Executive Chef Daniel Pliska of the University Club of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., collaborated with the Central Missouri Chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) to hold an Asian Food Summit at the club this fall.
“It was a great event more in the way of public relations, training and giving back through the ACF, as well as creating a base to build on future events for our members, ACF members and culinary staff members,” says Pliska. “The club helped to defray the costs through a $500 gold sponsorship. We had about 60 people attend the events that were held during the day, and 100 for the dinner that night. We didn’t make money as that was not the goal, however the members loved it and it again added an event like no other in the area.”
The event showcased the regional culinary expertise of such world-renowned chefs as Khai Duong, Executive Chef of Ana Mandara in San Francisco; Jim Murray, recipient of the ACF President’s Medallion; and Chinese Master Chef Bill Sy.
As the day’s events kicked off in the University Club’s ballroom, booths featured products from local Columbia restaurants and businesses, including Bangkok Gardens, Peking Restaurant, Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro, Ford Restaurant Supply, Sunshine Sushi, and of course the University Club itself. Guests were treated to such Asian-inspired flavors as seafood dumplings, beef short rib canapés, freshly rolled sushi, and tea-smoked duck stir-fry.
At the opening reception, Chefs Duong and Sy gave culinary demonstrations. Chef Duong prepared wonton-wrapped shrimp with smoked bacon as well as seared beef and plantain canapés on crispy rice crackers. Chef Sy demo’d his dishes, which were then part of the multi-course meal that followed the demonstrations. These included Mandarin chicken dumplings and Szechuan-style orange flavored chicken.
The main event featured not only a multi-course dinner menu designed by the guest chefs, but also a variety of traditional Asian entertainment. In conjunction with the dinner, Li Yang (a local high school instructor) performed Mulan Fan, a fan dance inspired by the legendary Hua Mulan, as Lade Yu Yang played the Chinese flute and Jade Xinning played the pipa (the Chinese lute). Internationally renowned vocalist Mi Jeong Park performed Gum Gang Mountain, a classic Korean folk song.
The dinner itself was met with enthusiastic praise from its guests, who hailed Chef Duong’s crab soup with asparagus, crab meat, and quail eggs, as well as Chef Murray’s braised short ribs and Orzo stew. But the most in-demand item on the menu had to be Chef Sy’s chicken dumplings. What is described by Chef Sy as Asian comfort food has now, most assuredly, been assimilated as Columbia, Mo. comfort food.
A similar event is now being planned for next year, this time around a Latin American theme.
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