By Susan Schaul
Fri 11/9 – Sun 11/11
Love to cook? Try out new recipes? Discover and savor new flavors? Do you relish the smell, taste and aesthetics of food? Attend the Fabulous Food Show, Fri 11/ 9 – Sun 11/11, at the I-X Center and feast your eyes on chef demonstrations, superior kitchen tools, and signature dishes from the Food Network Celebrity Chefs, local vendors, chefs, and restaurants. The food scene is sizzling in Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland’s Iron Chef Michael Symon along with celebrity chefs Anne Burrell, Mary Ann Esposito, Guy Fieri, Jeff Mauro — the Sandwich King, Sara Moulton, and legendary French master chef Jacques Pepin will be giving on-stage cooking demonstrations. Over 100 live kitchen demos will take place across eight different stages during the three-day food festival. Craft beer tasting and fine wine tasting events are scheduled to help people serve the perfect drinks with their holiday celebrations. New this year, attendees with general admissions tickets have access to chef cooking demonstrations in the theatres.
At the Fabulous Food Show, local foodie/cooking instructor/author Maria Isabella, who recently published In the Kitchen with Cleveland’s Favorite Chefs, will be hosting three 45-minute shows, one each day, featuring two different local chefs cooking their specialties. You can see Chefs Dante Boccuzzi (Dante’s, Ginko, D.C. Pasta Company, and DBA in Akron), Nolan Konkoski (SOHO Kitchen and Bar), Jonathon Bennett (Moxie the Restaurant), Shawn Cline (Hospitality Restaurants), Zack Bruell (Parallax, L’Albatros, Cowell & Hubbard, Chinato), and Ben Bebenroth (Spice of Life Catering company) in action up close and personal as they show you how to tastefully bring ingredients together to serve for last minute entertaining.
Dante Boccuzzi, a native Clevelander, has recently been named one of the top five culinary talents in the next generation of American chefs by The Robb Report. Boccuzzi said he worked in kitchens across the United States and Europe. In California, he served as the personal chef for Robert DeNiro and his family, and cooked on movie sets where DeNiro was the star and producer.
“Being a chef is a demanding job,” said Boccuzi. “I think about food preparation at my four restaurants from when I wake up throughout the day, and then I sometimes dream about cooking too.” Each restaurant has its specialty — linguine carbonara with truffles and sushi push-ups, “like a push-up popsicle only made with sushi instead.” He said the Cleveland food scene has been growing and he is excited to be part of it.
Nolan Konkoski’s restaurant, SOHO, located in the shadow of the West Side Market, captures Southern-style comfort cuisine including shrimp and grits, and barbeque, Cajun, and Creole dishes. “In the past five years, the food scene has exploded in Cleveland,” said Konkoski “Not only a variety of top quality menu offerings, but also the dining clientele is discerning and appreciates fine food.”
“Hospitality Restaurants is the parent company for Blue Point Grille, Delmonico’s, Cabin Club, Salmon Dave’s, Rosewood Grill, and the Thirsty Parrot,” said the corporate executive chef, Shawn Cline. The company, serving Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs, started in 1991 and now employs 350 people. “Cleveland, a great city to cook in, has its own character and has received more national attention. Talented chefs are working here showcasing their love of the city,” he added.
Adjacent to the Fabulous Food Show, be sure to check out the By Hand Fine Art and Craft Fair featuring more than 200 local and national artists. For more information, visit http://ClevelandByHand.com.
For more information about the Fabulous Food Show, tickets, chefs, location, and schedules of events, please visit http://FabulousFoodShow.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul, who says the act of writing is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge lies in getting the pieces to fit together and make sense.
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