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This past Friday night, we hosted our fourth chef’s table event in the beautiful art-deco private dining room at Wright’s in the Arizona Biltmore.

Eleven of us gathered around the table as we all embarked on a journey to experience the fabulous cuisine of Executive Chef Gordon Maybury.

A native Irishman, Chef Gordon joined Wright’s at the Biltmore earlier this year after previous executive chef roles with the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach, Lowes Miami Beach Hotel, the Forbes Five-Star Peninsula in New York, as well as stints at Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Europe.

After Chef Gordon introduced himself to our group, we were all treated to a delightful amuse-bouche and our gastronomic journey began.

Besides all of the wonderful boomer camaraderie, one of the great reasons we enjoy our chef’s table events is the opportunity to expose our palates to taste sensations that are far beyond the ordinary.  And our first course, House-cured Gravlax with Tri-color Beets, Salmon Roe, and Dill Foam, greatly accomplished the task.

Unlike smoked salmon, gravlax is cured in salt, sugar and dill.  When combined with the beets, salmon roe and dill foam, the dish prompted quite a clamoring of oohs and aahs.  Paired with our first course, we also all enjoyed a crisp Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, from Napa Valley.

To get on the email list for our next outing, click the blue box below!

For our second course, we all took pleasure in a piping-hot bowl of Lobster and Shrimp Bisque with Caviar, Brandy, and Crème Fraîche.  With a small dose of spectacle, our servers poured the creamy goodness over the waiting lobster and shrimp in our bowls, and paired it with an oaky Rombauer Chardonnay, Napa Valley.  Yum. Yum. Yum.

As you can see in our photographs above, our main course was Beef Wellington – a Tenderloin, Puff Pastry, Foie Gras, Duxelle, and Hollandaise pair with a delightful full-bodied BR Cohn Cabernet Savignon, North Coast.

Wright’s at the Biltmore Private Dining Room

Not surprisingly, other than a few soft guttural groans of glee, our conversation seemed to pause as our band of boomers relished their first bites of this fabulous beef wellington.  What, with the combination of a perfectly prepared tenderloin with the mushrooms, fois gras, and hollandaise, it was no wonder that silence followed Chef Gordon’s interpretation of this classic beef dish.  Bravo!

Seasonal soufflés are one of the house specialties at Wright’s at the Biltmore, and on this night we reviled in a light and delightful Raspberry Soufflé with coffee and espresso being poured around the room.

As I think you can see, our chef’s table event at Wright’s at the Biltmore was a fabulous night of fun, conversation, and fabulous cuisine.  If you’d like to get on our email list to be notified of our next chef’s table event, just click the blue box

Biltmore Winemaker Dinners

Oh, by the way, if you would like to experience your own chef’s table outing at Wright’s at the Biltmore, the Arizona Biltmore is preparing ten incredible epicurean evenings for the resort’s 24th season of Winemaker Dinners where guests will experience bold, inventive menus paired with specially selected wines from California.

These chic lifestyle events, scheduled monthly from September 12, 2013 through May 1, 2014, will feature a unique, ingredient-centric menu of four-to-six courses created by Arizona Biltmore Executive Gordon Maybury and Chef de Cuisine Bryan Gorton. Each course will be paired with an appropriate wine of the evening’s featured winery. The winemaker or other representative of the winery will participate, talking about the wines, answering questions and spending time with guests.

Link: Wright’s at the Biltmore Winemaker Dinners

Huge thanks to our friends at the Arizona Biltmore, and Chef Gordon for a fabulous event.  We had a blast!

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