Celebrity chef John Besh will be cooking in Lexington
Celebrity chef John Besh will be in Lexington on Aug. 17 for a fund-raiser for St. Mark Catholic Church. He will prepare a five-course dinner at the home of Jerry and Charlotte Lundergan. Cost is $250 and includes an autographed copy of one of Besh's cookbooks. He is author of My New Orleans and My Family Table, and host of Chef John Besh's New Orleans. Call St. Mark's church at (859) 623-2989.
Bon Virant
Paul Virant, chef/owner of Chicago's Vie and Perennial Virant restaurants, is coming to Louisville to talk about the art of food preservation.
The author of The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking With Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-doux (aigre-doux means sweet-sour; so, sugar and vinegar, or honey and balsamic) will be the guest chef at a seasonal meal in the English Grill at The Brown Hotel on Aug. 9.
Virant will join the hotel's executive chef, Laurent Géroli, for the event. Guests may meet Virant at a reception at 7 p.m. A four-course meal with paired wines will follow. The menu will include a charcuterie platter with chicken-liver mousse on grilled bread with assorted pickles and jams; fried green tomatoes; grilled New York steak with fennel panzanella salad; pickled summer squash salad; and raspberry brown butter cake.
Dinner is $65. The Brown Hotel is at 335 West Broadway. Call (502) 583-1234.
They need your votes
Sweet Blessings, a Lexington non-profit that creates specialty birthday cakes for children ages 5 to 14 facing life-threatening illness or poverty, is one of five finalists in the best new charity category, south division, of the fourth annual Classy Awards, presented by San Diego-based StayClassy Inc.
Another Lexington nonprofit, Surgery on Sunday, is one of five finalists for small charity of the year.
The public may vote online for one non-profit organization per category through July 26. One vote per person, per category, is allowed. To vote, go to Stayclassy.org/classy-awards and click on vote. Woodford Reserve Distillery is offering a series of classes on making culinary cocktails. Guests will learn abut the cocktail flavor wheel, which explains the flavors that go best with Woodford Reserve bourbon, and how to make bitters and infusions. The first class, which will focus on fresh juices, fruits and mixers, will be 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the distillery's visitor center, 7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles. Cost is $50. Call (859) 879-1939 or email Marnie_walters@ b-f.com.
Certified as excellent
Maple Hill Manor in Springfield has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, which honors hospitality excellence. It's given to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. Call (859) 336-3075 or go to Maplehillmanor.com.
More ways to mix it up
Kodiak Cakes' Frontier Flapjack and Waffle mixes are available at Target. They are made with finely ground whole wheat and oat flour, making them milder, mellower and less grainy than other whole-wheat mixes.
The "add-water-only" mixes also contain egg whites, non-fat dried milk and honey, and are high in fiber and protein. They are available in whole-grain buttand honey for $4.99. Go to Kodiakcakes.com for recipes.
This story was originally published July 18, 2012 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Celebrity chef John Besh will be cooking in Lexington."