After several rounds of voting and intense competition, Chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR emerged as the clear winner of this year's Your City, Your Chef Contest, presented by Trumer Pils. To celebrate Accarrino's culinary accomplishments, Trumer Pils and 7x7 invited a select list of honored guests to SPQR for an unforgettable gastronomic experience. Chef Accarrino and his team prepared twelve stunning dishes over four courses that paired perfectly with fresh Trumer Pils that was specially bottled in Berkeley earlier that day.
Trumer Production Manager Jeff Eaton started the evening off by teaching guests how to execute Trumer Pils's legendary perfect pour. Chef Accarrino began the meal with a quartet of small bites to whet guests' appetites and showcase SPQR's inimitable style. Highlights included a sweet carrot and lentil salad accompanied by medjool dates and vadouvan curry cream, followed by brassicas and grains paired with rich burratta, creamy avocado, green goddess dressing, and a tableside drizzle of Olio Verde.
The primi course included the crowd favorite forest mushroom francobolli with umbrian lentil, celery, and espresso bellavito, as well as an inspired savory take on the traditional Italian cannelloni dessert featuring duck and cocoa bean along with malabar spinach, chanterelle mushrooms, and ricotta salata. Carnivores dug into the truffle game hen as well as a suckling pork porchetta, leaving just the right amount of room for a dessert duo of vanilla fig leaf custard and milk chocolate panna cotta.
Curating a varied and inspired multi-course menu is no small feat, but creating dishes that all pair perfectly with a single beverage is especially challenging. Trumer Pils complemented Chef Accarrino's parade of dishes, with its distinct hops flavor, high carbonation, and light body providing a bright, lively counterpart to each course that withstood but did not overwhelm the rich and complex flavors. As a thank you to Chef Accarrino for his numerous accomplishments, the Trumer team presented the cycling enthusiast with a custom bicycle.
San Francisco is chock-full of talented chefs and culinary visionaries, but Chef Matthew Accarrino is truly deserving of his title of the 2014 Your City, Your Chef Winner. Congratulations, Chef!
