We’ve had a lot of fun throwing our Open (and now Pro) Chefame events and now we’re going to be putting on a whole new crazy night of fun…  A giant clambake with Eating Crowe, Phoodie.info and Dining by Design!  While we may not have people running around in clam suits (although we are looking) we are going to have a huge amount of clams, mussels, sausage, lobster and crab for each and everyone of our guests.

On Wednesday, October 7th, from 6-8:00 pm we’ll be filming a live episode of Eating Crowe (with our past Chefame chef, Tim Crowe) with over 5 tons of sand and large pots of delicious food.  At 7:00 pm, we’ll be opening the doors to PYT in the Piazza to serve our guests bowls of this amazing fare. PYT will be offering great drink specials and all our guests can enjoy the rest of the night in the beautiful Northern Liberties area of Philadelphia.

To grab your tickets to the event (it is pre-sale only), hop over to our ticketing site and grab them while you still can.

As an added extra for the events, we’ve hand picked our prolific panel of local Philadelphia judges to choose the winner of Pro ChefAme #1.  ChefAMe is excited to introduce Hadas Kuznits from KYW 1060, Felicia D’Ambrosio from the City Paper’s Meal Ticket (and past Open ChefAMe chef) and Tommy Up, a really awesome party promoter gone restaurateur (a sizzling burger spot called PYT).

Victory Brewing Company is back for a second time providing choice pairings for three (3) courses:

1. Scallop Course – Victory Prima Pilsner
   
2. Chicken Course – Victory Golden Monkey
3. Beef Tenderloin Course – Victory Festbier

Drink specials from the bar include: $3 Victory Seasonals, $4 house wines, and $5 classic cocktails.

Dinner entertainment includes the music styling’s of Louis Brice, local music sensation and ChefAMe co-founder.

In addition, the Warwick Hotel is offering a special deal for people who want to make a whole evening out of the event.  You can grab a hotel room on September 14th for only $99.  Simply call the hotel at 800-395-7046 and request the ChefAMe room rate or hop over to our special ChefAMe/Radisson site and stay over in Philly.

Finally, we want to thank everyone for your support.  We’ve had a great time putting on our ChefAMe events.  There are a few more tickets left for this first Pro ChefAMe so if you have friends that would like to join us, send them over to the ticket site and grab ‘em while you still can.

With all the professionalism required to put together a PRO ChefAMe event, the ChefAMe team is in need of a holiday. So don’t fret October is our vacay time; we’ll be back bigger and better in November with something fresh and delicious.

Bart and I work out of IndyHall on a regular basis.  IndyHall is a “coworking community and space” that allows independent and mobile workers to have a place to call home and a place to breed ideas.  If you’re ever in the Old City area, let us know.  We always love to grab a drink or a bite to eat at one of the fine Philadelphia establishments around this part of town.

Another great movement that’s started in Philadelphia is Blame Drew’s Cancer.  Here’s a bit more about the organization and my dear friend Drew:

On May 20th, 2009, Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer. Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Ever since that day, Drew has blamed everything on his cancer. Losing his keys, misplacing his wallet, Twitter being slow, the Phillies losing, etc.

Why? Because you have to beat up on Cancer to win… and you can help out.

Blame Drew’s Cancer for anything you want by tweeting with the hashtag #BlameDrewsCancer and it’ll come here. When Drew beats Cancer we hope to have sponsors that will donate a dollar for every participant to our partner, LIVESTRONG.

Drew and his team are throwing a 24-hour Blame-A-Thon.  It’s a full day of blame, music and more being hosted all around the city.  ChefAMe’s Bart Mroz will be cooking up a storm at the Blame-A-Thon’s breakfast on September 9th.  If you’re around, join us for food, fun, education and prizes on 9/9/09 from 7am-8am at IndyHall (22 N. 3rd Street, Second Floor, Philadelphia, PA).

We hope to see you there and please let us know if you have any questions.

What’s a Pro ChefAMe, you ask? We’ve taken the idea of our Open ChefAMe nights, where we allow amateur and aspiring chefs to become the executive chef for a night, and we’ve brought in professional chefs to compete head-to-head in a night filled with food, drinks and a whole lot of friends!  We’ll be doing 9 courses from 3 different chefs at the Warwick Hotel’s Tavern 17 (map).  The night will start at 6:30pm just like our previous events and will consist of a head-to-head competition to find out who the culinary master at Tavern 17 truly is.

We’ll be releasing more details in the next week or two but for now, grab your tickets now.  We’re already selling out fast and you don’t want to miss this evening.  You can get your tickets online at our TicketLeap site or offline by checking out our contact page.  You can also purchase a subscription to the events (and get a discount) on our ChefAMe Subscriptions page.  Remember, all tickets must be purchased before the event.  And finally, please let us know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions for ChefAMe.

Online event registration

When:
August 24, 2009 at 6:30pm

Where:
Ava Restaurant at 518 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA (map)

Who’s cooking?
Ali Waks and Diana Martignoni

Cost:
$35 per person

We’re all sold out on this event but keep your eyes on the blog or in your email (if you’re not on the mailing list, you can sign up here) for information on the next ChefAMe event on September 14, 2009.

We’ve had a lot of people ask us if they can purchase a subscription to the upcoming Open ChefAMe events and we are happy to announce that now you can!  Just head over to our ChefAMe Subscriptions page for all of the details.  While you won’t be able to get in to August’s event, September is still available.

