Mark your culinary calendar for a few events that benefit good causes and a couple that are just for fun. Read on and start looking for your winter stretchy pants!
To help raise funds for its efforts to support local women in the culinary and hospitality fields, the Nashville chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier is hosting its first Chicken & Champagne picnic at Bloomsbury Farm at 9398 Del Thomas Road in Smyrna. The event will take place Sunday, Nov. 5, from 1 until 3 p.m.
Les Dames have assembled a remarkable array of cooking talent to prepare picnic baskets for two people, filled with four pieces of fried chicken plus seasonal side dishes, bread, dessert and bubbles. Here’s the murderers' row of culinary talent who will be filling those baskets:
Wendy French Barrett, Wise Butter
Maneet Chauhan, Chauhan Ale & Masala House
Tamara Kelly, Prince’s Hot Chicken
Charlotte Miller, Yay Yay’s
Deb Paquette, Etch and Etc.
Beth Sachan, Goo Goo Cluster
Jennifer Sheets, Frothy Monkey
Lisa Marie White, Biscuit Love
Tickets for the dinner for two are $150 and include an insulated canvas bag to carry your bounty home, or you’re invited to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs to enjoy the meal on the lawn while listening to music from Lemmings. Cocktail pairings will also be available for purchase if you plan to dine in ... well, out. Reserve your basket at the event website.
Big Table is another local organization that does wonderful work providing aid to hospitality workers who might be going through tough times. To help stock their coffers to provide even more aid, Big Table is hosting a fundraiser they’re calling Eats Around the World at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs on Monday, Nov. 6, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The dinner will take attendees on a culinary tour of two renowned dining destinations, Thailand and Spain, with dishes prepared by local chefs. In addition to the exotic cuisine, the evening will feature wine and dessert, live music and both silent and live auctions. Tickets are selling fast for $100 apiece, so get yours soon.
Thistle Farms is yet another fantastic Nashville nonprofit that provides compassionate care to victims of domestic abuse, trafficking and prostitution, and they have a fundraiser planned for Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Café at Thistle Farms at 5122 Charlotte Ave. Their A Place at the Table dinner will feature a multicourse meal prepared by master chef and generally all-around-awesome person Margot McCormack of Margot Cafe & Bar, accompanied by chef Donna Dozier of Thistle Farms. The beverage team at Common Ground will craft mocktails to pair with the dinner, starting with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6.
Get your tickets at Thistle Farms’ website.
We at the Scene are always up for supporting worthy local nonprofits, but we’re better at the party side, so Tenn Green has been selected as the beneficiary of the upcoming Bacon & Barrel evening of indulgence at the Loveless Barn on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m.
Your $55 ticket includes unlimited samples of bacon-themed treats from restaurants around town, along with a complimentary angioplasty. (Just kidding about that part.) You'll actually receive up to 15 whiskey samples from regional distilleries along with the chance to enjoy live music and beer, wine and cocktails available for purchase from the bar. Get your tickets to the trough at the event website.
Â
Finally, if you haven’t had a chance to visit Frankies 925 Spuntino yet, well, join the club. But I am looking forward to checking out the first expansion outside of New York for the legendary Brooklyn pizzeria. If you need more convincing (other than Jack Silverman’s BON writer’s pick), on Wednesday, Nov. 15, Rome-based author and Italian culinary expert Katie Parla will appear at the restaurant to share stories from her new book Food of the Italian Islands.
This stop on her book tour will feature a spritz bar and Italian spuntino (snacks to you and me) prepared by the Frankies kitchen using recipes from Parla’s book. The entire evening will feel like a trip to the islands off Italy as guests sip on aperitivos and nibble on small bites while mingling with the author. The $75 ticket includes a signed copy of the new cookbook, and you can score yours on Resy.
