Legendary Guerilla Dining

The Legends Series. Maybe you have heard of it...maybe not. That is the nature of guerrilla dining...elusive, spontaneous, transient. The Legends Series began in January 2012. The experience was magic. Over the past year and a half I have had the luxury of enjoying each subversive feast with the special designation of a chef's wife. It is a unique perspective...a really beautiful thing watching people indulge and ravage your love's art. These events are unique, because it is one of the few places where Chef and his friends can express their creative genius in a space where anything is possible, free from the menu confines of their restaurants. It is fine art, that can only be experienced in a specific place in time. Unlike a concert where you can buy a recording of the performance, or a gallery opening where you can re-visit the art at your leisure...culinary art is only meant to be experienced in the moment it is placed before you. It is truly existential, ephemeral in that way. A once in a lifetime type of thing.

Here is a montage of some of my favorite shots from the past year of dinners. I don't have any pictures from Legends III because it was housed in a secret private car collection and cameras were not allowed.  Enjoy!

Legends IV : The Florida Theater

Held in January, this feast had a holiday theme. 

It took place on the stage of the historic Florida Theater. 

Chefs were challenged to create dishes that revolved around holiday food. Here is Chef Sam Efron's play on turducken. A roulade of turkey stuffed with chicken mousse and duck confit.

For dessert we moved from the stage to the balcony for a live opera performance. 

It was extraordinary.

Legends V

 This dinner was staged at the Dee-Dot Ranch. It was a collaboration between iconic local artist Jim Draper and his recent Feast of Flowers exhibition. Each menu was a limited edition signed screen print...an original artwork for each guest to take home.

 This was one of my favorite dinners of the series. 

It was one of those nights where there was a spark in the air.

 The entertainment included a modern dance troop that performed in canoes on the water, accompanied by a live cellist.

 I love this shot. It is the chefs working in the barn kitchen. All of the food had to include an ingredient that was sourced from the property by a duo of foragers from Asheville, NC.

Legends 6

In celebration of One Spark, the world's first crowdfunding festival, this dinner was held in a parking garage in Jacksonville's urban core and the entertainment included a rocking DJ and break dance group. I had a series of killer pictures of this event, but alas lost them in a disc burning fiasco. 

The picture above survived. It was of Chef's dish,

Potato Crusted Sable with Creamed Leeks, Benton Ham and Pinot Butter.

It was one of the most amazing things I have ever put in my mouth. And I was not alone in that sentiment. People approached me throughout the evening to tell me that this dish was unforgettable.

Tickets go on sale next for the 2013 Fall Legends Series Dinner.  Go here to learn more: legends

Best of luck. Hope to see you there!