WOW!! Another “pop-up” has come and gone. And I have to say this one was INCREDIBLY special for a few reasons. We dealt with many challenges right up until the day of the event. That included the location, new cooks not showing up and servers “missing in action”. You would think those issues would deter us…NOT ONE BIT! We had an awesome time.

Once again, Jada and her wonderful team from High Style Marketing & PR transformed a humble sausage shop to a quaint bistro. The colors were bright and matched the theme of the dinner. We had some of our constant supporters attend the event and had quite a few “1^st timers”. One of the 1^st timers was my mother. She along with a few of my aunts had a blast. It felt so good to showcase this style of my cooking for them. I’m sure they’ll be back.

There were food enthusiasts from all backgrounds at this one and we all got a chance to connect over food and great wine from the Concha Y Toro family. Speaking of which, it never ceases to amaze me how at every “pop-up”, the wonderful people from Concha Y Toro bring us something new and exciting to the Chicago Wine Scene. This time was no exception with the Coastal White Blend. If you’re in the city, make your way over to the Armanettis, located at 515 North Western Ave. The Coastal White Blend, usually served during the spring and summer, is really affordable and pairs perfectly with light and fragrant cuisine.

Oh yeah, I think we have quite a few NEW fans of ramps, if there is any judging of how well the Chilean Sea Bass dish went over. A special thanks goes to my reliable culinary team for helping execute a new take on a southern classic, the Salmon Croquette.  I think that dish will make its way onto a few of the summer menus.

If we missed you this time, we hope to see you at the next one. The expected date is August 31^st 2013. We will offer an early purchase price of $70 for the tickets bought before August 1^st. For purchases after August 1^st, the standard pricing of $85 per guest goes into effect. The theme for our next “pop-up” is Summer Jazz: A Global Fusion of Cuisine.

NEXT UP: Taste of Chicago on July 11^th at 5:30pm.  It’s gonna be HOT. Robin Thicke and Estelle are performing.  And Thursday is the new Friday so COME OUT and stimulate your palette!!

Hello Everyone,

Yes it’s been a while and you have been missed.  Still, as the seasons change, so does the cuisine. It is time to embrace the beauty of the coming spring and ALL that is has to offer. With that being said, we present the next theme in our “Pop Up” restaurant series…Nature’s Gift, The Bounty of Spring. On May 18^th, I will showcase a fresh and colorful menu of the wonders that come with the first harvest of the season. The ingredients will have a focus on items that you associate with coastal shorelines, freashness and new culinary growth. The sweet smell of lavender, the whimsical smoke of cherry wood and the rich beauty of flowers…all of these feelings will be incorporated into the menu. As always, we will have surprise bites that will not be listed on the standard menu. And we never have a meal without incredible wine from Chile, including the Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc that was a big hit at the Valentine’s Day pop up!

If you have ever attended one of the pop ups, you will enjoy the evolution of cuisine. If this is your first time, be prepared to experience the feeling of having your own private chef cook for you based on his world travels and expose you to the new direction of global cuisine. Here is a sneak preview of a small part of the menu…

Pisco & Coconut Salmon Ceviche

Scallops with Merken Butter

Sea Bass with Chai Tea Spring Pea Puree

Pistachio Crusted Lamb with Quinoa & Carmenere Braised Figs

Calvados Pound Cake with Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Braised Apples, Grand Mariner Ice Cream with Toasted Walnuts & Lavender

Location: Westminster HD | 11 N. Wells

Get Tix Here:

Select ticket preference from the drop down menu and click “Buy Now”

“The Bounty of Spring” Dinner

Single $85.00 USD Double $160.00 USD

Chef and the Andros'

On March 11^th we got the opportunity to be a part of one of our favorite events…CHOWDAH FEST 2013!!!! We came back with our Chilean Seafood Chowder with Black Truffle Croutons. We upped the ante by adding DUCK BACON! One thing true about the fest is that you cannot coast or “phone it in” because every place brings their best. These guys are serious. There was King Crab Chowder, Oyster Chowder and one was served using the shell from a razor clam. All in all, it was an incredible night of eating! We were happy to be a part of the Winner’s Circle again. We missed out on Fan Favorite this year but that only means…WE’LL HAVE TO MAKE IT TASTE EVEN BETTER NEXT YEAR! Special thanks to High Style Marketing & PR for our presentation and design, Amaris for helping make the chowder & Imagine Festivals for keeping a great tradition going. See you next year!

