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My First Pop Up Restaurant w/pics!

nonkeyman

By nonkeyman
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nonkeyman

nonkeyman

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I recently did a pop up restaurant for 80 people I didn't know. Below are the pictures from the event. I also put a small bit of my speech before the menu went out...

 

 

Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

Here is an abridged version of my speech..

 

 

"When I graduated high school, I did a similar dinner for 8 people. I just graduated college and now I am doing a dinner for 80"

 

I paused...

 

"I guess when I get my PhD, I will have to do a dinner for 800"

 

I believe I got a sympathetic laugh out of the quick "jokish".

 

"The menu I prepared has a little bit from everywhere I have been, it has memories from school and memories from restaurants.The first course came from an organic chemistry class. I learned about the concept of chirality(I won't go into the details :)..unless you want me too.I am sure there are plenty of people on this forum much smarter than me who can actually explain this beyond my limited scope).

 

The second course is because I love pasta and I love soup. They go great on any menu and most people love soup! The brodo comes from Cafe Juanita, where I learned about this funky liquid. It somehow tastes good and smells funky at the same time. Combined with the nutty flavor you get from caramelized cauliflower and the brightness from the fennel salad. It just wakes up the mouth.

 

For the third course, it is kind of an homage to the first course I was put in charge of at the Herbfarm. It was a celery root tart with seafood on top. I actually kind of hated the course. Not because of the flavors, but because I felt I could never execute it perfectly. The crust was always too soggy, or the filling was too shallow.

 

 

So I made it my own. I love panna cotta, and I think it goes great in savory dishes. This allows for a custard to be made without baking and keeps the celery root flavor cleaner (there is no egg, which always muddied the flavor). Then, I placed seafood and crispy potato chips to add texture.

 

Fourth course is comprised of one of my favorite fish, bone marrow and some seared picked vegetables(I would have preferred grilled  picked vegetables..try it some time!). Why is Black code my favorite fish?? Black Cod is great because it has a subtle fishy flavor, and it allows itself to be a canvas to other flavors. Combined with the dill, pickled vegetables and bone marrow it comes alive

 

Finally, dessert! Well, when it comes down to it, I love gelato as the star of desserts. Not just a side to your cake, or pie. Nope, I like it as the focal point. For tonight it is Black Sesame with some toasted chocolate and Douglas fir granita"

 

 

 

 

 

asparagus and anchovies.jpg

 

 

 

Asparagus Salad, Anchovies, Mint, Lemon Balm and Rye Caraway Bread

 

 

 

 

chicken brodo caramalized cauliflower ravioli.jpg

 

Chicken Brodo, Caramelized Cauliflower and Fennel Salad

 

 

celery root panna cotta.jpg

 

Celery Root Panna Cotta, Clams, Sea Beans, Goose Tongue and Potato Chips(I should have had this cut smaller..it looks way to bulky...I wish it was 1/3 the width)

 

black cod with carrot.jpg

 

 

Seared Black Cod, Emulsified Bone Marrow, Grilled Pickled Veg and Dill

 

 

black sesame gelato.jpg

 

Black Sesame Gelato, Douglas Fir Granita, Toasted Chocolate, Coco Nib Sable and edible flowers

 

 

 

PIC EDITING THANKS TO @dcarch ! Thank you.

 

Here were the score from the 80 people...yup they scored it..If you feel like reading about how this came about. Feel free to check it out! My First Pop Up Restaurant

 

 

website.PNG

 

 

 

The Menu

 

Dinner menu pop up restaurant.PNG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by nonkeyman (log)
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SusieQ

SusieQ

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Your seared black cod dish looks especially interesting to me. My favorite black cod is the Japanese kasuzuke preparation -- love that crispy skin and the unctuousness of the fish! Was your black cod skin crispy? I can't tell from the photo. Thanks for answering. Also congratulations -- that's quite an achievement!

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nonkeyman

nonkeyman

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2 minutes ago, SusieQ said:

Your seared black cod dish looks especially interesting to me. My favorite black cod is the Japanese kasuzuke preparation -- love that crispy skin and the unctuousness of the fish! Was your black cod skin crispy? I can't tell from the photo. Thanks for answering. Also congratulations -- that's quite an achievement!

