Culinary Creatvity
Get an early taste of Paul Qui's new restaurant with the Chef Wine and Dine series
Since winning Top Chef, Paul Qui has been busy: the Uchiko executive chef took a brief Mexican reprieve and came back stateside to hammer out the details and menu for his own restaurant, QUI. He recently drafted Chef de Cuisine Tim Dornon from Uchiko after snatching Congress’ June Rodil, who will be the restaurant's manager.
In the lead up to the restaurant’s opening, which Qui tells CultureMap food editor Jessica Dupuy should be in March, he’ll be a part of the Austin Food and Wine Alliance’s new Chef Wine and Dine series (CultureMap Tastemaker winner David Bull kicked things off in January).
The series provides guests a five-course meal with paired drinks prepared by local, high profile chefs. Each dinner will serve as a primer of the participating chef’s culinary inspirations, down to decor. And for Qui’s turn in the kitchen, he’ll be preparing an early sampling of the food that’ll be served at QUI. The dinner is March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at QUI’s 6th Street location.
The menu:
Mint Soup with Mushrooms, Chilies and Peas
Salad of Guanciale, Brassicas, Seaweed and White Bean
Pan-Roasted Salmon with Coconut, Romanesco and Sunchokes
Pan-Roasted Lamb with Clams, Garlic Chives and Soured Milk
"Spring" Dessert
Alas, tickets are already sold out, but Qui-heads desperate for the sneak peek at the menu, there’s a last chance auction until Wednesday, March 16 at 6 p.m. over on the Austin Food and Wine Alliance website for six remaining tickets. And even if you can’t quite make the $250 minimum bid, Qui is curating a group of food trucks, dubbed SouthBites, near Rainey and Driskill Streets during SXSW.