Chef Kevin Dundon does his stuff!
Imagine how thrilled I was to receive an invitation for the hubby and myself to attend a Signature Dinner & Wine Event at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Downtown Disney in Orlando! The executive chef, Kevin Dundon, is a well-known Irish personality and by all accounts, is a Star worth dining with. Whether he danced or not remained to be seen!
Seated with the entertaining Jeff Houck of the Tampa Tribune and the lovely Katie Machol of the Creative Loafing Blog, myself and Eric Clapton (aka the hubby) thoroughly enjoyed the food, the company and the all-round invigorating evening. BlackBerry wasn’t something on the menu, but we had them and used them to post photos of the evening and keep our followers informed of the fun. Social Media has become such a part of [my] life that it’s automatic now to think of who might enjoy a picture or a quick comment on my current experience via Twitter or Facebook.
The little things that make it special
The attention to detail in the set up of the Raglan Room was superb – it was transformed from a very nice dining area to a timeless formal dining room in some famous Historic House in Ireland. From the candelabra on each table, to the crisp white linens and sparkling crystal right down to the menu presented with a fresh rose, it gave all indications of a more than wonderful evening ahead.
Rather than make you too entirely jealous and reel off each course that we had, here’s a link to the menu and some photos of the fabulous fare before we polished it off. While we enjoyed the fantastic food, wonderful wine and comedic company, the stars came to dance for us. (Thankfully, none of us diners had to dance with the stars. ) They are really so good at what they do!
Here’s a quick look at what Danielle and Amal dished up for us – I would LOVE to see the contestants on Dancing With The Stars try some of these steps!
I thought there was no way I could eat all that food and survive to tell about it. But – the portions were perfectly sized so that I could enjoy each of them, without exception!
Chef Kevin Dundon plays with fire
I had to have the lobster Uische Beatha (that’s Gaelic for Whiskey – or the water of life, as it’s commonly referred to!) and it tasted just as good as it looked being flambeed by Chef Kevin. He looked like he was having way too much fun with the whiskey and the fire!
As we enjoyed our desserts and to-die-for Irish Coffees, Chef Kevin wandered among us posing for photos, signing books and menus and generally having a good time. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings that my husband and I have ever spent over dinner!
The celebrity branding that Chef Kevin Dundon enjoys is the result of a LOT of hard work on his part. Next post will be about how he branded himself as a celebrity and what lessons we can learn and use for ourselves. Here’s a link to a video put together by the folks at Raglan Road Orlando, featuring Chef Kevin and the evening that was such a success!
Jackie meets Chef Kevin Dundon
