Phoenix Public Market

Travis Timmons, 38, came from Chandler to Tuesday evening’s demonstration. As a former cook, Timmons said he liked “getting to know the chef personally, where his influences come from and the stories behind why he cooks things that way.” – Downtown Devil

Chef Matt Taylor

Phoenix Public Market brought in Matt Taylor from Noca in Phoenix for their popular Winter Chef series to put on a cooking demonstration for us. I love these types of events as not only do you get to eat some amazing food, but you get to know the chef behind the food. They like to share some tips on cooking and some fun kitchen stories.

Matt Taylor has worked with four James Beard award-winning chefs and comes from the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. He’s a pretty young chef and brings a Southern style cuisine to Noca. I enjoyed both his personality and his cooking style. I loved the risotto and the beignets were delicious and paired well with the dessert wine.

Carolina Rice Grits Risotto

Here was the menu for the night:

1st Course: Bacon Chowder (celery, crispy potatoes, lardons); paired with Oak Creek Nut Brown Ale. 2nd Course: Carolina Gold Rice Grit Risotto (golden beets, black garlic, baby fennel, parmesan cream); paired with Keeling Schaefer Grenache. 3rd Course: Granny Smith Apple Beignets (bourbon & maple syrup); paired with Rancho Rossa Shadow.

Bacon Chowder

Granny Smith Apple Beignets

Downtown Devil wrote an article on this fun event (one I was interviewed for). You can check it out here

photo by Madeline Pado