Off Beat with Philip Potempa
Philip Potempa - philip.potempa@nwi.com, (219) 852-4327 | Posted: Saturday, July 25, 2009 12:00 am
Here's a great scoop I know readers will love!
Chicago publicist Laura Windt just tipped me off that Oprah Winfrey's famed personal chef Art Smith is coming to Jack Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Hammond next month to host an exclusive celebrity "cooking school party" open to the public.
Avid readers of this column might recall in October 2007, the Horseshoe folks hosted a similar gathering, but as an "invite-only party" in the Horseshoe Casino's ballroom that featured samples of cocktails and recipes from Food Network's The Hearty Boys aka Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, showcased in their cookbook "Talk with Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook" (2007 Stewart, Tabori & Chang $27.50).
Of course, this was long before the property had the new and spacious The Venue space. The Hearty Boys event was so popular and jam-packed, guests had to be turned away.
With the new, expanded space, this won't be a problem.
Here are the details:
Smith with perform at The Venue at 2 p.m. Sunday Aug. 9. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are $55 and available at (219) 473-6060 or thevenue-chicago.com.
Guests will see Chef Smith prepare a four-course selection that includes his famous Tomato Pie Appetizer, Pistachio Crusted Chicken, a favorite of Winfrey's, along with one of his fan-favorite fruit cobblers, and to wash it all down, a twist on a summer favorite called Electric Lemonade, which includes watermelon-juice ice cubes. Guests will be served a sample size of each item as Smith is preparing it.
Chef, author and television personality, Smith has devoted himself to bringing people together through the sharing of a meal with food that is made with heart and soul.
In 1997, he began a 10-year-long position as personal chef to Oprah and her longtime beaux Stedman Graham. Smith currently acts as the "specialty chef" for Winfrey's most-talked-about events.
In late summer 2007, he launched his acclaimed Table Fifty-Two restaurant in Chicago. Yep, that's the place that made headlines when President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle famously flew back to Chicago this spring to spend their first Valentine's Day together as President and First Lady.
I first met all-around-good-guy Smith in April 2004 while interviewing him about his best-selling cookbook "Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family" (2001 Hyperion $29.95).
Since then, I now often see him at many of the same events, and he's always gracious.
He and his famed employer share a lot in common.
More than just menu tastes, Smith, like talk show host Winfrey, also believes in the importance of family and shared community values.
Smith said he's made it a personal goal not only to educate people about cooking, but also the importance of sharing time at the dinner table as a family.
"When working on my cookbook, I found many people don't know what are some of the basics for setting up a kitchen for good cooking," Smith once told me.
"One of the basics is knowing what to always keep on hand in a pantry or cupboard. Remember, the heart of every home is the kitchen."
Smith, who lives in Chicago, has learned plenty about the importance of food in everyday life from his family upbringing to the famous families he's worked for since he launched his culinary career. He grew up in the farming community of Jasper, Fla., before eventually securing an internship at a resort and then attending the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom College Program. After graduation, his first job took him to the Florida governor's mansion, at age 24, where he worked as executive chef for then-Gov. Bob Graham and his wife Adele.
And as for my favorite of all of Smith's "Oprah-inspired recipes?"
I love his version of an age-old favorite called Hummingbird Cake, which I first tasted while attending The 16th Annual Chicago Meals on Wheels Celebrity Brunch in 2004 and which was the very cake he served for Oprah's splashy 50th birthday-party bash in January that same year.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Barbara Harris is 74. Drummer Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds is 66. Author Cheryl Crane (daughter of actress Lana Turner) is 66. Bassist Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire is 58. Supermodel Iman is 54. Roger Clinton (half-brother of Bill Clinton) is 52. Cartoonist Ray Billingsley ("Curtis") is 52. Guitarist Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is 51. Country singer Marty Brown and actress Illeana Douglas are 44. Actor Matt LeBlanc ("Joey," "Friends") is 42. Cellist Paavo Lotjonen of Apocalyptica and actor D.B. Woodside ("24") are 40. Actress Miriam Shor ("Swingtown," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") is 38. World's first test-tube baby Louise Joy Brown is 31. Actor James Lafferty ("One Tree Hill") is 24. Actor Michael Welch ("Joan of Arcadia") is 22.