On Thursday, I attended a dinner party that was pretty much the definition of a well-executed dining experience. It’s called SShef by Secret Summer and it’s this series where Secret Summer partners with a chef and a brand to create a curated dinner for guests. The brand for this dinner was Spring 44, a Colorado-based distiller.
I had been to the venue before for the Aquarius festival (also put on by Secret Summer) and I had liked it then, but they really made it into a special, intimate space for this dinner:
The personalized place setting really made it for me:
Plus, there were free-flowing cocktails before we were seated:
I had the Vesper, which was a nice, light flowery drink that didn’t lack strength. The watermelon-based cocktail, Goin’ Country, was a crowd favorite.
We were then seated across from our chosen guest, which made conversation easy and invited us to talk to our neighbors. My friend and I ended up meeting a British travel advisor and a marketing agency guru.
As for the food, I can’t say that I was a fan of the lamb (the sawing without steak knife caused more elbow bumps between my left seatmate and I than I would’ve liked), but the first course of melt-in-your-mouth salmon was phenomenal. Plus, the wine was poured freely. Post-dessert treats consisted of chocolates and flowery macaroons. Then, we were surprised with our own personalized bottles of Spring 44 Gin! We were encouraged to choose our own message for the bottle (mine was “To good times”).
Overall, it was a great night in a beautiful venue with excellent conversation. We stayed to talk far after our plates were finished and made some great new friends. The series continues in November and I’m very curious to see what the next chef has to offer. 😉
Short Skirt Long Jacket 