Mark your calendars, folks. Your favorite chefs, and maybe some you’ve never heard of, are pulling out all the stops over these next few weeks. There’s something for everyone, so be sure to buy your tickets and make reservations before it’s too late.
Guest Cooking Series Featuring Mike Ledesma
In collaboration with Mise En Place Cooking School, Mike Ledesma of Perch will teach you how to make one of his signature recipes on Thursday, Feb. 28. The event also will include appetizers, wine and a chat with Ledesma about Richmond’s food scene.
Tickets cost $50 per person and available at misenplacerva.com/classes.
Alewife-Longoven Collaboration Dinner
Did you miss the Jan. 28 event at Alewife when chef Lee Gregory welcomed the Longoven team into his kitchen for a collaboration dinner? Good news: You’ve got another opportunity, just the other way around this time. On Sunday, Feb. 24, Alewife staff will join Patrick Phelan, Megan Fitzroy Phelan and Andrew Manning on their turf to create another multicourse meal for $75 per person with an optional wine pairing for $35.
Call Longoven at 308-3497 or visit longovenrva.com to make reservations.
Virginia Wine Expo
Tickets still are available for the annual Virginia Wine Expo, Feb. 26-March 3. The six-day affair showcasing all things delicious in the Commonwealth is composed of ticketed events like Nightbeat on Saturday, March 2, with gourmet late-night hors d’oeuvres and snacks, plus wine, port, cider and whiskey at the Old City Bar. On Friday, March 1, sample some of Virginia’s best barbecue (there will be plenty of meat and seafood but it’ll also be vegetarian-friendly) paired with regional beer, wine and whiskey.
The grand poohbah of the Wine Expo is the Walk-Around Grand Tasting on March 2 and 3, featuring a little bit of everything from Virginia, plus wines from places like Southern California and Chile. Tickets cost from $55 to $765.
Black Restaurant Experience
During the first week of March, the Black Restaurant Experience is an eight-day event highlighting minority-owned food-and-drink businesses in the Richmond area.
Kicking off the festivities is Mobile Soul Sunday on March 3, featuring more than a dozen food trucks, music and a kids’ zone between 11th and 14th streets. Featured restaurants, catering companies and food trucks include Vagabond, Send a Chef, Minibar RVA, Mama J’s, Boogaloos Bar and Grill, Brewer’s Cafe, Soul Taco, Inner City Blues, Spoonbread Bistro, Sugar’s Crab Shack and Urban Hang Suite.
The culminating event on Sunday, March 10, is Stick a Fork in It, a celebration including cooking demonstrations, tasting contests, paint-and-sip and small plates at $3-5 each. Held at the Arthur Ashe Center, it starts at noon.
The Black Restaurant Experience has named the Mary G. Brown Transition Center, a re-entry organization that provides services to people with felony convictions, as this year’s beneficiary.
Tarrant’s West Speakeasy
Sshhhh … it’s a secret. On Friday, March 15, show up at Tarrant’s West, the one in Henrico, in your best flapper outfit and be prepared to party like it’s 1929. Entertainment will include live music, and a $30 ticket gets you a drink ticket and hors d’oeuvres. Respond to brittany@tarrantswestrva.com.
