Mez Attends Wake Tech Culinary Showcase

Tuesday, April 12th, Mez Contemporary Mexican Restaurant participated in Wake Tech's 2011 Culinary Showcase. Mez, along with several other Triangle restaurants, including Angus Barn, Jason's Deli, Cantina 18, 42nd Street Oyster Bar, and many others, donated samples from their menu to the Showcase's attendees who would "purchase" the sample with a coupon. Coupons were sold for $1, proceeds to benefit the Showcase and Wake Tech's ever growing culinary program. Mez distributed an estimated 400 samples of their made from scratch tortilla chips and salsas verde and chipotle. It was also a good opportunity from industry professionals to mingle with Wake Tech's culinary students and faculty. It was announced during the award proceedings that Wake Tech's Culinary Showcase represents the 2nd largest culinary competition in the state. With the Triangle restaurant community firmly behind the Showcase, next year it just may be the largest.

Pleased to Announce: Chapel Hill Restaurant Group's FIRST Bridal Show Appearance!

That's right!  We have reserved a spot in The Southern Bridal Show & Expo held at the NC State Fairgrounds in the Jim Graham Building on April 17th from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  I have been working on our flyer/postcard to have available at our booth.  Let me know what you think! 
Also, I need input on what food to serve as samples.  I don't believe we will be needing a dessert (even though Mark Tachman, pastry chef at 411 West, makes the best Petit Fours!).  Maybe some Seared Crab Cakes with Chipotle Aioli and Beef Carpaccio?????  Decisions, decisions!  Please help!

CHRG Catering Focuses Marketing Efforts on Triangle Banks and CPAs.

Armed with our trusty 2011 catering menu and samples of Mez's chips, salsas and guacamole, Event Director Jen Schuster and Catering Manager Seth Batchelor are driving around to Triangle CPA firms and banks to promote box lunches and office luncheons this week. Keep the morale up in your office this tax season. Let CHRG Catering for your office's dining needs. Call Jen at (919) 941-1630 or e-mail jen@mezdurham.com. Mention our blog and recieve at 10% discount on your first catering or delivery of $200 or more!

The Wine Dinner Menu is Complete!

Jeff and the Mez culinary team have given me the thumbs up to release the Mez/Chatham Hill Wine Dinner Menu! If you were on the fence before, this should put you over the edge.

Event Planner and Venue Representatives Luncheon on February 15th

Hi All!  
     I am excited to announce that CHRG Catering and Mez will be having an event planner and venue representative luncheon on February 15th at 12:00 pm.  We are going to be featuring all of Chef de Cuisine, Jeff Robinson's delicious hors d'oeuvres and I am racking my brain to come up with fun games and useful tips for everyone in the wedding/event planning industry. 
    This past Friday, I sent out over 100 invitations and the RSVP's are starting to come in.  I am so excited to meet all of the attendees and gain new knowledge of the industry in the Triangle.  We can even spotlight our blog, twitter and facebook page so people will know that we are out here!
     I'll keep you posted on the details (as I figure them out!)

-Jen

Mez Announces a March Wine Dinner, Featuring Chatham Hill Winery

“Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost; united and well matched they are as body and soul, living partners.” - Andre Simon

"Wine should be eaten, it is too good to be drunk." - Jonathan Swift

Over the past four or five years, I've developed the opinion that wine dinners are one of the pinnacles of fine dining experiences. Enjoying multiple courses of gourmet, chef concocted dishes paired with unique wines often creates a stimulating, memorable, educational and relaxing experience. A wine dinner can be a beautiful marriage between a cutting edge restaurant and a formidable winery; the subtle characteristics of a precisely crafted wine emphasized and exploited by the bold creativity of a chef's vision.

With that in mind, we'd like to announce that Mez Contemporary Mexican Restaurant will be hosting its very first wine dinner, March 12, 2011! Five creative courses will be prepared by Mez culinary team, Aaron Stumb, Jeff Robinson and Michael Barnes. Each course will be paired with a unique varietal wine from local winery, Chatham Hill Winery! We're proud to collaborate with Chatham Hill Winery in this endeavor.

A big thanks to Chatham Hill Winery Sales Director Steve Simmons who dropped by Mez Contemporary Mexican Restaurant last Thursday afternoon (1/13/2011) to talk with us about the winery and let us sample a few of their wines. A Viognier, a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Cabernet Franc were poured, sampled and discussed by Mr. Simmons, the CHRG Catering team and the Mez culinary team. Can North Carolina wines be properly paired with contemporary Mexican dishes? After tasting a few of Chatham Hill's North Carolina varietals, we emphatically believe that our guests will not be disappointed!

Just twenty-four hours after our tasting session with Steve Simmons, a draft of the wine dinner menu was completed and placed in my hands by a very excited Chef de Cuisine, Jeff Robinson. The menu features seven courses, including a preliminary Amuse Bouche course and an Intermezzo course to transition from the lighter courses to the heavier courses. Stay posted for the menu details. We'll publish it to this blog in just a few weeks!

Being North Carolina's first urban winery, and the first winery in the Triangle, Chatham Hill Winery is well established as a community and industry cornerstone in our area. Their line of Sweet Carolina Fruit Infused Wines are available at most Triangle grocers, and their varietal wines are available by the glass at many Triangle venues. Most of their wines are created from grapes grown in Western North Carolina, a majority from the Yadkin River Valley. True to their philosophy of using local products whenever possible, Chatham Hill Winery commissions a North Carolina glass company to manufacture their bottles and a company in Zebulon, NC to make their synthetic corks. We're looking forward to working with Chatham Hill Winery, winemaker Marek Wojciechowski, Steve Simmons!

Spanky's Restaurant and CBC Beer Dinner is a Huge Success!!

Spanky's Restaurant on Franklin Street has been a Chapel Hill staple since the 1970's. Spanky's is famous for great hamburgers, brown sugar baby back ribs, garden fresh salads, North Carolina BBQ, cold beer, fun atmosphere, and being a great place to watch local sports. But now Spanky's is bringing something unique to Franklin Street.

Last night Spanky's hosted their

second beer dinner, featuring Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs. Each of five delectable courses were paired with one of CBC's signature beers. Thirty five guests joined John Shuck, CBC co-owner and brew master, for an unforgettable dining experience. Congratulations to Jen Anderson, Brian Barr, Justin Bass, Seth Batchelor, Miles Duggan, and Gavin Toth for putting together an incredible event. A third beer dinner is already in the planning stages, this time featuring Lonerider.

The Bridal Show!

Saturday was a blast! We went to our first bridal show in Raleigh and learned so much. I think the best part was getting to try all of the different cakes and yummy treats everyone was handing out. We are very excited to spice things up with some of the beautiful table settings we saw. There was a lot of good information about different companies to use and we can't wait to get to work with some of these people. They are so creative!

The two pictures above are our favorites. One is very rustic and would be great for a fall wedding set up. The warm colors are very soothing. The other one is bright and fun and would be perfect for an outdoor event in the spring.

All in all, this event was a big hit and we can't wait to use these new resources in the coming year.