Audio By Carbonatix
More than 400 people ate and drank themselves into oblivion last night at Mile High Station, the venue for Denver’s annual Share Our Strength benefit, which raises funds to wipe out childhood hunger both locally and across the country.
“It was a really great night all the way around,” says Matt Selby, chef of Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben’s and the local chef chair for Share Our Strength. “We doubled our ticket sales for this year and we had a lot of returning chefs, plus several more new chefs, whose participation I’d like to chalk up to hearing about the kick-ass party we had last year.” That, he says, and the fact that “they see and believe in Share Our Strength’s mission just as much as I do.” More than 30 Denver restaurants, including Argyll, TAG, Venue, Strings, Tambien, the Corner Office, twelve, Encore and Duo, fed the masses last night, while several local distilleries, breweries and winemakers poured cool liquids to fend off the heatwave.
Feedback, says Selby, has been positive. “Judging from what people were saying last night, this is definitely an event that has sustainability, so the goal now is to do it just as successfully next year without burning out our committee member volunteers, who put their heart and soul into putting this together.”
So did the chefs, who turned out some brilliant food, the pics of which you can see after the jump.
Charred tomato gazpacho soup with smoked rock shrimp from twelve
Housemade pub chips from Argyll
Duck confit ravioli with grilled sweet corn and brown butter vinaigrette from Opus
Octopus confit with pickled watermelon rind, watercress, compressed watermelon and a chile pasilla vinaigrette from TAG
Braised beef cheek tamale with mole rojo, queso fresco and Verde Farms cilantro from Tambien
Tarragon pancake with slow-roasted duck and mostarda cherries from Avenue Grill
Tomato-cantaloupe gazpacho with fig-balsamic, chipotle cream and sunflower sprouts from Root Down
Hawaiian tuna poke with wakame salad from the Corner Office
Oysters on the half shell with a tarragon mignonette from Black Pearl
Pork belly BLT with cherry tomatoes, arugula and whole grain mustard aioli from Venue
Prime New York strip BLT kabobs with an habanero and roasted garlic aioli from Elway’s Cherry Creek
Cheese display from Solera
Rabbit and chanterelle mushroom baloney from Table 6
Mixologist Brian Melton from TAG, who won the cocktail competition
The crew from Vesta Dipping Grill, Brandon Foster, Wade Kirwan, Kenny Turk and Matt Selby
