Besides attracting thousands of students, Tallahassee Community College has also been attracting some of the country’s most celebrated cooks. These kitchen magicians have been helping the school raise money for its academic programs.
Since the TCC Foundation launched its yearly Cleaver and Cork fund-raisers several years ago, the event has featured a celebrity chef. The Foundaion’s Heather Mitchell said the coming year’s will not depart from that tradition.
“We are bringing a multiple James Beard Award-winning chef to Tallahassee for the (2020) Cleaver and Cork,” Mitchell exclaimed. “And it is Marcus Samuelsson!”
And just in case you don’t know who Marcus Samuelsson is, Mitchell provided a partial overview of his star status.
“I wasn’t sure he would be able to do it because he has like a dozen restaurants all over the world and he’s just opening a brand new restaurant in Miami come January,” she said. “So he is super busy! Not only does he have his own restaurants, but he also is a chef on a couple of Food Network shows including ‘Chopped.’”
Which you may recall is the same cooking competition show Tallahassee’s own Chef Shakafrica Simmons won a few years back. Mitchell said there will be a chance for foodie fans to learn from and interact with Samuelsson.
“He is going to be doing our ‘Session with Chef’ on Thursday, March 5 and it’s going to be a cooking demonstration set up in two different parts. In the first part he’ll come out and demonstrate three or four menu items – things that he likes to prepare with his twist and take on them – and then there will be a question and answer session at the end of it. So he’ll share secrets and if you didn’t get that burning question answered, you’ll have an opportunity to ask it.”
So now we know the identity of the Cleaver and Cork superstar chef. What we DON’T know yet, said Mitchell, is the actual location of the event.
“We’re keeping that under wraps until January and we’ll be announcing it then. We’re working on a couple of things and the (location) we’re thinking of going with is going to be pretty out-of-the-box and exciting, so we hope people will stay tuned for that.”
But there’s certainly no secret about how to secure Cleaver and Cork tickets, which Mitchell expects will go fast.
“The web site that we’ve set up (https://www.cleaverandcorktcc.com/) gives the option to purchase either the Thursday night session with the chef’s cooking demonstration tickets, or the Friday night event, which this year we’re calling ‘The Chef’s Tasting.’”
Cleaver and Cork proceeds have a dedicated destination.
“All of the funds that are being raised at the event will go to support our TCC campaign for the arts; ‘Empowering Exploration,’ and we’re excited about that means for our art students here on campus.”
Made possible in large part by the culinary artistry of SuperChef Marcus Samuelsson.
