How on this planet do I even start to explain our fantastic, at-home dinner expertise with the, “oh so well-known at our Tallahassee Foodies group”, Chef Leon? I texted my pals afterwards and stated, “I can not cease smiling”!!
I’m a beginner to this group of pals. They invited me into their properties lately and instructed that we begin getting collectively as soon as a month. I discussed that I used to be joyful to host the subsequent at my place and Chef Leon’s identify instantly got here up in dialog!!! Subsequent factor I do know, I reached out to him and we jumped proper in on the menu planning!
Our night was impressed by my go to to James Beard award winner, restauranteur, and cookbook writer Norman Van Aken’s restaurant in Key West years in the past. I’ve cooked up a number of recipes from his New World Kitchen cookbook, and I’ve been craving his Caribbean impressed dishes for some time now. I knew Chef Leon might deal with a tropical, seafood heavy menu, because of all these years he spent mixing up these worldwide dishes at Kool Beanz!
We Go Again Two Years This Month
I met Chef Leon two years in the past at Kool Beanz once I sat at that service window watching him serve up magic on a plate! I by no means introduce myself anyplace I am going, so I simply loved our dialog, snapped a number of discreet pics when nobody was trying, and transformed all of that into my first ever weblog submit right here at TallahasseeFoodies.com.
The subsequent day, he found the submit linked at our Tallahassee Foodies group, and from then on, he’s been such a sensation at our group, reserving one non-public chef dinner after one other with our members that love him a lot. Posts on the group that includes dinner experiences with Chef Leon get huge engagement (right here, right here, and right here, are a number of amongst many others).
We’ve additionally loved internet hosting FB Watch Events at our group, streaming his dwell cooking courses from his house to ours throughout pandemic.
My Key West Impressed Hostess Extras
As a result of my pals and I’ve NEVER EVER had a flowery in-home chef ready meal, I wished to up the boujee issue to the subsequent degree. Impressed by our Key West theme, I believed it will be enjoyable to have a signature cocktail and a few colourful, tropical flowers for decor, one association for every visitor to take house as a celebration favor.
I had the pleasure of style testing totally different variations of spicy margarita substances all weekend, and I believe I acquired it good (recipe coming quickly)! I made an enormous batch forward of time, so I wouldn’t be squeezing juice all evening and will get pleasure from my firm!
So as to add a bit of colour and tropical aptitude to our night, I enlisted the assistance of Oak Studio Florals. For probably the most half, I’m often on the lookout for causes to buy flowers from her, all the time hoping for joyful events, as a result of her flowers are beautiful, inexpensive, final for SO LONG, and are delivered proper to the doorstep! I requested if she might do 4 mini tropical vases that I might use as a centerpiece table-runner and present to every pal afterwards, and he or she got here by means of with these beautiful preparations.
The Expertise
This chef dinner is one thing EVERYONE ought to expertise at the least as soon as in a lifetime. Or, it’s possible you’ll get spoiled and ebook your subsequent occasion with him instantly, as we did proper there from the dinner desk final evening LOL.
The value per individual varies relying on what number of programs you order, in addition to menu objects requested. We had a seafood heavy meal, and the fee is what we’d pay at most eating places, but we acquired a full on, customized expertise, proper within the consolation and intimate setting of my house.
I knew that Chef Leon would work his magic, however to observe him in motion, is such an exquisite, enjoyable, distinctive second. We had an thrilling front-row view to all of that chopping and plating, and as all the time, we loved our dialog with him a lot!
It’s all in regards to the particulars!!! He introduced every thing he wanted to prep and cook dinner, discovered our dishes, instantly began chilling the bowls for the ahi tuna appetizer, lit the candles that I by no means gentle, provided up a desk facet clarification of every dish, eliminated dishes once we have been completed with every, discovered my to-go soup containers and wrapped everybody’s extras up, and popped it in all within the fridge to maintain it cool!
My kitchen was spotless when Chef Leon arrived, and I’m fairly certain it sparkled much more upon his departure. I had no concept that he would provide up such a full-service expertise. There was completely nothing for me to do when everybody left moreover end my glass of wine, and fall asleep a really joyful woman!
Our Customized Key West Tasting Menu
You understand it’s a tremendous expertise once I’ve gushed about each second and saved one of the best for final… our Key West impressed dinner. I knew precisely what I wished for appetizer and essential, and Chef Leon shocked us with some enjoyable dessert choices.
We began with soften in your mouth wild caught tuna and salmon poke topped with Sriracha mayo, benne seed oil, torched nori, and sesame sticky rice, garnished with a few of these wonderful Legacy Greens (locals supporting locals)! Oh my phrase, even the rice and cucumber was scrumptious! Chef Leon says it’s all the time one of the best praise when the little particulars are price getting enthusiastic about.
Subsequent, we moved on to scratch-made buttermilk biscuits with a tremendous, bursting with taste, tomato jam. I had no thought how I’d really feel a few tomato jam, despite the fact that I picked it as a result of I used to be intrigued, and wow!!!! His mixture of candy, savory, acidic with strawberry vinegar, and a bit of kick of spice was so completely balanced on prime of these flaky buttermilk biscuits. I needed to maintain again and save room for the subsequent couple of programs!
Professional Tip – I had the leftover biscuits the subsequent morning with a few of Marie’s Jam’s and Jellies Blueberry Lavender jam!!!
For our essential, we had an unbelievable Cajun Seafood Pasta, with recent home made fettuccini noodles. As you most likely already know, there’s a huge distinction between recent pasta and retailer purchased, it’s so satisfying and scrumptious. Our pasta was smothered in a wealthy cajun cream sauce, giant gulf shrimp, mussels, scallops and spinach!!! It was actually higher than any restaurant seafood pasta I’ve ever had, and seafood pasta is my factor!!!
Since we couldn’t resolve between the desserts he instructed, we requested each LOL. The blueberry hand pies and Key Lime ice cream have been fantastic, and I took a pic too fast earlier than he added on the little little bit of biscotti mud for crunch. Once we booked the subsequent social gathering, we don’t know what the theme can be, however we let Chef Leon know we’re going to wish extra of that biscotti mud!!
Discover Chef Leon at – Web site, Guide An Occasion, Instagram, and Fb.