Update:  The menu is ready.  Check out what we’ll be serving at Open ChefAMe #5:

1. Amuse-Bouche: Figs — Made Ali’s special way.
2. Salad Course: Organic Spring Greens with Gorgonzola, Carmelized Spicy Pecans, Dried
   Cranberries and much more. Served with a Raspberry/Orange Muscat Vinaigrette.
3. Soup Course: Essence of Jersey Corn Soup w/ Truffled Wildflour Brioche,
   Heirloom Tomatoes & Guanciale
   Veg Option: No Guanciale
4. Entre Courses:
   Enchiladas - A Chicken with Cheddar and a Monterey Jack with Spanish Onion
   Enchilada draped in a deep, rich velvet chili sauce, farm fresh pico
   do gallo, cilantro/scallion pesto and finished with a topping of cool
   tangy sour cream.
   Smoked Coffee & Espresso Rubbed Hangar Steak, Roasted Happy
   Cat Farm Potatoes, Rainbow Chard w/ Garlic & Lemon Confit.
   Veg Option: Smoked Coffee & Espresso Rubbed Portobello Mushroom.
5. Dessert:
   Local Peaches, Vanilla Gelato, Cherry Balsamic Gastrique,
   Lavender Pistachio Biscotti.
6. Extra: Earl Gray Lavender Chocolates.

Photo by FriedWontons4U

We haven’t themed this next event so we are open to your original ideas. If you would like a shot in the kitchen Email helloThere@openchefame.com with the subject “I want to cook at #5”. Give us an idea of who you are, why you think you should cook, and what kind of menu items you would consider making.

We will be considering all emails received by August 10th at 5pm. We hope to hear from you soon so that we can make this next Open ChefAMe fantastic.

When:
August 24, 2009 at 6:30pm

Where:
To Be Announced

Who’s cooking?
To Be Announced

Cost:
$35 per person

Tickets:
You can buy your tickets online or off — Either way, they are pre-sale only (no money at the door) so get ‘em now because they’re going fast!

We’ve had a lot of people ask us if they can purchase a subscription to the upcoming Open ChefAMe events and we are happy to announce that now you can!  Just head over to our ChefAMe Subscriptions page for all of the details.

Get more information on this upcoming Open ChefAMe over on the blog and keep an eye out for the bios of our chefs and the menu for July 27th!

Photo by FriedWontons4U

Where will the exciting night take place this time?
This is an easy question to answer — Ava Restaurant at 518 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA (map).  Michael Campagna, the proprietor of Ava, is one of the coolest guys we’ve met and he’s kind enough to open the doors this coming Monday to showcase our two amazing chefs.  In addition, Ava is a BYOB so feel free to bring your favorite bottles of wine, liquor or beer to enjoy with your meal.

Who’s cooking and what’s on the menu?
Our menu this time around has a summery vibe to it.  We asked the chefs to prepare food that would capture summer, fun, warmth and deliciousness and they’ve done just that.  Tim Crowe (of EatingCrowe.com) and Sarah Feidt will be creating, cooking and plating this menu for you on Monday, July 27th.  To find out more about these two chefs, check out our blog.

• First Course:
  • Langoustine Buzara (from Tim) – Langoustines braised in a light broth so satisfying you wish you had a juice box of it for a picnic
  • Shrimp Guacamole (from Sarah) – Guacamole with small tequila-grilled shrimp and fire-roasted poblano chilies.
• Second Course:
  • Braised short ribs (from Tim) – Short ribs with grilled corn, pepper, and onion relish.
  • Spicy Quail (from Sarah) – Quail marinated and glazed in brown sugar, soy sauce, clover honey, jalapenos, garlic, and then roasted.
• Dessert:
  • Tim and Sarah will be preparing a surprise fruity, creamy dessert that we’re sure everyone will enjoy.

What time should I get there and what’s the deal with parking?
So glad you asked.  We’re inviting everyone in the doors of Ava at 6:30pm.  We’d like to start serving around 7:00pm so please be prompt.  There is a parking lot directly across the street that will cost only $3 if you get your parking card stamped by Ava before leaving the restaurant.  This is a great deal that Ava is extending to our guests.

We’re very excited for this Open ChefAMe and we hope you are too.  For those of you with the vegetarian option, we’ll be announcing that menu at the event.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us via our many contact options.  See you on Monday.

Sincerely,
Your ChefAMe Crew
Louis, Evan, Bart and Jesse

Address: 435 Bainbridge Street Outer Philadelphia,PA 19147.

We’re on the lookout for the next two chefs.  The theme will be summer, light and airy.  These should be the types of dishes you’d serve on those hot, Philadelphia summer nights.  In order to choose the next two we need menus.

Email helloThere@openchefame.com with the subject “I want to cook at #4″ with two dishes that you’d like to cook on July 27th.  We’re looking to see exactly what you’d make to serve 65+ people.  Please write it the way that we’d put it on our menu.  Describe how delicious it will be and what some of the key ingredients are.

We’ll be accepting chef’s menus until July 3rd at 5:00pm.  Make sure you send them over soon so we can have plenty of time to go through it all and figure out what delicious dishes and great chefs will be at the next Open ChefAMe event.