We have been busy working and competing (more info to come on that) but could not let another day go by without

Chef Julius' Valentine's Day Pop Up Restaurant

reflecting on the last Pop Up! We want to send a warm thank you to those that returned for the Valentine’s Day festivities and to all of our new friends that joined us for the 1st time. We hope you enjoyed your culinary experience. Based on your feedback, a couple of the standouts of the night were the Duck & Chicken Confit Etoufee with Goat Cheese Cornbread and the Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. You guys liked the Sauvignon Blanc so much that we will definitely keep it on the wine list through the summer. *And* we have set the date for the next “Pop-up Restaurant Experience”, it’s Saturday, May 18th!!! We will be celebrating all things SPRING! So Mark Your Calendars and check back over the next few days for more info. If you want to be added to our email list, send your contact info to chefjulius@taleof2chefs.com

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Happy New Year Everyone,

As I wish a prosperous and blessed 2013 to all of you, The Tale of Two Chefs team wants to do their part to help. Our “Pop-Up” Restaurant Series has returned! As always, we are dedicated to bringing you great tasting food in 2103. The first in the series will be for a day that truly celebrates beauty, Valentine’s Day! On Thursday February 14th, 2013 at 7pm, you will be taken on a culinary journey that promises to be a feast for the palate, eyes and all of your senses. Our six-course menu will make use of truffle honey, baby fennel, lobster, lamb, saffron and so many other ingredients that will make this a meal you will never forget. We are sure that this will rank in your top 5 dinners EVER! We will provide wine from coastal Chile & Argentina. For the first time, I have decided to include a dessert wine. And no it’s NOT Moscato! Apps will be passed before the first course and as always, we only allow 50 tickets to be purchased. This is not a couples only event. There will be plenty of single tickets available. And yes, at this event, I will be serving my most decadent dessert to date, “Dark Forest Chocolate Ganache & Cherry Cake”. You have to taste it to believe it! See you on Valentine’s Day at Westminster HD – 1045 W. Madison St.

Note: for those who want  to spend a quiet night at home, we have Valentine’s Day Dinner delivery packages available. Call us at 312-326-1948 for more information.

Chef Julius

VALENTINE’S DAY POP-UP MENU
FEBRUARY 14, 2013

1st Course
CHILEAN OLIVE OIL POACHED SALMON WITH AVOCADO, APPLE & MERKEN

2nd Course
CHARRED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH POMEGRANATE, PECANS, PARMESAN & SHERRY

3rd Course
LAMB LOLLIPOPS WITH TRIO OF ROASTED CARROTS, HONEY, LAVENDER & CHANTERELLES

4th Course
DUCK & CHICKEN CONFIT ETOUFFEE WITH GOAT CHEESE CORNBREAD

5th Course
PAELLA WITH ROASTED BABY FENNEL & THE BOUNTY OF THE SEA

Sweet Course
DEEP FOREST CHOCOLATE CAKE
3 TYPES OF CHOCOLATE, CHERRIES COOKED IN MALBEC, CHOCOLATE MOUSSE, GANACHE & CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS

Get Tix Here:

Select ticket preference from the drop down menu and click “Buy Now”

Valentine’s 2013 Dinner Tickets

Couples $160.00 USD Individual $85.00 USD

Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Chilean Christmas Bread and Other Beautiful Food

Posted on Dec 3, 2012

Boka hosted a Chilean dinner (created by Chef Julius Russel, a south side Chicagoan who is now the Chilean Chef Ambassador) a couple of weeks back that I had the pleasure of attending.  It’s kind of funny because so much of what we talk about these days having to do with resto menus revolves around local and seasonal ingredients.  On the other hand, so much of the produce we see in the grocery stores during this time of the year is imported, and much of it from Chile.  (You know… it’s their summer when it’s our winter.  PS.  How weird would it be to have Christmas on the beach?)  We’ve come to expect that we can buy asparagus or blueberries in December or any other time of the year for that matter.  That’s all thanks to the crops of places like Chile.  The whole menu highlighted Chilean ingredients.  It was quite lovely.

Here are the pics:

Pisco Sour

Chilean Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Avocado, Apple and Pickled Strawberries.

Steelhead Trout with Quinoa, Steamed Mussels & Clementine Vinaigrette

Roasted Chilean Chicken Breast with Corn Semolina Galette, Kale and Crispy Plantains

Vegetarian Chilean Gnocchi (which was actually pressed fregola pasta) with Maitake Mushrooms and Roasted Baby Yellow Carrots

Almond Financier with Chilean Blueberry (52% of imported blueberries come from Chile) Compote, Chilean Almond Ice Cream and Tonka Bean Custard

It was all very beautiful and delicious.  Chef Julius did an absolutely fab job!

Here’s the recipe for the Christmas Bread.  It’s something similar to the Italian Panettone or German/French Stolen (which are both delicious!).  Anybody have the guts to try it?  Comment if you do and let me know how it goes!!!

