Liberty's Kitchen had someone new cooking up a very special
meal for a sold-out crowd. Chef Mason Hereford of Turkey & The Wolf, Molly's
Rise and Shine, and Hungry Eyes served as the guest chef at Liberty's Kitchen
for a special multi-course, family-style meal meant to raise funds for the restaurant
and youth development program that has helped over 1,000 young adults learn the
skills needed to forge a career in the restaurant industry.
The three-course meal began with Catfish 2 Ways. First up
was the Grilled Catfish sitting upon a crispy Charred Kale Salad with large
pieces of citrus that popped in the mouth in a juicy, delightful way. It's not a
Louisiana meal without something fried. The second catfish dish was good,
old-fashioned Fried Catfish Nugs that were perfectly fried with a rather crispy
shell. It was an amazing crust that hid steaming hot, tender fish within. The
only thing that cooled off the fish enough to chew was the provided Caper White
Wine Tartar Sauce.
The second course was Chicken 3 Ways. Plates of Smoked Chicken
Wings arrived and were immediately snapped up. These wings, however, held a
spicy surprise. They were coated with Habanero Pineapple White BBQ Sauce that
had an immediate hot kick to it, and the fire grew with each bite. The next dish
helped take that heat down a notch. The Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie with a
Buttermilk Biscuit Crust was placed on the table in the cast iron skillet in
which it was cooked. The down-home pot pie was just as good as mom's (or maybe
even better, but don't tell her that). Very quickly, another old-school
favorite was dropped off. The Deviled Eggs in this case featured a piece of
Fried Chicken Skin and a dash of hot sauce to make it stand out from every
other deviled egg you've had before.
The dessert course was just too cute. Even though tummies
were getting full, no one could resist these childhood favorites that Mason
arranged. Chef Mason Hereford has a penchant for evoking wonderful memories of
younger years; his latest venture Hungry Eyes has 1980s decorations that will
send you back to that decade, and Turkey & The Wolf has a collection of McDonald's
plates featuring the chain's cast of characters that are hardly ever seen now.
Chocolate 4 Ways featured chocolate Snack Packs topped with
a vanilla bean whipped cream and sprig of fresh mint: the perfect blend of your
lunchbox favorite with something more nuanced. It also has Ice Cream Snickers
bars and freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies that made you crave a tall glass
of milk. But we settled for coffee because we needed that little bit of caffeine
to wake us up and get us home to sleep off this big meal. The fourth way that
the chocolate came was in the form of jarred chocolate granola that we were
told to take home to enjoy another day.
Liberty's Kitchen has more events like this one in the works.
Check out their website and follow their social media to learn more and get
your tickets.
