Chef’s Table Dinner at Local Three with Chef Chris Hall and Asparagus and Prosciutto Salad

Earlier this year, our On The Road culinary adventures launched a series of local dinners called The Chef’s Table Dinner Series.  We have had two dinners so far and both have been a great success.

While we enjoy traveling to special destinations with our culinary tours (and we will be doing that again this fall – details are coming soon), we have also decided to create very special evenings for our guests in the Atlanta area and some nearby cities.

Whether they are in restaurants or hosted in homes, these dinners give the participants access to a culinary experience that few have the opportunity to enjoy.  It is a celebration of the chef and people who really enjoy and appreciate exceptional food and wine.

Our first Chef’s Table Dinner was held in April at Local Three Kitchen and Bar in Atlanta, Georgia.  Chef and Managing Partner, Chris Hall, whose resume includes Le Bec Fin (Philadelphia) and Fourth & Swift and Canoe (both in Atlanta), was excited to partner with us on this inaugural event.

Local Three was named Best New Restaurant 2011 by MetroMix Atlanta.  It lives up to its accolades by preparing their dishes with the highest quality of seasonal and local ingredients to create a fresh and delightful meal incorporating innovative southern elements.

Chef Hall created an extraordinary menu for our dinner and paired each of the six courses with a wine appropriately suited to the dish.  One of our guests opted for a beer pairing, which he thoroughly enjoyed as they paired the dishes with craft beers.

Each course throughout the evening was better than the one prior to it.  Just when you thought a dish would not outshine another, the Lamb Sausage followed the Pan Roasted Alaskan Black Cod and we were all captivated by the wonderful flavors of the house-made sausage.

Chef Hall came in as each course was served and gave us a brief description of the dish and why it was paired with the particular wines.  Each course was prepared especially for our evening and while the regular menu at Local Three is excellent, these dishes really showed another level of Chef Hall’s ability.  The courses were plated beautifully and the flavors were outstanding.

The evening ended with a tour of Local Three’s kitchen.  This kitchen is not just any kitchen.  Once home to Joël, this kitchen was custom designed for Chef Joël Robuchan.   This kitchen boasts the country’s longest single contiguous oven in North America.  Manufactured in France, the La Cornue oven measures an unbelievable 62 feet in length.  The kitchen has a total of  approximately 5700 square feet with separate room for dough making, a chocolate table, separate refrigeration with satellite monitors and separate work areas for pots and pans and dish cleanup.  This kitchen is known as one of the most elaborate every constructed.  Of course, the cost of this kitchen may be one of the reasons Restaurant Joël is no longer there and Local Three has taken over this space.

We want to thank Chef Hall for a very special evening.  We hope that you might join us for an upcoming Chef’s Table Dinner in Atlanta or a culinary tour in the fall.  We will be announcing details for both of these events in the near future.

Inspired by the salad we had at our Local Three Dinner, I created a similar dish at home.  Asparagus and Prosciutto Salad is perfect for this time of year.  Beautiful fresh asparagus is still available locally in many parts of the country.  This salad combines fresh baby greens with thinly sliced asparagus, finely chopped hard cooked eggs and prosciutto.  Topped with homemade Parmesan croutons and dressed with a Sherry Vinaigrette, this is a lovely salad to serve with any meal.