CHRISTMAS BREAD (PAN DE PASCUA)

This holiday bread is prepared everywhere in Chile during December, commemorating Christmas It is always served with chilled Monkey`s Tail. The features of the Pan de Pascua evoke both German and Italian cuisines, as a reflection of those two big communities through Chilean history.

Ingredients:

• ·1 cup butter, softened
• ·1/3 cup light brown sugar
• ·1/2 cup sugar
• ·4 eggs, at room temperature
• ·3 cups flour
• ·1 teaspoon soda
• ·1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ·1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• ·1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• ·3/4 teaspoon salt
• ·3 teaspoons
• ·Zest of one orange
• ·Zest of one lemon
• ·1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee
• ·1/2 cup pisco
• ·1/2 cup evaporated milk
• ·2 tablespoons anise flavor liqueur
• ·1 tablespoon vinegar
• ·1 cup nuts, finely chopped
• ·1/2 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
• ·1/2 cup golden raisins, family chopped
• ·1/2 cup raisins, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degress.
2. Cream butter with the sugars until smooth and creamy.
3. Add eggs one at a time until well blended.
4. Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir the fruit zests into the dry ingredients.
5. Whisk the coffee, Pisco, evaporated milk, anise flavoring, vanilla, and vinegar together.
6. Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture, blending well.
7. Fold in the nuts and the dried fruit.
8. Line the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with a circle of wax paper.
9. Spread the batter evenly into the pan.
10. Bake cake for 45 minutes. Without removing the cake from the oven, carefully sprinkle some sifted powdered sugar over the top of the cake, then bake cake for 15 minutes more.
11. Check cake for doneness: a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean. If the cake is not yet done, return it to the oven and check it again every 5 or 10 minutes until done.
12. Let cake cool 15 minutes in the pan on a rack.
13. While the cake is cooling, make the icing. Sift 1 cup confectioner’s sugar into bowl. Add melted butter, pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 1 – 2 tablespoons milk, or more to reach desired consistency.
14. Remove cake from pan, and drizzle top with icing.
15. Cake keeps for up to two weeks in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic.

11/16/2012 12:23:00 PM

Best Thing We Ate Last Night: Almond Financier at Boka

By Sarah Freeman

Things got a little spicy last night, or perhaps it was more smoky, due to the Merken (a traditional Chilean spice blend) covering several of the courses at Boka. Sponsored by Foods From Chile, these cultural immersion dinners took place in restaurants and home kitchens around the country. Each offered a different menu that highlighted the same signature ingredient such as Chilean olive oil, trout, salmon, Merken, and blueberries. Our menu was prepared by the culinary ambassador to Chile, chef Julius Russell, in collaboration with chef Guiseppe Tentori.

Each of the five courses was paired with one of three Chilean wines to accentuate the fresh and savory flavors of the South American country that’s cuisine is often overlooked. Our meal began with salmon poached in olive oil on top of avocado seasoned with Merken along with strawberries and apples. The dish had a tropical yet seasonal flavor, despite strawberry season ending several months ago. This was followed by another seafood course of skin-on Steelhead trout with quinoa and clementines. Roasted chicken with kale and plantains, then gnocchi with Mitake mushrooms concluded the savory part of the meal.

The star of our seating was dessert. It was in the realm of the elegant platings we are used to at Boka, but contained a distinctly more exotic flavor, thanks to the rich and sweet Chilean blueberries. They were served as compote with almond ice cream, Tonka bean custard and almond financier. The blueberry was the star of the dish, but did not overshadow the light and almost festive flavors of the almond cake and vanilla custard. Overall, the meal convinced us to add Chile to our foodie travel destinations.

View the full photo gallery at http://blog.zagat.com/2012/11/best-thing-we-ate-last-night-almond.html

Cornish Game Hens – black truffle butter, thyme, lavender and sun-dried tomato

So once again the holiday season is fast approaching. Some of us love this time, while others dread it. There is a lot that comes with being responsible for the food. And let’s face it, this is the time when so many people like to indulge, bringing the food front and center. Some of you have taken on the task of ordering for the office holiday lunch or coordinating the office holiday bash! After all of the fuss surrounding that, now you have family coming to town and you need food at home. I know that it seems like a good idea to release your inner chef. But let’s be honest, isn’t work hard enough? As oppose to grabbing the same ole dishes from the grocery store catering department, wouldn’t it be great to have food prepared by your own private chef, where the cuisine is unique and flavors jump off the plate?! And perhaps mix our dishes in with some of your classics and everyone will be happy.

