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Karaoke Meets the Kitchen: Open Chef-A-Me
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Karaoke Meets the Kitchen: Open Chef-A-Me
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Open Chef-A-Me (like "sesame") is an "open mic night for local chefs" dreamed up by IT professional Jesse Middleton, his brother Louis and friends Evan Kaplowitz and Bart Mroz. The concept: The team finds amateur chefs who think they have what it takes to prepare a meal in a real restaurant kitchen, and round up diners who pay a mere $25 to sit for hors d'oeuvres and a three-course dinner.
The idea, says Middleton, was developed in the manner all great ideas are developed � "over four or five Guinnesses apiece" at the Dark Horse. "We were discussing how much we enjoyed karaoke and open mic nights, then we came across the idea of 'Why isn't there a way to do that with the food industry?'" he says. A friend at the Headhouse Square pub put the guys in touch with Langostini at Front and Morris, leading to the birth of the inaugural Chef-A-Me night, scheduled for this coming Monday, March 30. (The restaurant's closed to the public on that night.)
Though it's already sold out, the first chef will be co-founder Mroz, who actually has some pro experience behind the stove: His parents owned a catering company. The native Pole, who runs round3media, will offer fare like a spring green salad, a Polish cauliflower dish with browned butter and breadcrumbs and beef braised in Victory Baltic Thunder Porter (they've secured the Downingtown Brewery as a beverage sponsor).
The frequency of the events will be contingent on the success of Monday's meal, but Middleton says it will most likely be held � at different locations � on a monthly basis. Interested in more details or want to audition for a future Open Chef-A-Me night? Check out openchefame.com or e-mail Middleton at pure@srcasm.com.
We think that it is a great idea and we plan to attend. Maybe it will catch on in Phila. like the BOYB restaurants have here.
On behalf of Langostini Restaurant I would like to thank all of you who helped to create and organize the inaugural Chef-A-Me night and making it a great time! We were very pleased to host this delightful event with such a wonderful group of people at our facility, the food was terrific and the spirit in the room was positive and energetic, people chatted and laughed as they enjoyed the event! Thank everybody for helping with Chef-a-me. I hope that you liked the event as much as we did ! If you have any comments or feedback about the event please feel free to share them with us. All the best for the upcoming Chef-a-ME and hope to see all of you soon at Langostini! cheers, Irene datsko, Langostini restaurant. P.S. If you have taken any photos, please let me know , I would love to upload them on Langostini website: www.langostini.com
[...] Philadelphia CityPaper [...]
So is this basically a nerd-fest get together? Also, the concept of "guest chefs"... in the city of philadelphia, all chefs need to have a ServSafe Certification in order to prepare food or it is a health department violation. Something tells me they won't have these...
[...] first I heard about Open Chef-A-Me, the “kitchen meets karaoke” idea that Drew Lazor told you about in March, I immediately wanted in. What better way to prove one’s cooking (and blogging) [...]
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