Gourmet Chefs Trying Out New Dishes In "Dinner Labs"
HOMEWOOD (KDKA) - It's a brilliant concept that brings hungry people and gourmet chefs together.
The Shiloh Community Baptist Church in Homewood was transformed into a restaurant Thursday night.
"We truck it all in, tables, chairs, equipment, everything that we need comes to the site the day of the event and it's a true pop-up, in that sense," organizer Lance Fields said.
The experience is called "Dinner Lab." It was a concept created in New Orleans, and it recently spread to other cities, including Pittsburgh.
Once a month, chefs have a chance to try out new menus and get feedback from guests. Then they tweak their recipes.
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"They can either adjust seasonings or portions, whatever it is, but its a very interactive dinner lab," Fields said.
This particular dinner lab was inspired by the Harry Potter series. Chef David Bulman, created a 5-course meal with dishes like french onion soup, sheppard's pie, and a fudge torte.
"I just basically scoured the books for any mentions of food or food products throughout the story and kind of came up with a unique menu," Bulman said.
Typically, about 120 people take part in the dinners. People sign up to become members and they don't find out where the event is being held until the day before.
Both guests and the chefs say that last minute mystery is part of the excitement.
"You get a lot of feedback, but for me, its mostly just about having fun, doing something new, unique, also its a great marketing tool, so you get to touch base with 120, 130 different people and do a little self promotion," Bulman said.