This is the year that you can have it all. This is the largest offering of our Holiday Catering Menu! You can choose lunch menus that range in pricing from $9 per person to incredible dinner menus that start at $16 per person. You can choose it on your own or have me help design the entire menu. Here is one of our non-traditional holiday menu samples, with favorable pricing that comes in at about $17 per guest:

Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs

French Green Beans (Haricot Vert)

French Green Beans with Black Truffle & Lemon Zest

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

Goat Cheese Corn Bread

Click here to see the full Holiday Menu. If there is something you don’t see on our menu, just ask us about it…after all, we cook for you! We love the idea of you trusting us with your taste buds. You obviously know good food, now you don’t have to cook ALL of it. You deserve to not be COMPLETELY worn out from cooking 8-10 hours on Thanksgiving, for one meal. Leave the cooking to us. And if you are visiting someone for the holidays, give them a helping hand by bringing a dish or sending them to our website. They will LOVE you for it!

We truly believe working with a Chef is a practical choice, and so do our clients. And we all know that in most cases, the turkey is hardest part. It takes forever to cook and all of the oven space. After that, it can still come out dry. Our choice of turkeys, capons, ducks or geese, come to you fully cooked. You get the instructions on how to warm it up in 45 minutes to one hour. And if you follow our directions, your centerpiece will come out with beautiful color and supreme richness. Our handmade sauces and gravies can be used to ENCHANCE that flavor, not hide dryness.

This season, save your strength and bring the calming effect of great food into the office or your home. Be good to your taste buds and take it easy… Order from A Tale of Two Chefs Catering.

We’ll be waiting on your call,

Chef Julius, your private chef

"New Orleans Nights" Pop Up | September 29th

You know when you decide to do something that many people like you are not doing, you never know how it is going to turn out. So many people asked, “Why are you doing a “pop-up” restaurant?” I was also reminded that I wasn’t a restaurant chef. None of that really mattered based on the support I received from those of you that attended the series. Some attended one, while others attended ALL three. I could not be happier with the level of true support that was shown. My team and I appreciated every minute of cooking for you. So many of you gave up 3+ hours of your Saturday or Sunday to dine with us, and together we traveled the world. There were Pan Seared Scallops & Mango from Chile. There was a Lamb Ratatouille from Paris and Pecan Crusted Shrimp & Cheese Grits from New Orleans. You all were the PERFECT travel companions. We are sooo looking forward to traveling with you again. The next date is Thursday, Feb. 14th – Valentine’s Day.

Until then, please know that ALL of what you tasted so far is available for catering. We can provide food for lunch at the office, dinner for the family or that BIG holiday meal that you dread having to cook this upcoming holiday season. Our new catering menu will be available for order starting October 15, 2012. You can order items from our existing menu now. Lunch catering packages start at $15 per person and dinner packages start at $35 per person and will be delivered to your event location the day of.

Another option that we offer for your office/friends/family holiday party…you can use our location and have your own multi-course private dinner. We will make Westminster HD available to you and your group. Just give us a call for details (312-326-1948). Be the person that suggested the best office holiday party ever!

Also, remember you can cook with the exact seasonings that we use by ordering salt and pepper directly from this website. Be sure to check our site regularly for upcoming events. Email us to be added to our “surprise lunch” delivery. And last but not least, tell a friend, co-worker or family member about us, because you are the reason we keep cooking.

Happy Cooking and Eating,

Chef Julius Russell

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Valentine’s 2013 Dinner Tickets

Couples $160.00 USD Individual $85.00 USD

“She will show you the virtue of everyday life, rather than the heroic deed” ~ The French Quarter

The theme for the third installment of the Chef Julius Pop-Up Restaurant Experience is “New Orleans Nights”. Known as the Paris of America, the cuisine is known the world over. We will be serving so many of your NOLA favorites. However, our menu will also reflect many ‘nouveau creole’ dishes that reflect the incredible melting pot of flavors that this city has become associated. We will shine a light on the Cajun & Creole culinary heritage of Spain, Africa, The Netherlands and France. The guys from Westminster will have handmade andouille sausage on deck for the Saffron Red Beans and Rice. The Duck Confit Etouffee is coming back! The Truffle Pralines are coming back! Our next post will list more of the courses designed to give you one of the most unique dining experiences ever. Even if you have never visited New Orleans, after this meal, you will be able to say you have eaten there! Our 10-course menu will have a decidedly seafood focus and will have Planters Punch and Hurricanes. Dinner starts promptly at 6pm and the VIP package includes, a “chef goodie bag”, additional courses and tableside preparation of Chef Tiki’s Banana Foster!

Mardi Gras Zulu Parade

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!

Saturday, September 29th
6:00pm | Dinner Service
Westminster HD
1045 W. Madison Street
(btw Aberdeen & Carpenter)

Ticket Details (tax and tip included):

$90 – VIP Ticket (Chef goodie bag, dinner plus additional courses)
$75 – Dinner Ticket

Purchase Tickets:

VIP Package $90.00 USD Dinner $75.00 USD