These days, the typical restaurant-goer isn’t just looking for a ho-hum plate to fulfill their need to eat, but more so, an edible experience that will go down in the books as one of their lives’ best.
While multi-course menus speckled with interesting ingredients rank high for those educated and on the high-end eating prowl, what’s become the latest trend in dining out is discovering the next-best location to devour your meal. Is it on the farm? Is it on a rooftop? Is it in a coveted location that only a true “insider” knows about?
After discovering Whole Foods Market Glen Mills’ new Chef’s Table experience, we’d like to add “in the kitchen” to the lineup of most enchanting dining destinations—and, it’s not just any kitchen. Imagine sneaking behind your supermarket’s prepared foods counter, breezing by the fresh bread stand, and prancing past the in-house sushi chef and his fresh fish station as you dare to go behind-the-scenes for a never-before-offered experience.
Here, one step behind the swinging kitchen door, grants you a peek at a rustic table positioned parallel to the high-performance stovetops and grills, set with vintage silverware, fresh flowers and mason jars. For our particular tasting, four seats rounded out the table, but we’re told a maximum of eight individuals are able to join the Chef’s Table party during any given offering.
The magic of the Whole Foods’ Chef’s Table—an opportunity originally developed and available only at their Glen Mills location—is that guests are able to devour first-hand the natural, organic practices that back the local grocery mecca, all while showcasing the true talents of their extensive culinary team.
Our own Chef’s Table encounter unfolded late Feb., with chef Glenn May and six Whole Foods team members dressed in sharp, black chef jackets, busying themselves with dinner preparations as we settled at our seats. Each individual beamed with eagerness, ready to illustrate how they are pushing supermarket boundaries within the Glen Mills’ market.
Kevin Neal, the Associate Team Leader at the Whole Foods’ location, jump-started the affair by presenting us with eye-catching glasses of iced fennel tea—a drink, he suggested, that would be a refreshing way to get us started and tease us for what’s to come.
While, I believe, a cream puff may be the easiest way to allure any diner to fall under your culinary spell, Whole Foods’ bite-sized twist on a salmon canape set the dreamy dinnerscape for the level of talent about to unwind through the evening’s four courses.
Since the once-a-month dinners are aimed to expose high-quality ingredients stocked regularly within the grocery shop, it’s appropriate that the first course highlighted one of the natural foods’ chain’s independent purveyors. Severino, a local, small-batch pasta vendor, not only has an exclusive partnership with Whole Foods, but also have stations within the market, allowing locals to have their pasta cut-to-order on-site. On this particular night, we gobbled up their delicate sheets of agnolotti splashed with pistachio pesto and accented with bits of La Quercia mortadella. It was a glorious introduction to the homemade goods, as a mere bite made addicts out of us.
Soon, we were treated to fork-tender hunks of halibut wrapped in crispy prosciutto and nestled atop a pizza oven-roasted eggplant puree. Through course one and two, it was clear chef Glenn’s creativity was alive and well as he conceptualized the dishes—each aesthetically eye-catching and packing a well-balanced mashing of sweet and savory flavors. The petite salad of blood orange supremes paired with the halibut allowed diners taste buds to complete a full circle of flavors, reassuring us that there was never to be a dull moment at this hidden dinner table.
My love for well-braised pork runs marrow-deep and this rendition of roasted shank will not be forgotten in my personal time capsule of fine-tuned tastes of pig. With a non-traditional gremolata incorporated into the mix aside of hearty dose of oyster mushrooms (to add a bitter component to its savoriness), the beautiful piece of meat was first-rate tender and flavorful to the bone. As for its Parmesan polenta accessory? It was a perfect, texturally contrasting addition.
The common criticisms on any dessert course is that it simply falls short in comparison to the rest of the courses. But, the second we laid our eyes on the finale of slow-roasted honey pears, we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. Their preparation was key, as they were basting with local honey for 2.5 hours, which allowed the simple creation to take on a delicately-sweet, caramelized face—one that left us sailing away, incredibly honored to have encountered such a sharp dining experience nestled away in the kitchen of our own local grocery store.
At the Chef’s Table, the chefs are also the evening’s servers, taking you personally on the one-night-only culinary journey through course-by-course how-tos and kitchen tips as each dish hits the table. “It’s awesome to see what we conceptualized come to fruition,” concluded May. “This is what a chef lives for.”
Another level added to the unique feast was the beverage pairings, which were established by Kevin Jinks, Whole Foods’ expert on all things fermented. An eclectic, international mix of fine wine was introduced through the course of the evening—from Valpolicella 2010 and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2012, to Alasia Moscato d’Asti 2011 and Rocca Delle Macie Chianti 2009. We giddily sipped and sampled, absorbing the sommelier’s great taste as he matched each pour’s nuances seamlessly with the characteristics of the dishes. Without any doubt, each pairing met its match—and, that was even true for the last-minute beer pairings he threw into the dinner’s mix (I confess: I’m more a beer gal than a wine drinker—thanks again Kevin!).
“We want to empower team members to come up and share ideas, and encourage each others’ ideas,” continued John Frei, Whole Foods Glen Mills’ Associate Store Team Leader. “We’d love to get to the point of doing the Chef’s Tables every day.”
“There’s nothing more real than being [and dining] in the kitchen,” concluded the chef.
With chef Glenn May’s closing sentiments we couldn’t have agreed more, reminding us that we will—without a doubt—be back soon to revisit the polished skill sets tending to this particular kitchen.
The premier Chef’s Table will be offered to the public in honor of Whole Foods Market of Glen Mills’ first anniversary, Wed., March 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m. For reservations, email [email protected].
Photographs credited to Nina Lea Photography. View more photos from the Chef’s Table here.
