The Free Library’s Fare and Fete featuring Brulee Catering’s Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix
Being in the city a lot, we are often asked if we know of fun things to do in Philadelphia. There are many interesting events held in the city throughout the year. Among them, the Free Library of Philadelphia has recently hosted a Fare and Fête featuring a guest chef. Last week they featured Brûlée Catering‘s renowned Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix.
The Library creates a unique experience in their open kitchen and a very limited number guests watch as their decadent five course meal is prepared and served right in front of them. This dinner party is an exclusive event in which the guests interact with the chef and watch closely to see his how he prepares each dish.
Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix, one of Philadelphia’s novelty chefs, was featured in preparing this amazing feast. It was honor to photograph an event where Chef Lacroix was serving his creations. Chef LaCroix was the executive chef at the Four Season’s Fountain Restaurant for over twenty years. After leaving he established his namesake, AAA Four Diamond Award winning restaurant, Lacroix, in The Rittenhouse hotel and later joined with GuestCounts Hospitality in 2010. He is an Acclaimed James Beard Award-winner and launched Brûlée Catering by Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix in 2011.
The dinner was a huge success! It was an incredible experience seeing him interact with the guests and prepare a meal with so many unique and creative facets. Since we were photographing all of the dishes, we were also allowed a taste test…
The Meal
Everything was delicious. Chef Lacroix started the night with an Amuse Bouche dish and followed it with a light “La Belle Rouge” Bisque made from hubbard squash, muscles and saffron! It was delightful. We were astonished at the smoothness of the soup considering there was no cream or butter. The Diver Sea Scallops topped with Curry Butter had our mouths watering and we practically licked the plate clean of the tender, Organic Farm Chicken dish. The chicken was juicy and supple with an incredible “Vin Jaune” cream sauce and spetzel dumplings to top it off.
Each course was paired with a wine by Vicki Miller of Vinocity LLC which we heard was very well done (we didn’t get to taste test that part of the meal!)
Finally, guests enjoyed Poached Pear for dessert with vanilla Crème Anglaise and Almond Tuile Petit Fours to finish the evening. Everything looked enticing and tasted better.
The guests had a really enjoyable time and all left talking about how much they loved the food and the experience. This night out we would recommend to anyone with a refined pallet… or just if you would enjoy a fun evening out with incredible food.
Either way, The Free Library’s Fare and Fete is perfect venue to have a lovely evening out in the great city of Philadelphia.
