THE DISH

Tempo treat: Lemongrass Scallops Lafayette

By David McNair |
Published online 6:08pm Saturday Aug 18th, 2012
and in print issue #1134 dated Thursday Aug 23rd, 2012

Surprised more restaurants haven't done something like this? A great idea, and a great way to get some attention by presenting a James Beard-inspired dish. Over at Tempo Restaurant & Bar, chef Brice Cunningham has created something called Lemongrass Scallops Lafayette, inspired by Beard's Escalopes de Veau Lafayette, as part of the James Beard Foundation's national Serving Up James Beard promo, which runs through Labor Day.

"Our dish was posted on the James Beard Foundation website, and tweeted about," says Cunningham. "And we got a lot of attention. Plus it's a great cause to help aspiring chefs."

So if you haven't tried the Lafayette, you better hurry up and get over there. Oh, who is James Beard? He was a renowned author and teacher who raised the level of American cooking in the world's eyes, and today the James Beard Foundation hands out prestigious prizes and scholarships to chefs, holds an annual food conference, and educates the public about food issues. A dollar from each Lemongrass Scallops Lafayette dish ($25) goes to a Beard Foundation fund designed to help talented culinary students.

Read more on: charlottesvilleDowntown MallJames BeardTempo

4 comments

Martin August 19th, 2012 | 1:19pm

How is this news ? It seems like advertising to me.

Buzzman August 19th, 2012 | 1:26pm

@Martin....jeeze, its food news, the dish, you know, not muck raking journo....letting people know about tasty treats...relax.

Anne1023 August 19th, 2012 | 8:36pm

Yeah Martin..... The James Beard Foundation - and lots of event/dishes/chefs associated with it - regularly receive coverage in national news outlets such as the New York Times, Food and Wine, the Washington Post, etc.... I would say kudos to the Hook for promoting the local scene. Thank you David -- good article. I would like to actually try this dish... it sounds great!!!

b17 August 19th, 2012 | 9:03pm

James Beard "raised the level of American cooking in the world's eyes" by ignoring it and instead importing French cooking to the US to replace it. Escalopes de Veau Lafayette is a fine example of that.