Tales From an Urban Chef

We were fortunate to be able to host a great Belgian brewery called De Proefbrouwerij. We were excited because not only do they brew great beer, but there is a cool history behind their operations. In 1996 highly regarded brewing engineer and professor, Dirk Naudts, created De Proef Brouwerij in the village of Lochristi, near the historic city of Gent, Belgium. The ultra-scientific brewery blends modern equipment and technologies with traditional brewing methods. Each beer is crafted in an 11 hectolitre (9 U.S. barrel) brewhouse that Michael Jackson once described as “the ultimate toy for the aspiring homebrewer.”

The flexible nature of the brewery enables Naudts to create an impressive range of traditional and not so traditional ales. His ability to design and brew unique products is showcased in the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collection. The beers were wonderful. I was also very happy to showcase some great food pairings as well. Here are some shots from the dinner. I wanted to give a huge thanks to Sonyayu for shooting some spectacular pictures of the event. She made me look good! Take a peek and tell me what you think.

First Course-Free Spirit Farms squash blossom stuffed with a honey laced Laura Chenel goat cheese and an heirloom tomato ragu

Second Course-Scarborough Farms baby frisee, local mache, house-cured bacon vinaigrette, sliced pink lady apples, fresh herbs and house-made croutons

Third Course-Pan seared local halibut, a dungeness crab potato cake, Sausalito Springs watercress salad and an almond caper cause

Fourth Course-Deconstructed Beef Wellington with grass-fed tenderloin, mushroom duxelles, a citrus hollandaise and bull’s blood micro greens

A perfect mid-rare

Fifth Course-Local triple cream Rouge et Noir cheese with Marshall Farms honey, smoked hazelnuts and toasted potato-rosemary bread from Metropolis Baking

Sixth Course-house-made bing cherry chocolate cake with a kriek cherry lambic reduction and a vanilla creme anglaise

Various shots of plating up the dinner