Who doesn’t love a man who cooks, right? Well, then you will DEFINITELY love my friend Hugh, aka Chef Irie! I met Hugh a few years ago at a networking event. I was in a completely different life–the corporate world. I kept in touch with him and when the need arose to hire a caterer for an event, about a year later, he completely WOW’d me with his presentation. I hired him for the event, he was FABULOUS and we’ve been pals ever since.
The last time I wrote about Hugh, he was doing a demo at Bloomingdale’s. But, a few weeks ago, he sent me a tweet to hold a date open on my calendar. I didn’t even know what for and I was EXCITED. As long as he was cooking, I was DOWN! Turns out that Chef Irie is now producing Buss Em Out Wednesdays. I was lucky enough to attend last Wednesday. Here’s the concept–
Hugh asks fans on his Facebook page to suggest an ingredient that he will spotlight on Buss Em Out Wednesday. This particular event featured Butternut Squash. He uses the event to push his creative juices by highlighting items that he rarely uses. Then, twice a month he hosts a dinner at Island Fusion in Dania. The guests at the dinner sit in the kitchen with him while he prepares the meal. While he’s doing his thing, the guests introduce themselves to each other, wine is poured freely, and Hugh gives tips and takes questions. As each course is finished, he plates and serves it.
Again, my dinner featured Butternut Squash and he gave me squash in some very creative ways-
- The appetizer was roasted butternut squash ravioli with roasted butternut squash/serrano filling, cream sauce & shaved Parmesan
- The entree was roasted butternut squash risotto w/chili dusted corvina and champagne butternut squash sauce
- The dessert was Hugh’s take on a french pissaladiere:–with roasted butternut squash puree, dried cranberries, feta, sage and aged balsamic glaze
Um, YUM! You have NO IDEA what you missed!
Again, Buss Em Out Wednesdays happens twice a month and costs $35, which includes wine, appetizer, entree, and dessert. Let me know what night you’re going, so I can go too! And, Hugh will once again make an appearance at Bloomingdale’s Aventura as one of the Chef Demos on November 19th.
By the way, EVERY time I put a pic up of Hugh, my single Besties hound me. So, I refuse to put him up again–BUT there are plenty of pics on his website. *wink*
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