Yup! That is one of the reasons I picked it! I love crispy fish skin..I know some people don't like fish skin. I often think it is because they always cook it skin side up first...

 

It is a great fish! and Thank you!

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chromedome

chromedome

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I gather from your preamble that the diners were your academic peers?

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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nonkeyman

nonkeyman

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8 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

Congratulations! Your menu was very creative.

Thank you! I took a lot from places I had worked, or dishes from my past. So some of them were pieces of My Sunday Projects, like the toasted chocolate and black sesame gelato, other things were dishes that I made in ways I thought were better.

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Anna N

Anna N

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8 hours ago, nonkeyman said:

Thank you! I took a lot from places I had worked, or dishes from my past. So some of them were pieces of My Sunday Projects, like the toasted chocolate and black sesame gelato, other things were dishes that I made in ways I thought were better.

I like the concept of Sunday Projects.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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gfweb

gfweb

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Nice. Very nice.

 

I always have thought about doing this sort of thing...with no intention whatsoever of doing it.  Xmas dinner is big enough!

 

So what did you charge and how did you promote it?

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nonkeyman

nonkeyman

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47 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Nice. Very nice.

 

I always have thought about doing this sort of thing...with no intention whatsoever of doing it.  Xmas dinner is big enough!

 

So what did you charge and how did you promote it?

Luckily the logistics was handled by the company who requested I do the dinner. My main job was to come up with the menu and execute.

 

We charged $85, and the promotion was handled by the company. They already had a list of people who they knew would most likely want to come.

 

I have been wanting to do this again, and trying to handle all the details is hectic.

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pastrygirl

pastrygirl

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10 hours ago, nonkeyman said:

Luckily the logistics was handled by the company who requested I do the dinner. My main job was to come up with the menu and execute.

 

We charged $85, and the promotion was handled by the company. They already had a list of people who they knew would most likely want to come.

 

I have been wanting to do this again, and trying to handle all the details is hectic.

 

Was it Dinner Lab?  I though they shut down ...

 

 

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dcarch

dcarch

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On 12/9/2016 at 0:07 AM, nonkeyman said:

 

 

asparagus anchovies caraway.jpg

 

 

celery root panna cotta seafood.jpg

 

roasted fish and pickled vegetables bone marrow.jpg

 

black sesame gelato.jpg

 

 

 

Actually the pictures are not doing justice. With permission from OP, I made the pictures lighter.

 

Great food and wonderful plating.

Also, I think those plates are not simple plates, they are pressed palm leaves, very recyclable. Goes to show good thinking to details.

 

dcarch

584a3cc80d592_roastedfishandpickledvegetablesbonemarrow.jpg.90475f56d9b78ac739531391071adbb3 a.jpg584a3cc6e03e7_celeryrootpannacottaseafood.jpg.be6a99d6ea520ce5277e5207cc2ef9c2 a.jpg584a3cc8973f8_blacksesamegelato.jpg.439d65b6fc90c3ed3131b46dae361475 b.jpg584a3c9bd4f88_asparagusanchoviescaraway.jpg.d41584417e7970f65917045f1c9a177c a.jpg

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Anna N

Anna N

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Nice photo enhancement.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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nonkeyman

nonkeyman

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3 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

Actually the pictures are not doing justice. With permission from OP, I made the pictures lighter.

 

Great food and wonderful plating.

Also, I think those plates are not simple plates, they are pressed palm leaves, very recyclable. Goes to show good thinking to details.

 

dcarch

584a3cc80d592_roastedfishandpickledvegetablesbonemarrow.jpg.90475f56d9b78ac739531391071adbb3 a.jpg584a3cc6e03e7_celeryrootpannacottaseafood.jpg.be6a99d6ea520ce5277e5207cc2ef9c2 a.jpg584a3cc8973f8_blacksesamegelato.jpg.439d65b6fc90c3ed3131b46dae361475 b.jpg584a3c9bd4f88_asparagusanchoviescaraway.jpg.d41584417e7970f65917045f1c9a177c a.jpg

Thank you! Those look great. I will switch them out either today or tomorrow!

 

Yup those plates are made of bamboo...it was great because it made clean up easy. it was all compost.

"Sense Of Urgency" -Thomas Keller

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