James Beard Dinner at Third Coast delivers

Culinary stars from around the country gathered at Third Coast Restaurant in the Texas Medical Center on Oct. 11 to prepare a special dinner as part of the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour.  Third Coast Executive Chef Jon Buchanan and his staff hosted the dinner that brought culinary talents from coast to coast to benefit the James Beard Foundation. 

Featured chefs for the dinner were Chef Jon Buchanan ~ Third Coast, Houston; JBF Award Winner Michael Mina (with Chef Jeremy McMillan) ~ Bourbon Steak, PABU, and International Smoke, San Francisco; JBF Award Winner Hugo Ortega (with Chef Ruben Ortega) ~ Backstreet Cafe, Hugo’s, Caracol, and Xochi, Houston; Kevin Gillespie ~ Gunshow and Gamechanger, Atlanta; and Revival, Decatur, GA (people will know him from “Top Chef”); and Mike McKinney (with Chef Jonathan Insetta) ~ Orsay, Jacksonville, FL.

Guests were greeted by a welcome cocktail featuring Tito’s vodka, a national sponsor of the Celebrity Chef Tour, and canape by each of the featured chefs, before sitting down to a seated five-course dinner.

The dinner menu:

1st course

Frisee, roasted beets, truffled beet puree, grana panna cotta and beet powder

Chef Jon Buchanan

2nd course

Sea scallop crudo, house made turmeric buttermilk, radish, basil, dill, trout roe, pumpernickel

Chef Mike McKinney and Chef Jonathan Insetta

3rd course

Apple cider-lacquered pork loin, crispy boudin fritter, creamed collards, pickled crab apples

Chef Kevin Gillespie

4th course

Smoked Korean-style 44 Farms short ribs with sticky rice, kimchi and sesame

Chef Michael Mina and Chef Jeremy McMillan

5th course

El Coco – housemade chocolate coconut shell, coconut buttercream, coconut ganache, coconut streusel and whipped coconut

Chef Hugo Ortega and Chef Ruben Ortega