CUAISR ITNE
7TH ANNUAL
CHEFS’ SHOWCASE
Movie-themed Dining
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Photography by Noraa
T his year’s 7th annual Chefs’
Showcase raised funds
for the Children’s Home
Network of Tampa Bay
and the Clearwater Community
Volunteers. The Hollywood moviethemed
dinner began with an Alice
in Wonderland-inspired amusebouche
of tuna carpaccio with buzz
buttons, wild flowers, yuzu aioli,
fresh kimchi and micro cilantro by
Chef Robert Shirley of downtown
Clearwater’s Clear Sky on Cleveland.
It was paired with a Joseph Phelps 2017
Sauvignon Blanc from St. Helena in Napa,
California. Chef Vanessa Marquis selected
a Father of the Bride theme for her California
crab salad with summer melon, avocado
mousse and a lemon-agave vinaigrette
first course, which was matched with a
2017 Pala Stellato. Vanessa’s husband Chef
Rene Marquis, whose movie choice was
Singing in the Rain, wowed diners with
his New England-style fire roasted tomato
soup, which was garnished with grilled
cheese wedges and popcorn and served
with a 2016 Marchesi Antinori Tignanello
from Tuscany.
A lemon, cucumber, mint and grapefruit
champagne sorbet in honor of The Godfather
movie was Maître D’ Giuseppe Signorino’s
creation for the intermezzo, before the
main attraction of Chef Patrick Artz’
homage to The Hundred-Foot Journey. His
sous vide corned beef was accompanied by
braised cabbage, carrots, potato espuma
and freshly baked Irish soda bread. This
was presented with a 2015 L’Edre from
Languedoc-Roussillon in France.
As in previous years, the crescendo was
created by Chefs William Brown and Tim
Brown of William Dean Chocolates in
Belleair Bluffs, who took cues from the
movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
170 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2019
Their individual dessert platters
were filled with seven sweets that
ranged from coconut-kalamansi
gelato to Japanese cheesecake with a
matcha-yuzu bonbon, accompanied
by a 2008 Oremus Tokaji Aszu from
Hungary.
The meal concluded with a cheese
course by Chef Jeff Holland, who
had crafted a trio of white, smoke
and red wine infused cheddars, and
a fried cheese that was served with
honeycomb and maple pecan crackers,
along with a 2016 Avinyo Cava Rosado.
Participating chefs volunteered their
time, including Chef Kevin Maier, who
created an array of breads and flavored
butters, and Chef Zoltan Vajna of the Fort
Harrison, who coordinated the showcase.
A live auction raised additional funds for
the charities. Each course featured a live
musical presentation that was chosen to
correlate with its movie connection. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Chefs’ Showcase was
presented and underwritten by the Church
of Scientology in its historic Fort Harrison’s
10th floor Crystal Ballroom.
The elegant Crystal Ballroom of the historic
Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater was the setting
for this seventh annual Chefs’ Showcase.