Mavaro Women

Chef Marie-Anne Valesco and Angela Ortmann (STLwinegirl) have been wanting to do a wine dinner for a very long time, but life kept getting in the way.

So I was super excited to hear that this finally was going to happen, and just in time for International Women's Day too! Chef Marie-Anne has quite an extensive chef resume, and I was excited to see what she would make for us!

In order to honor several female chefs, these dishes were Chef Marie-Anne's own take on them. What creativity!

Turns out Chef Marie-Anne was also quite familiar with shucking oysters and I think this was the largest one I have ever had! I could have used a couple more of these east coast oysters. I think sparkling sake is the best version of sake, so it was a perfect pairing with seafood. 

Eagle's Nest East Coast Oyster

The salad course brought back the famous goat cheese on greens, but this time the cheese was in the form of a crisp on the side. The dressing was delicious...could I buy a bottle of it? The goat cheese crisps were my favorite of course. The Bull and Brook rose stood up to all the flavors and I love that Ashley Trout, the winemaker, also has a wine brand that donates money to the field workers.

Goat cheese sourdough, endive, arugula, parsley, fennel, red wine vinaigrette

I am a HUGE fan of agnolotti or any kind of dumpling, so I would have been happy if this had been the main course. Angela requested a clarified butter "brodo" and Chef Marie-Anne made it happen! I was also blown away by this Luca Chardonnay pairing as well because while there was the traditional oaky flavors, it didn't coat your mouth as a medium-bodied wine. It really let the pasta shine!

Kabocha Squash Agnolini

You can't have a women's themed dinner without a nod to Julia Child, but Chef Marie-Anne's take on it provided a unique version of beef bourguignon that had seared edges. We also got to try her specialty, caramelized pickled onions, which was included on the side of this dish. We definitely wanted a jar of those to take home as well. Of course a big red Cotes Du Rhone was a good match with the beef dish.

Beef Bourgignon on top of a Pomme Puree with mushrooms,
tournee carrots, sunchokes, and caramelized pickled onions

We were plenty full at this point, but the Buko Pandan Cake that looked like a Baked Alaska was so unique. The Moscato from Black Girl Magic was just as sweet, so it was perfect for dessert.

Buko pandan cake, ube custard, toasted meringue

This was just the first-time experiment so look for more to come!

Chef Marie-Anne Velasco and STLwinegirl Angela Ortmann

Menu

Photos by Patience Scanlon