than sixth.