Epicurean Theatre1207 S Howard Ave., TampaWhile the famed Epicurean Hotel doesn’t have any upcoming cooking classes on its calendar right now, its theatre space and demonstration kitchen is an ideal place to attend a fancy cooking class. The foodie-focused hotel brings chefs from Tampa and beyond to teach their preferred cuisines and methods, in addition to hosting Feeding Tampa Bay’s “Epic Chef” competition series each summer. The next event at the Epicurean Theatre is local chef and culinary instructor Erik Young’s annual “Voodoo Chef Experience”—an indulgent, ticketed dinner that benefits his charitable foundation. The Voodoo Chef Foundation aims to “promote education for students who aspire to have careers in the Foodservice & Hospitality Industry.” Credit: EpicureanHotel / Facebook

The Epicurean is known for its fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge, annual Epic Chef competition and a variety of specialty, ticketed dinners.

Next month, Berns Steak House-owned hotel at 1207 S Howard Ave. in South Tampa, hosts two installments of its Feast of the 7 Fishes dinner, Executive Chef Jon Atanacio’s interpretation of the Catholic-based, Italian-American Christmas tradition.

The dinners happen on Thursday, Dec. 7 and 14 from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. The first rendition features Spanish-inspired cuisine while the second leans into its Italian roots.

Chef Atanacio says that he has celebrated this holiday tradition in his Puerto Rican household for several years, and will utilize both Spanish and Carribean flavors in his 7 coursed-dinner, which will include dishes like red snapper ceviche, charred octopus, Key West pink shrimp mofongo and bacalao-crusted mahi mahi. Dec. 7’s dinner will also celebrate Chef de Cuisine Andrea Paulino’s Mexican heritage.

The modern Italian dinner happening on Dec. 14 will feature shrimp-stuffed calamari putanessca, lobster agnolotti with caviar and bay leaf-infused mascarpone, bay scallops with truffled gnocchi and braised conch carpaccio complete with preserved lemon, fennel, pine nuts and white anchovy.

Tickets to both Feast of the 7 Fishes dinners—which also include wine pairings—run for $250 each and can be purchased directly on epicureanhotel.com. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.