Edmonton-based specialty food retailer, Italian Centre Shop will play host to a series of collaborative dinners where Alberta’s most beloved chefs will create multi-course, themed meals using products found on store shelves.
Started in 2015, “ICS Chef Showcase” dinners helped launch the Italian Centre Shop’s highly anticipated expansion to Calgary. “We’d been serving Edmonton at three locations for over 50 years so the shop is really active in the local culinary scene,” says Teresa Spinelli, owner and president of the Italian Centre Shop. “Developing Chef Showcase events helped us build relationships with Calgary’s culinary community and introduce our brand to a new set of food lovers and customers in an exciting and innovative way. Bringing the program back to Edmonton means we had to evolve the event to become something really special for our loyal customers and the community we call home.”
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Edmonton’s upcoming ICS Chef Showcase dinner series will feature two chefs, one local favourite and one Alberta-based, collaborating for the first time. Chefs will work together to create a multi-course menu and the only caveat – all ingredients must be available in store.
The first instalment of the series will feature Lino Oliveira of Edmonton’s SABOR and Rogelio Herrera of Calgary’s ALLOY on Monday, October 15. Tickets will go on sale Friday, October 5 at noon on italiancentre.ca.
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“Cooking alongside one another is a great honour for chefs, and I’m so proud to prepare a feast with my friend Rogelio in the area I grew up,” says Chef Lino Olivera, Chef/Owner of SABOR. “The Spinelli family has been very influential to the growth of Edmonton’s food scene and bringing chefs together from all over the province stays true to their commitment to cultivate a passion for food, gathering and community.”
Guest chefs will be toured throughout Edmonton to meet fellow chefs, visit restaurants and experience local food treasures to get a taste of Edmonton’s food culture during their visit.
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“Like Lino, being a chef and restauranteur means I don’t get to leave my kitchen often,” Chef Rogelio Herrera of Calgary’s ALLOY, says with a chuckle. “There’s been a lot of buzz in the Canadian culinary industry about Edmonton’s dynamic food scene lately and I’m humbled to be invited to spend time where the Italian Centre Shop’s legacy began.”
Details for each ICS Chef Showcase dinner will be announced on the Italian Centre Shop’s social media platforms and the $75 ticket price will include wine pairings, tax and gratuities.
Spinelli is excited to welcome chefs from all over the province to take part in Edmonton’s Chef Showcase dinner series. “Bringing people together to break bread is what we do best and it’s even better when we can connect the friends we’ve made in Alberta’s culinary community to one another while sharing a piece of my family’s heritage and history. I think my late father, Frank would be really proud.”
For more information on the Italian Centre Shop, click here.