Chef Juan Montier- Chez Montier pop up dinner

If you ever have the chance to attend a Chez Montier pop up dinner do yourself a favor and GO! Chef Montier teamed up with the fabulous chef Melissa Pelkey-Hass – The Front Porch Gourmet and the team at Leaning Ladder Premium Olive Oils and Vinegars to host a Spring Media Dinner to beat ALL dinners.

This is how we were greeted when we walked into Leaning Ladder  with a bowl of gorgeous crab claws. This man speaks my language, I mean HELLO!  Crab claws, and next to them martini glasses lined up like soldiers waiting for marching orders. That set the tone for the evening, I knew we were in for something good. The martini glasses were to be filled a short time later with a Lychee “Saketini” spiked with Honey Ginger Balsamic Vinegar provided by Leaning Ladder. These cocktails were light and addictive, I could have sipped on it all night…ok, I did.

Chef Montier started us off with an amuse-bouche of curried shrimp with blond raisins. A lot of flavor was packed into that little spoonful and it did just what an amuse should. It got my mouth watering in anticipation of things to come.

Melissa Pelkey-Hass, our co-host for the evening, gave us a tour of Leaning Ladder’s extensive olive oil and balsamic vinegar collection. We strolled the store tasting shots of oils and vinegars while chef Montier was working on our dinner. The flavors infused in the oils and vinegars are natural, bright and intense. Key lime olive oil…Leaning Ladder has it. Blueberry balsamic…Leaning Ladder has that too. It’s definitely worth a trip to taste their wide variety of flavors and pick up a few bottles.

The official start of the evening’s meal was this tasty appetizer of chilled crab “fingers” drizzled with Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and served with wasabi remoulade. Blue crab is so delicate and sweet, it paired well with the pungent wasabi mellowed out by a little mayo.

Chefs Montier and Pelkey-Hass are just delightful. We had a lot of laughs along with our meal.

Our salad- arugula, blanched asparagus and bamboo shoots tossed in sesame olive oil and ginger dressing. Salads rarely get me excited but this one did. The ginger dressing was mouthwatering and kept me coming back for more, it complemented the salad without overpowering it.

This Chez Montier pop up dinner was a family affair! Chef Montier, his wife Judith and their son Austin all participated in this fantastic event. You know the old saying, “The family that cooks together, stays together”…I think that’s how it goes, well it’s true.

Our entree….sigh, just thinking about this makes me want to go back in time and eat it all over again. This bowl was full of all of my favorite things- Chilean sea bass with a yuca/potato crust, seared sea scallops, mushroom wontons, whole crawfish, and sauteed greens all bathed in a savory miso broth. Everything was perfectly cooked and perfectly delicious.

We ended the meal with a refreshing honey, lemon, ginger granita with a drizzle of Sicilian lemon, balsamic vinegar. It was a potent little sweet ending to a fantastic meal.

So here’s the best part of this whole thing, YOU can hire chef Montier to create a dinner like this for your event. Also, look out for a Chez Montier pop up dinner around Atlanta, buy a ticket and enjoy! Please visit his website and stay up to date with Chef Montier

While this meal was complimentary all opinions are my own. Many thanks to Chez Montier, The Front Porch Gourmet and Leaning Ladder for this fantastic evening. Thanks to the sponsors of the event TKGourmet, Sprouts Farmers Market, Astor Chocolates, Gimmee Jimmy’s Cookies and Southern Vines Distribution