Spanish Wine Dinner at Farm 255, with Chef Whitney Otawka - Wed., 3/21

Our friends at Farm 255 have an amazing special dinner planned for Wednesday, March 21.   No Sleep 'Til Galicia is a five-course wine dinner inspired by Whitney's adventure through Spain with winemaker Raúl Pérez.

On the restaurant's Farm Dirt blog, Chef Whitney reflects on her experiences in Spain and its inspiration for this dining event:

"We'd go to all these beautiful vineyards and eat grapes from vines that were 100 years old," Chef Whitney says. Along the way, she was able to taste myriad wines in their various stages of development — from a few days aged to those that had been aging for months or even years — and participate in the wine-making process from start to finish. "Now I understand that region, and I understand Mencia grapes," she says. 

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Drum roll, please . . . Here's the delectable menu!

First: Jamón

iberico ham, savory churro, favas, spring vidalias, mint

with a portela mencia 

Second: Pulpa a la Gallega

galicia-style octopus, portugese olive oil, pimento

with alanda blanco

Third: Caldereta de Cordero

braised lamb shank, loin, chickpeas, turnip greens

with quinta de muradella

Fourth: Cheese

local selection to be announced

with muti albarino 

Fifth: Torta de Santiago

almond cake, saffron ice cream, honey, yogurt

with navan pearl sparking wine

Wednesday, March 21 @ 6:30

$65 per person { includes wine; not tax & gratuity }

Reservations can be made by email to reservations@farm255.com or by calling 706.549.4660.

Wines provided by Olé Imports

Vote for The National's Peter Dale for Food & Wine's People's Chef Award!

Chef Peter Dale has been nominated for Food & Wine magazine’s The People’s Best New Chef award 2012. As one of the great innovators of the southeast culinary field, Dale has crafted a unique meeting of Mediterranean tradition and local flavor that is drawing crowds in downtown Athens, Ga. 

Vote for Chef Peter Dale from March 5 through 11, 2012 at 

foodandwine.com/peoples-best-new-chef/southeast

"I admire and respect so many of the nominees for Food & Wine's The People's Best New Chef. It's truly an honor to be in their company.  It's really exciting for the Athens culinary scene to get this national attention, so much is happening here," says Dale.

More about Peter Dale and The National:

• Why He’s Amazing: Because his take on beautiful, Spanish-inspired Southern food is drawing crowds in a small college town.
• Background: Five and Ten (Athens, GA). Internship at La Broche (Madrid, Spain)
• Must-Try Dish: Chickpeas with crunchy okra, topped with yogurt and harissa
• Website: http://www.thenationalrestaurant.com/
• Former Career: A suit-and-tie job in politics on Capitol Hill. “I realized that I didn’t want that kind of life. I felt a need to do something creative, something with my hands.”
• Favorite Knife: Dale prefers the Japanese brand Masahiro, for their super-sharp blades.
• Review: http://clatl.com/atlanta/the-national-athenian-treasure/Content?oid=1274515

Peter Dale graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999 with an A.B.J. degree in public relations, and soon after decided to pursue his interest in cooking. His mother is from Ecuador and his father is a former New Yorker of Greek descent; their backgrounds provided him with the opportunity to try many types of foods and his childhood was filled with travel.

He began as an apprentice at Five & Ten, also in Athens, Ga., with plans to eventually attend culinary school.  While enjoying his experiences at Five & Ten, Dale was able to travel and eventually, culinary school fell by the wayside. “Travel has always been important to me. That’s where I get my inspiration. While working at Five & Ten I left several times to spend time in Europe, mostly Spain.” Dale said. “What I learned over there, combined with the fundamentals I learned at Five & Ten, was better than school in my opinion.”

In 2007, Dale and Hugh Acheson, chef of Five& Ten, opened The National. When explaining the idea and cuisine of the restaurant, Dale said, “TheNational really is a combination of my interests in cooking, travel and food politics.  We serve food inspired by my favorite cuisines: Spanish, French, North African, Greek, eastern Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern.”

Peter has also been active in the opening of Empire State South, Hugh Acheson’s new Southern farm-to-table restaurant in Atlanta.