Last week, Sea Salt Executive Chef Kenny Tufo kicked off the Museum of Fine Arts summer cooking series, Simmer & Sift. Oysters Rockefeller, black grouper and tricolor cauliflower, and chocolate mousse were on the menu during the downtown St. Pete demonstration and tasting. And the food-driven series, meant to celebrate the state's culinary milestones alongside the MFA's Skyway exhibition, has more where that came from.
Three other Florida chefs are showcasing their culinary chops throughout the season: Lauren Macellaro of The Reading Room (July 26), The Refinery and Fodder & Shine's Greg Baker (Aug. 23), and Norman Van Aken (Sept. 27), who's celebrated for pioneering New World cuisine and the cooking world's idea of fusion food. The James Beard Award-winning chef is set to represent his new Mount Dora restaurant, 1921 by Norman Van Aken, at the MFA.
With tickets up for grabs online, each live demo and tasting is accompanied by a signature cocktail and conversation with the historian, plus a brief Q&A. Chef Macellaro's event also has another discussion planned, in which historian Dr. Gary Mormino will explore the topic of cultivating foods in the Sunshine State.
Admission costs $40 per person for MFA members, while non-members get in for $50.
This article appears in Jul 6-13, 2017.