One day a Personal Chef had a dream of assembling other Personal Chefs to his home in San Antonio, Texas to gather and cook for each other. The rules were simple for those invited:
You get yourself to San Antonio, TX and the rest would be covered.
There would be accommodations at the homes of generous friends.
The Chefs would decide on the menu and recipes and each would be responsible for one course. Each of the other Chefs would be Sous-Chefs to the others.
We would do the shopping in the morning and do the prepping in the afternoon.
We would gather again in the evening to cook and consume.
The host reserved the right to arrange transportation for any one who might not be able to drive home.
On October 22 the chefs gathered after some last minute cancellations due to hurricanes and illnesses in the family. The number dwindled from 20 to 16 but the event was to proceed. Some Chefs arrived on the 21st as to be ready for the early morning gathering.
And so it began First order of business was a Bloody Mary to set the tone. It was then off to Central Market to get the last of the ingredients that had not been already secured. We needed three kinds of oysters for the Oyster trio. We were able to get Bluepoint from Long Island, Gold Band from local waters and some from Virginia.
Upon return, it was time for another Bloody Mary, little wine and other adult beverages.
There were sauces to make, oysters to shuck, tenderloins to peel and more slicing and dicing. There were wines to pull and notes to prepare. With preparations complete it was time to return to the hosts’ homes to rest and dress in fancy duds.
At the appointed hour, the Chefs gathered for the main event. We had arranged for a small wait-staff to serve and clean up so the evening would be full of food and merriment.
It went off without a hitch. No cabs had to be called and all was well.
