Chef's Best | Page 2 of 5 | Mass Food & Wine

It’s that time of year again, time to find holiday gifts for everyone on your gift list. We know shopping for some people is easier than shopping for others….but if you have a “foodie” on your list, well that may be the most difficult task of all. Sure you can give gift cards to their favorite restaurant but if you need something a little more unique, we’ve assembled our Great List of Holiday Gift Ideas for the Foodie on your List to help you out. Hope this helps!

As with all our Great List articles, we will concentrate our efforts on locally-owned, Central Massachusetts establishments. We are lucky to have so many local farms, way too many for us to list but our friends at Central Mass Grown lists them by town so take a look at their site for something close to you. Many of these farms are open right through the winter and they have lots of fresh, specialty items that would make wonderful gifts.

Got a BBQ lover on your list? Shop online at Alicia’s Homemade for interesting and tasty barbecue sauces, rubs, seasonings, hot sauces and more. Trust us, one won’t be enough so we suggest to buy a variety, assemble a gift basket of your own and give it as a gift!

Looking for something very unique? The Grafton Country Store, Bolton Orchard, Ed Hyder’s and the St. Joseph’s Abbey Gift Shop all have loads of specialty items that will certainly fit the bill.

Chef’s Best dinners from Mass Foodies is another great gift for someone who enjoys a unique dining experience. This dinner series gives a chef carte blanche to create his or her best dishes without hesitation and serve to an intimate group of diners. Programming at these dinners also includes a Q&A and an open discussion with the chef about their own personal journey within the food industry.

Here are a few more gift ideas in and around Central Massachusetts that the Foodie on your list will certainly appreciate.

Pecorino

Pecorino is filled with food and food related items, wine, cheese and so much more you will have a hard time deciding exactly what to buy. How about the Italian Dinner tote filled with wine, pasta, sauce and a whole lot more? Or a Do-It-Yourself Cheese Making kit….or an organic box of chocolate or cheese slates, utensils, and more.

Lock 50’s Chef Tasting Menu

OK we said let’s go beyond gift cards but believe us, this is way beyond just a gift card. Give the gift of incredible tastes when you purchase a Tasting Menu dinner at Lock 50 for that special Foodie on your list. Available every night, Chef Tim Russo creates a series of ultra-creative dishes, not on the regular menu. The guest does not know in advance what dishes are coming beyond that the experience will progress from starters through main course dishes to dessert. It requires the guest to be confident in the Chef and show a willingness to go beyond their normal eating comfort zone….and it is perfect for the Foodie on your list.

Worcester’s Best Chef

Worcester’s Best Chef is celebrating its 10th year and is an obvious choice for the Foodie on your gift-giving list. They can enjoy samplings from some of the area’s finest Chefs, vote for their favorites and watch an Iron Chef-type cook off at the end of the evening! And this being the 10th anniversary, WBC is bringing back many of the winners of past years for a very special event your Foodie will love!

111 Chop House Wine Dinners

Today wine dinners have become more common and are a nice way for both wine experts and novices to enjoy food, wine and the company of others. 111 Chop House has a series of seasonal wine dinners each featuring the wine of a different vineyard, country or region paired perfectly with a menu developed by their Executive Chef. Awarded Wine Spectator’s prestigious “Award of Excellence” every year since 2001, expect a wine dinner at The Chop to be special. These ticketed events can be purchased in advance and given as a gift to a food loving person on your list.

Chef Steve Champagne introducing the first course at the Chef's Best dinner at Bocado in Wellesley, MA.

Michael Covino, president of Niche Hospitality Group, talking to attendees about each wine pairing during Chef's Best: The Champagne Experience at Bocado in Wellesley, MA — Michael Covino, president of Niche Hospitality Group, talking to attendees about each wine pairing during Chef’s Best: The Champagne Experience at Bocado in Wellesley, MA

Mass Foodies celebrated the fifth installment of their popular Chef’s Best dinner series at Bocado Wellesley. Touted as “The Champagne Experience”, eager guests arrived for an evening of food, fun, and education as Executive Chef Steve Champagne created a unique and flavorful dining experience for his guests.

Bocado Tapas Bar has restaurants in Worcester, ~~Providence~~, and Wellesley and has introduced the concept of tapas dining (small dishes to be shared) to thousands of New England diners each year. In Spain, tapas are a way of life, infusing a sense of home with the social connection so many yearn to create. But for The Champagne Experience, Chef Champagne and his team stepped outside the tapas box, pushed the limits of creativity and delivered a meal his guests will be talking about for a long time.

Pan-Roasted Bacon-Wrapped Short Rib: Charcoal charred celery root purée, mushroom conserve, rioja glaze

Expectations where high and Bocado delivered as the night began with an elegant display of artisan cheeses and charcuterie, assorted pinchos and tapas. From the start, the dishes became a transformative experience, bringing out the Spanish admirer within everyone. As Chef Champagne expressed his passions for foods and inspirations found in the Spanish culture, Michael Covino, President of Niche Hospitality Group, complemented each dish with a perfectly paired glass of vino.

Diverse, eclectic and true to form, the first three courses inspired the palates of each guest, bringing approval with every bite. The Josper Grilled Octopus Salad – a salad of beet carpaccio, parsnip, carrots, micro arugula, lemon and olive oil blended with a sherry balsamic, Maldon salt and crispy shallots – was a light start to the meals. A delicately presented dish with a fresh scent, the Josper Grilled Octopus Salad was served with a glass of La Cana (Albarino) wine.

Kurobuta Pork Loin: Roasted Brussels, buttercup squash, foie gras maple syrup, crumbled house sausage

Diving into the second course, Chef Chamagne’s creative interpretation of a “Spanish Western Omelet” was an easy way to open up the appetite of the room for a savory dish follow-up. Paired with the Muga Rosé from Rioja, Spain, this dish was a great example of the event’s purpose: to blend tastes from Spain and The West. “Rioja, Spain is not seen as a destination for visitors but it is a must if wine is of importance,” said Covino. “The Rose is made from red grapes and a mix of old and new world. While some of the blend is created in oak barrels the other is kept in stainless steel for freshness and youth,” he added.

Lemon Olive Oil Cake: Currata, honey roasted apples, toasted salty caramel

The pork was featured next, with two interpretations of the succulent meat for the third and fourth course. First, a Kurobuta Pork consisting of Berkshire pork, roasted Brussels, buttercup squash, foie gras maple syrup and crumbled host sausage was paired with a glass of El Chaparral – a French influenced wine created by a one-woman wine maker in Spain. This medium red wine is bottled in a Burgundy-style bottle to connect to its French roots, and paired perfectly with the pork. Next, a Roasted Bacon-Wrapped Short Rib served over a charcoal-charred celery root puree, with mushroom conserva, rioja sauce and fried capers was served with a glass of Alonso del Yerro. This wine is bottled along the river, in higher temperatures, giving it a stronger structure, deep red color and incredibly rich and powerful flavors which complemented the rich meaty short rib.

Ending the night was bittersweet but delicious as guests were presented with a Lemon Olive Cake lined with honey roasted apples, salted caramel sauce, and burrata cheese.

The tour of Spain presented by Chef Champagne lasted only three hours, but will not be easily forgotten by the folks that attended. At the hands of Chef Champagne, the event truly embodied the concept of Chef’s Best, encouraging Chef Champagne to go beyond the Bocado brand and create dishes he considers his best.