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Brittanny Anderson and Chef Ferrell Alvarez of Rooster & the Till in Tampa at a ChefsFeed Indie Week event. (Photo provided by ChefsFeed Indie Week).
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Radish and baby leeks with chicken liver mousse and rye--a collab dish between Chef Brittany Anderson and Chef Aaron Hoskins (formerly of Comfort, Secco Wine Bar and Rogue) in NYC at the ChefsFeed Indie week event last year (Photo provided by ChefsFeed Indie Week).
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Group of women chefs from ChefsFeed Indie Week event in Houston in January (Photo provided by ChefsFeed Indie Week).
RVA get ready to shine — Brenner Pass will host ChefsFeed Indie Week, the national traveling dinner series featuring culinary talent from across the country, Aug. 23 to 26. It's sort of the equivalent of a very cool adult chef summer camp that allows visitors.
Chefs from coast to coast — six from Richmond, five Michelin Star chefs, three 2018 James Beard Best New Chefs and two Top Chef contestants included — will gather here.
These chefs from Seattle to San Francisco, from New Orleans to Houston, will participate in four days of communal cooking, comaraderie, and an exploration of the city.
Richmond is the smallest host city to date, chosen because of its deeply-rooted culinary heritage, a bounty of farms and local purveyors, a growing food scene, and close proximity to the James River and Atlantic Ocean.
Brenner Pass chef/co-owner Brittanny Anderson has participated in three ChefsFeed Indie Weeks (Houston, New Orleans, New York), but this is her first time hosting. When Anderson opened Brenner Pass in June of last year, she told ChefsFeed Indie Week organizer Grover Smith that she finally had a space large enough to host the event. Smith was on board.
“I had heard about Richmond, but Brittanny really pushed me,” says Smith. “I spent 36 hours [in Richmond] and had a great time. It had a familiar feel that felt like Austin 20 years ago. It’s not a big city but transitioning and had proximity to great products. I’m thrilled to do it there.”
ChefsFeed Indie Week launched in 2013. Smith had worked in restaurants in Houston for years and noticed flaws in the restaurant scene and at large food festivals; struggling independent chefs and restaurateurs were trying to boost their recognition using social media platforms like Twitter, while the same chefs were being recycled and making appearances at the big, marquee festivals, on TV shows and in the news.
Smith knew talent was going unrecognized.
“The goal was to find people striving to be the next big name but catch them before they are and help them through the infantile stage of their career,” says Smith.
Smith also knew that traditional food festival was restrictive and not an ideal environment for chefs to exhibit their talent. “It's backbreaking work and [chefs] have to pay for it,” says Smith about many festivals.
“We wanted to shine light or provide a platform for chefs to get publicity and attention to their craft, and create an event geared more toward a dining-room style and representative of food you make in restaurants.”
Twenty-four chefs are broken into two groups during the first two nights of ChefsFeed Indie Week, which guests can attend with a ticket. Each evening 12 different chefs prepare a course, unaware of what the others chefs are cooking.
“The coolest thing to me is how diverse the chefs are,” says Anderson. “Normally when you do a dinner people are chosen because the style may fit or makes sense, but this is everyone making different food, and you get to try different styles of cooking.”
Following a double dose of cooking, the chefs ditch their knives to hit the town and experience Richmond. The host is in charge of planning an itinerary for the visiting chefs. Anderson says a trip to the Merroir Tasting Room at Rappahannock Oyster Farm, a crab boil at ChildSavers Overlook, as well as visiting breweries and The Jasper, make the list.
The event not only highlights the talent of chefs throughout the country but establishes a relaxed setting and culture where chefs can connect with one another, and the host city — an escape from home, an opportunity to meet new people, and a framework that drives education and a renewed culinary outlook.
“This environment isn’t about competition. It’s about collaboration, learning, and fostering relationships and this community of different markets.” says Smith.
Anderson believes the promotion of learning and bonding between fellow chefs create a stand-out event.
“I’ve made some of my closest friends through ChefsFeed Indie Week, and I get most excited for the people that cook food that isn’t like mine because it’s an opportunity to learn,” says Anderson. “Every time I do Indie I come out with new techniques and knowledge.That is really fun for me. We’ll talk about business stuff and learn things from people you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.”
Anderson will curate a list of her favorite purveyors to share with the chefs, but the emphasis is on seasonal products from the area — crabs, tomatoes, corn and other summer ingredients.
Sunday, the last evening of the event, the 24 chefs are broken into pairs to collaborate on a dish for the final 12 courses — a grand finale. Each night VIP ticket-holders have the opportunity to arrive one hour prior to the dinner and delve into an interactive dining experience. These guests can roam the restaurant and kitchen to watch the culinary journey unfold. Asking questions is encouraged. Sixteen tickets are allotted for VIP diners at the counter where courses are plated.
“It’s nice when they [diners] can come and watch and guests realize were people working really hard to make something beautiful and they can see that passion,” says Anderson. “Hospitality at the end of the day is not about me or the food, it’s about [the guest] here to eat and I want to feed you and have this be an experience for both of us and the more interaction the better.”
Other Richmond chefs include Olivia Wilson of Brenner Pass, Adam Hall of Saison, Randall Doetzer of Nota Bene and Shola Walker of Mahogany Sweets with one more to be announced.
Click here for more information and list of participating chefs. Early-bird tickets are $150 and VIP $195, plus tax and service charge for Thursday, August 23 and Friday August 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Sunday, August 26 at 7 p.m. are $185 and VIP $225, plus tax and service charge. Each dinner will feature wine pairings.
