ST. PETERSBURG, FLA (Aug 2, 2016) – This fall, in conjunction with The Dalí’s special exhibition Ferran Adria: The Invention of Food, the Museum will host an extraordinary lineup of epicurean experiences. A series of curated “Immersion Dinners” will take place weekly at The Dalí throughout October and November during the exhibition’s run and feature seven innovative chefs from the Tampa Bay region, each with a range of styles and celebrated for unique vision and creativity.
Each dinner will serve as a one-of-a-kind homage to food innovator Adria, widely celebrated for changing the landscape of gastronomy in the same way Salvador Dalí changed art. These exclusive dining events feature singular, chef-inspired menus, and wine pairings provided by Masciarelli Wine Company, designed to immerse guests in the transformative nature of food.
Each weekly event begins with a private gallery viewing of the Ferran Adria exhibition, followed by the exceptional dining experience and live music throughout the evening at the Museum. Tickets are now available at www.TheDali.org/Immersion and are $150 per person; seating is limited.
Presenting chefs include:
- Chef Michael Mina – FarmTable Kitchen
- Tuesday, October 4
Michael Mina’s story is one of two decades of influence, passion and achievement including being inducted into the James Beard Foundation “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage,” named Bon Appetit Chef of the Year, and many more accolades. Mina will kick off The Dalí’s Immersion Dinner series with a multi-sensory dinner inspired by the artful culinary foundation laid by Chef Adria, delighting guests through sight, smell and taste. The menu will include a unique installation of canapes, followed by three seated courses with pairings marrying the flavors of Spain with the freshest Gulf seafood & exotic ingredients from around the globe. Inspired by the theme of ice in several of Chef Adria’s famous El Bulli dishes, Chef Mina will culminate the evening with an immersive dessert display designed to delight and challenge each guest’s palette.
- Chef Jeremy Duclut – Cassis American Brasserie
- Wednesday, October 12
Jeremy Duclut was born in Macon, Burgundy, France. Like most French children, he was inspired by his mother’s and grandmother’s cooking and raised developing his olfactory and gustatory senses while spending most of his spare time in the kitchen. From the age of 3, he knew he wanted to be a chef and started culinary school after Junior High, beginning to cook professionally at age 14. The talented chef and Food Network “Chopped” champion will offer a 12-course wine paired dinner inspired by Dalí’s “Twelve Signs of the Zodiac” lithographs. Each dish represents one of the zodiac prints and was designed through literal interpretation of the prints and the astrological meanings of each sign, and will showcase Chef Duclut’s expertise in French cuisine.
- Chef Tyson Grant – Parkshore Grill
- Wednesday, October 19
A star in the Tampa Bay’s restaurant scene, the widely traveled chef has received numerous accolades, including being named Tampa Bay Magazine’s Best Chef of Tampa Bay three times. Showcasing familiar ingredients in unanticipated ways, Chef Tyson’s Immersion Dinner menu plays with our notions of the unexpected, promising a unique dining experience full of sensory surprises and Adria-inspired challenges to diners’ expectations.
- Chef Greg Baker – The Refinery and Fodder & Shine
- Tuesday, October 25
Chef Baker – six time James Beard Best New Restaurant and Best Chef semifinalist – is a pioneer in the Tampa Bay dining scene. Named as the chef responsible for changing the modern culinary landscape of Tampa Bay by every major media outlet, he is also recognized nationally for his culinary creativity, his local farm support and for resurrecting nearly lost Florida heritage ingredients at his flagship The Refinery and at his newest restaurant Fodder & Shine. Inspired by Adria’s ability to blur the lines between savory and sweet in mid-meal and traditional “dessert” dish placement and the viewpoint that pastry chefs are the true creators, Chef Baker will present a provocative meal in which there will be no entree or dessert, but instead a blurring of traditional roles and placement over several courses.
