Chef Ferrell Alvarez of Tampa's Rooster & the Till (Photo by Dylan Melcher courtesy Ferrell Alvarez)
For a peek outside our local food bubble, look no further than Brenner Pass Chef Brittanny Anderson’s Chairlift Sunday Night Dinner Series. This Sunday, March 18, she’ll share her kitchen space with 2017 James Beard semifinalist Chef Ferrell Alvarez from Tampa’s Rooster & the Till to prepare a seven-course meal.
Alvarez has been working in kitchens since he was 15, starting out as a dishwasher, before moving to one of Tampa’s landmark restaurants, Mise en Place. Now he's the owner of his own eatery, recently ranked No. 1 by the Tampa Bay Times.
“My cuisine is modern American,” says Alvarez, “but I don’t like labels. I use global influence from India, Asia and Africa to present familiar ingredients in a progressive, surprising way.”
You won’t find a signature dish on his menu — he changes it too frequently for that — but if you head to Tampa right now, you might enjoy his current favorite: a crispy cobia collar served with nuac cham, a sweet and acidic Vietnamese fish sauce.
This weekend Alvarez will be serving some octopus, crusted with chorizo spices and squid-ink black beans as well as some deckle. What is deckle? It’s the cap of the rib-eye, marbled with a thick layer of fat. Some say it’s the tastiest piece of beef you’ll ever try. On Sunday you’ll find it seasoned with Tellicherry black peppercorns and topped with a torchon of foie gras.
Seating for this special event is limited, and it’s unlikely Alvarez will return soon, so grab your tickets now. Back in Tampa, he's working on opening a taqueria and the Nebraska Mini Mart, a permanent space in a large lot with street food plus shuffleboard and bocce ball courts.
