The chef duel held this past January between The Ritz-Carlton’s culinary top guns, executive chef Azhar Mohammad and executive pastry chef Simone Faure, and Salume Beddu’s Ben Poremba and Mark Sanfilippo was a tasty and entertaining affair. The four-course dinner, dubbed “Dining Duels in The Wine Room,” was a friendly competition pitting dishes prepared in a classic cooking style against those prepared in a rustic manner, each using the same set of ingredients. (Classic just barely beat out rustic by diners’ vote, though this was less about winning than it was about enjoying some truly delicious dishes.)
All four chefs are now preparing for round two, with the bell ringing on Saturday, April 2 at 7 p.m. For this bout, the chefs will pit Middle East against Far East, applying the flavors and techniques of those regions to the same batch of ingredients. Round one sold out in a matter of hours for the limited seating event, so hurry up and make your $75 reservation by calling 314.863.6300.
This article appears in March 2011.