- Chef Fabrizio Aielli – Sea Salt
- Sunday, November 6
The creative vision of Chef Fabrizio Aielli is on full display in his Venetian Carnival menu, a culinary interpretation of one of the world’s most sophisticated and artistic festivals. The nationally-recognized, award-winning chef is featured in an Adria biography with the quote that Adria is a “wake-up call for every chef in the world.” In a nod to Adria, Chef Aielli’s menu draws from the earth and sea in dishes that reflect centuries of tradition and the latest technology. Guests will journey through a fusion of flavors Chef Aielli calls “Venetian World” cuisine, allowing diners to explore tastes authentic to his native Venice, yet with dashes from faraway culinary palates. Each dish is a revelation of new flavor reflecting the Chef’s open mind and imagination.
- Chef Marty Blitz – Mise En Place
- Wednesday, November 9
A culinary pioneer in the Tampa area, Chef Blitz has drawn widespread acclaim for his innovative American and globally inspired cuisine and his seasonal approach to cooking. From humble beginnings in neighborhood delis to being an apprentice for Master Chef Milos Cihelka at the Golden Mushroom, a distinguished restaurant outside Detroit, Chef Blitz continually seeks inspiration from those around him, absorbing new tastes, ingredients, techniques and skills from the diverse restaurant community. Chef Blitz invites diners to taste a culmination of 30 years of techniques and flavor combinations through seven artful dishes that pay homage to Adria. Land, sea, local, imported, glazed, grilled, pickled… artful dishes that offer a once in a lifetime journey.
- Chef Jeannie Pierola – edison: food + drink lab
- Wednesday, November 16
Four-time James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Pierola is renowned for her imaginative and inventive cuisine at the highly lauded edison: food+drink lab, whose innovative menu has made it one of Tampa’s top foodie destinations. Pierola was the first area chef invited to cook at the renowned James Beard House itself, and has cooked for luminaries such as former President George H. Bush and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Chef Pierola will present a reception and seven-course dinner that challenges diners to open their minds, see with their tongues and taste with their eyes for the grand finale of the Museum’s Immersion Dinner series. Drawing inspiration from Ferran Adria’s culinary mastery, Salvador Dalí’s genius and Sigmund Freud’s clarity, the menu featuring pedigreed indigenous and exotic ingredients, prepared with modern techniques, is designed with culinary subliminal text to heighten the senses and feed the psyche.
In addition to this immersive dinner series, to celebrate the opening of the exhibition, St. Petersburg’s FarmTable Kitchen will host an afternoon Paella Party on September 24. Attendees will have an exclusive opportunity meet Chef Adria and Chef Mina and will enjoy paella stations, a Spanish meat and cheese station, other tapas and unlimited sangria. Tickets are available first to Dalí Museum members for a special member price of $50 now through August 16th; tickets for the public are $60 and available beginning August 17th at TheDali.org/paella.
Furthering this culinary quest, visitors to the Museum throughout the exhibit will have the rare opportunity to taste one of Ferran Adria’s culinary masterpieces. The Museum’s Café Gala will be serving a seafood gazpacho dish created by Adria exclusively for The Dalí. Also in keeping with the theme of the exhibit, Café Gala’s Chef Chuck Bandel trained this summer with Master Chef Paco Pérez at the two-Michelin-star Miramar Restaurant in Girona, Spain to hone his skills for the Café’s Spanish fare.
“Ferran Adria: The Invention of Food” is organized by The Dalí and curated by Dr. William Jeffett, Special Exhibitions Curator of The Dalí; with production assistance from Fundacion Telefonica and elBullifundacion; support from Estrella Damm; and additional support from the Government of Catalonia.
ABOUT THE DALÍ
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to an unparalleled collection of Salvador Dalí art, featuring more than 2,000 works comprising nearly 100 oil paintings; over 100 watercolors and drawings; and 1,300 prints, photographs, sculptures and objets d’art.
The building is itself a work of art, featuring 1,062 triangular-shaped glass panels – the only structure of its kind in North America. Nicknamed The Enigma, it provides an unprecedented view of St. Petersburg’s picturesque waterfront. The Museum has attracted the world’s attention, and among the other distinguished awards it has received, it was listed by AOL Travel News as “one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime.”
The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. For additional information contact 727-823-3767 or visit TheDali.org.
MEDIA CONTACT Lorin Konchak Augeri, LAugeri@paradiseadv.com, 954.815.2156