Modernist Dinner: Regional Cuisine & Wellness

This very special dinner series, produced by second year students of The Culinary Institute of Montana at FVCC, celebrates chefs whose style, substance and influence are shaping American cuisine. Each dinner features different chef inspired menus. Our students study these chefs, write and cost a menu and then present this dinner in their honor to the public.

*Please note: Because students are writing their own menus as part of the curriculum, those menus are not posted until a week before each dinner.

Student menu inspired by these three chefs focusing on regional cuisine and wellness:

Sean Brock

• Sean Brock is obsessed with Southern culture, community and cuisine. He has been a leader in the Southern style cuisine movement to unearth heritage foods and cooking methods used in this diverse and complex culinary region. He has been honored as the James Beard Best Chef: Southeast for work in his restaurants McCrady’s and Husk as well as his cookbooks Heritage and SOUTH. He is delighted that his most recent restaurant endeavor Audrey realizes a healthier workspace in the kitchen while exploring the future of Southern food.

Chris Shepherd

• A midwestern native, Chef Chris Shepherd has made his mark in the Houston, TX restaurant scene opening several award winning restaurants and being recognized by Food & Wine magazine as one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America as well as the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest. His cookbooks Cook like a Local: Flavors that Will Change the Way You Cook and See the World demonstrate his ultimate goal: to honor the best ingredients with diverse cultural cooking methods that showcase their flavor to the utmost.

Sean Shermann

• Sean Sherman is a member of the Ogalala Lakota Sioux tribe who has dedicated his career to revitalizing and reclaiming Native American cuisine. He founded “The Sioux Chef” company, a non-profit NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), and the Indigenous Food Lab. His culinary goal is to include indigenous food systems like land stewardship and wild food usage in the modern culinary landscape. His groundbreaking Minneapolis restaurant Owamni features a menu of only native foods. Chef Sherman has earned the Beard Leadership Award and Best American Cookbook honors.

Hors D’oeuvre
Pimento Cheese & Benne Wafers
Pickled Ramps

Boiled Peanuts
Farm to Market Smoky Pigs Tails and Red Hots

Amuse
Noi’s Thai Fried Rice Balls

First Course
FVCC Farm Squash and MacIntosh Apple Soup
Autumn Frost & Buttercup Squashes
Cranberry Sauce

Main Course
Charred Beef Short Ribs
Glazed Carrots, Black Truffle Purée

Dessert
Hazelnut Maple Sorbet
Native Granola Bars