Last Tuesday night we went to the Chopped viewing party of Chef Parind Vora at Bar Mirabeau.
Mirabeau is the much larger sister restaurant to Restaurant Jezebel, his 32-seats of luxury, indulgence & an intimate jewel box of a restaurant -- Chris & I went there for his birthday in March & it was magical & unforgettable.
I heard about the party the night before & got a little jolt of excitement.
Food Network television is my bible, I watch it religiously & what's a better way to watch the show other than with friends over a few cocktails & food...I can't think of any other way.
So Tuesday night, Chris & I hopped, skipped & jumped over to Bar Mirabeau & joined our friends for the festivities.
The place was bustling!
We weren't the only ones there to commemorate Chef Vora's television debut, root for him & keep our fingers crossed that he will not get CHOPPED!
We got off to a tasty start.
A round of Patron XO shots.
It's the perfect way to start off our night.
Also, I want to share with you what I've learned recently.
Have you heard of French toasting/cheering etiquette?
Saying cheers is not enough.
No, you must maintain eye contact & clink glasses individually with each person & you must not cross anyone else's arm as you do it.
Sounds time consuming & tedious, doesn't it? So, why do it? Why does everyone bother?
Well, turns out there's a pretty severe penalty for messing this one up.
Are you ready?
"Seven years of bad sex."
Can't you tell how determined we were not to mess it up? ;)
No, really don't drink in France if you don't follow their custom unless you're willing to risk your future, in bed.
Good thing I found out about this before my upcoming trip to France!
If you've never watched Chopped, here's how the show goes:
Four chefs compete against each other (for the chance of winning $10,000) before a panel of judges.
There's three rounds: appetizer, entree & dessert.
Each round they must make dish in a given time with mystery basket ingredients & have full access to the stocked pantry & refrigerator.
Their dish is judged on creativity, presentation & taste; and it must contain the mystery ingredients!
Each round one chef will get chopped & others will continue on until two chefs remained & the winner is determined.
Our local chef made it to the final round.
We had high hopes that he would win.
Otherwise why would there be the viewing party with food, champagne & cocktails, right?
But, he's still pretty awesome & we will definitely visit Restaurant Jezebel again, soon.
We stayed well after the party had ended before we wandered home to bed.
It was a fun-filled Tuesday night with great company.
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