Many of Utah’s best chefs will be cooking up a storm at this fundraiser

Second Chance Dance

August 26th, 6.00 – 9.00 p.m.

First on your agenda for August should be this fun food fundraiser, over at the new Millcreek Commons. Why? The roster of chefs on display is about as strong as it gets. Each of the restaurants represented will be competing to win, hoping to secure nods from both judges and attendees alike. The chefs will each be tasked with creating a small plate using “rescued food”. The full line-up of names is as follows:

Edison House – Buzz Wiley
Finca – Phelix Gardner
Franklin Ave – Matt Crandall
Grand America – Fernando Soberanis and Tomas Olvera
Saffron Valley – Lavanya Mahate
Table X – Mike Blocher
Urban Hill – Nick Zocco (pictured top)

All proceeds support Waste Less Solutions – a local organization whose primary activity is to reduce food waste –  rescuing edible food from commercial settings, and delivering it into the hands of the food insecure. Alongside the small plates there will also be wine, beer, and NA options from Vive Juicery – all included in the price of admission organizers tell me. Held in the ‘The Grandview’ at MC there’ll also be a DJ and silent auction too.

If all that wasn’t enough, I’ll be there as one of the judges; so if you ever wanted the opportunity to air grievances, or clink glasses (hopefully the latter) – now’s your chance. Tickets are priced $85 before July 31st, rising to $100 thereafter. Purchase them online here.

Proper Brewing

August 9th, 6.00 p.m.

Vegan fine wine Friday is the title for this event at the Main Street brewer. Local wine brokers Vine Lore will be pouring, alongside a menu stacked with locally grown produce. The three-course menu is as follows:

• Greenhouse salad, spiralized zucchini, pistachio, charred tomato, crispy sage
  • Nanit Orange Macabeo 
• Aubergine “parmesan” fried eggplant, Panko, vegan mozzarella, basil, tomato
  • Chapoutier Bila-Haut Rouge
• Peaches and cream, golden sugared peaches, strawberries, vanilla mousse
  • Florensac Poisson PicPoul

The meal is priced $25 for food and $25 for wine pairings.

Franck’s

The Cottonwood fine-dining goto has two events next month, one with local distiller Holystone, and a second later in the month with DAUO Vineyards. Here’s the info on both:

August 12th, 6.00 p.m.

First up this five-course dinner paired with product from Holystone Distilling:

• Caputo’s burrito, golden raisin-mustard, compressed grapes, brown butter radish, butter fried brioche, Burgundy vinegar, herbs
  • Holystone Perla Vodka
• Banana miso charred scarlet snapper, jasmine rice salad, tamari sauce au beurre noir, peanut and banana XO, cilantro
  • Cocktail: Holystone shochu, fresh strawberry juice cordial, St. Germaine, lemon
• Heirloom carrot, ras el hanout fermented carrot vinaigrette, carrot top absinthe aromatics chimichurri, candied walnut dukkah, chilled fennel scented yellowfin
  • Cocktail: absinthe mojito Holystone absinthe, simple syrup, mint, lime, topo chico
• Apple brandy, heritage pork ribeye, apple cider labneh, pork poached apple, grilled zucchini, burnt onion jam, shallot cider jus
  • Cocktail: brandy old fashioned Holystone Normandy apple brandy, bitters, simple syrup
• Honey vanilla bean cake with lavender buttercream, honey-infused blackberry, crystalized lavender, flake salt, honeycomb tuille/vanilla bean cultured cream
  • Cocktail: cerula sling Holystone cerula gin, Cointreau, amaro, pineapple juice

The cost is $130 per person, or $110 without drink pairings.

August 25th, 6.00 p.m.

If wine is more your thing, later in the month, the restaurant will put out this five-course menu, this time around with wines from DAOU:

• Watermelon plank, rose-watermelon leche de tigre, salt-cured olive, prosciutto XO, St Andre triple cream cheese, aromatic herbs
  • DAOU Rose
• Unilateral seared amberjack/
  vanilla bean & black tea beurre, hazelnut “charcoal”, umami leeks, red onion condiment, honey cured amberjack tartare
  • DAOU Reserved Chardonnay
• Charred fatty Niman pork ribs, blackberry truffle glaze, Utah oyster mushroom salad, fermented blackberry, spruce tip chili crunch
  • DAOU Bodyguard
• 118 degree imperial wagyu beef rump cap, many roots, wagyu fat espresso jus, root top chimichurri, aerated savory carrot cake, gorgonzola dulce
  • DAOU Reserve Cabernet
• Chocolate cherry mille-feuille, cured Utah cherries, tobacco & vanilla cream
  • DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon Soul of a Lion

The cost is $130 per person, or $110 without drink pairings.

Other useful links

• Free newsletter – signup and receive our weekly newsletter for free
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• Best of SLC 2024 – what you can’t miss in the Beehive right now.

Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.