A PubClub.com Report From This Exclusive Dinner Party
If you have not attended ChefDance at the Sundance Film Festival yet, why not?!
Well, maybe because it is one of the hardest tickets to get a hold of during the festival. ChefDance returned to Park City during the Sundance Film Festival for its 16th year of culinary celebration in 2019 and it did not disappoint!
The food extraordinary extravaganza consists of five nights of decadent eats, some of the most skilled celebrity chefs, live performances, prominent films and a “who’s who” guest list. It embraces its theme, “Celebration of Film, Food and Music”. In 2004, ChefDance founders and LA couple Kenny Griswold and Mimi Kim launched the first ChefDance to provide the perfect marriage of fine food and film.
PubClub.com was once again in the middle of the action beneath the snow filled mountains in Park City, Utah for night number 4 of ChefDance at the Sundance Film Festival where Chef Shaun O’Neale, Winner of Master Chef Season 7, was at the helm of the kitchen. A beautiful cocktail hour followed up with sitting down at family style, long tables to share stories and enjoy the evening with filmmakers, people in the entertainment industry and fellow festival goers, but most of all, the anticipation of THE FOOD.
The first course started off with a golden beet salad with goat cheese mousse, spiced pepitas, pickled shallot, squash seed vinaigrette garnished with edible flowers. It was almost too pretty to eat! The creaminess from the goat cheese mousse was to die for and it was paired with a Makers Mark Old Fashioned. And the bartenders were not stingy with the Makers Mark!
The second course was one of the most delicious creations my stomach has ever known, a truffle and mushroom arancini (stuffed rice balls which are coated with bread crumbs and then deep fried) with a spicy Pomodoro, parmesan and some micro basil. Perfect texture and flavor.
I can go home happy now, but no, there is more!
The main course was a bourbon braised short rib with amaretto squash puree, roasted baby root vegetables and a bourbon reduction. You did not need a knife to cut the short rib, it was fall off the bone tender and succulent. (You have a little drool right here!)
Last, but certainly not least, a buttermilk pie was served with pear Chantilly and edible flowers to make you consider just admiring its beauty because of the presentation, but the rich and creamy dessert did not stand a chance. The pairing of red and white Chateau Ste Michelle wines were continually poured throughout the night, never leaving a glass even close to empty.
Plenty of bottles of Proud Water Source water were on every table to keep guests hydrated and pallet ready for the next course.
Live entertainment by Feist, a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist performer did not disappoint and created an atmosphere that was lively and elegant. She even showed off her “yodeling” skills, which thoroughly impressed the crowd.
This Sundance Film Festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1981, is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. The 2019 festival included 112 feature-length films from 33 different countries with 45 first-time filmmakers.
The films that were chosen were selected from a record high of 14,259 submissions. So, you can see how creativity is largely flowing in this eclectic environment with daily film screenings, parties and VIP events.
Celebrities and festival goers duly walking up and down Main St. showing off their most hip “mountain” and winter wear. If you get the chance to go next year, wine and dine or schmooze whoever it might take to get a sought out ticket to ChefDance! It was not only a festival highlight, but a special evening that will provide a memory of a lifetime, especially for the taste buds.
For more information on the Sundance Film Festival, go to, https://www.sundance.org/now. For more information on ChefDance, visit https://www.chefdance.com.
Jennifer Burns Instagram: @JBCookingHost
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