Maneet Chauhan
You may have heard of Made South, the Franklin-based family business that strives to support Southern craftspeople and purveyors at events like the Holiday Market at The Factory at Franklin, but they also arrange some pretty special dining events. Chris Thomas is the mastermind behind these events, and he has partnered with chef Maneet Chauhan and Thomas Tuggle, the executive chef at 1799 Kitchen at The Harpeth Hotel in Franklin to put together a series of Sunday Suppers featuring some pretty remarkable guest chefs.
I was fortunate enough to attend the first Sunday Supper of the year last week with guest chef Ed Lee from Louisville, and I’m here to tell you that it was a fantastic meal! For one thing, the event started at 5 p.m., a very sane time for a Sunday night. Secondly, the free parking garage in downtown Franklin is just a block from The Harpeth, so that’s one more irritant eliminated.
The evening began with a convivial reception in the Harpeth’s shady open patio/atrium in the middle of the building. Guests were treated to beer poured from a precious little truck with a tap system on the edge of the patio plus signature cocktails carried on trays by servers. The variety of hors d'oeuvres created by the participating chefs served as the meal's first course. Chauhan’s lobster mango gol guppa with caviar and saffron crème fraîche was a particularly decadent and delicious treat.
After the reception, guests entered the main ballroom and sat around a huge table, encouraging interaction with strangers who might become friends. After a brief introduction of the chefs and the participating charity One Generation Away, the courses started to come out, beautifully plated and perfectly timed along with the appropriate wine and cocktail pairings. Chef Chauhan shined again with a peach “naanzanella” chaat with purple hull peas, charred corn, yogurt, chickpea boondi pearls and a green tomato chutney. If you have a friend who won’t eat salads, this dish could definitely convert them!
Chef Tuggle contributed a lovely octopus carpaccio, prepared as a terrine and sliced thin. Served with tart gooseberries, herbs and a surprising squid ink “crackling” that looked and ate like crispy ebony farro, it was enough to make me consider schlepping out to Franklin again for dinner at 1799.
Ed Lee took the wheel for the last two courses, and he brought his A game to the party. A perfectly cooked rib-eye was served kalbi-style under a delicious sauce that had guests clamoring to buy it by the bottle. The bourbon-miso butter concoction nicely complemented accompaniments of cucumber kimchi, grilled mushrooms and eggplant.
For dessert, Lee created a whiskey cake that used ingredients to mimic the signature flavors you’d find in a fine bourbon: butterscotch, cocoa, corn and maple syrup. For the essence of smoke from the charred barrels, the cake was served with a last-minute shot from a smoking gun and covered up with a coaster to hold in the aroma. Gimmicky, but fun.
As wonderful as the Ed Lee dinner was, the two Sunday suppers coming up are even more exciting. Birmingham’s legendary chef Frank Stitt will be joining Chauhan and Tuggle in the kitchen for the Sept. 18 Sunday Supper. Stitt’s flagship Highlands Bar & Grill was named the Outstanding Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation in 2018, and the standing joke for years was that it was the best restaurant in Atlanta since so many people made the pilgrimage west on I-20 to eat there. Stitt is also the proprietor of Bottega, Bottega Café and Chez Fonfon in Birmingham.
Then on Dec. 4, chef Katie Button of Cúrate of Asheville will be the guest for the third and final Sunday Supper. Button has been a finalist for Best Chef Southeast at the Beard Awards and her restaurant and team won the Beard for Outstanding Hospitality this year. Her takes on Spanish tapas are playful, delicious and artistically plated, so she’s been a long-time favorite of mine.
Both of these dinners will sell out, so grab your place at the table soon!
Made South is also organizing another event coming up soon, the Southern Whiskey Society on Saturday, Aug. 6, at The Factory at Franklin from 6-9 p.m. Ten chefs from across the region will be preparing the eats while guests sample whiskeys from dozens of distilleries. Ticket purchasers will also have the opportunity to buy a bottle from a quartet of SWS Private Selection Whiskeys. The SWS has chosen specific barrels from Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, Leiper’s Fork and Rare Character, so this will be the only opportunity to get in on these singular selections.
Buy your tickets for the SWS event at the Made South website.
