Chef Donald Drake: Collaborates with SOUTH and Paris Bistro

Philadelphia, PA. - This June, restaurateur Robert Bynum will host famed Charleston, SC cookbook author and Chef Donald Drake for a pair of collaborative dinners at SOUTH and Paris Bistro celebrating Philadelphia’s New Southern cooking revival and bringing authentic flavors of Charleston to the city.

• The first collaborative dinner will be held at SOUTH on Tuesday, June 7:
  • Chef Paul Martin and Chef Drake will host two seatings, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • Each seating will include three courses, with several options for each course, many culled from Chef Drake’s cookbook, Uptown Down South Cuisine:
    • Starters will include Fried Green Tomatoes with white cheddar and caramelized onion grits, country ham and tomato chutney (from Uptown Down South Cuisine) and Half-Shell Oysters and Tuna Sashimi with fermented collards, togarashi and Chesta’s hot sauce mignonette
    • Main courses will include Parmesan-Crusted Flounder with Carolina shrimp purloo, warm asparagus, sweet corn and tomato salad, jumbo lump crab and citrus beurre blanc (from Uptown Down South Cuisine) and Pressed Heritage Pork Shoulder with emmentaler grits, chaurice-stuffed squash blossom and cherry-smoked pork jus
    • Desserts will include Southern Pecan Pie with bourbon-caramel sauce, vanilla bean ice cream and candied pecans (from Uptown Down South Cuisine) and Chocolate Lane Cake with bourbon, dried cherries and coconut
  • Guests can choose to enjoy the menu for just $45 per person or add a signed cookbook for $65 per person. Reservations are required.

   

• The second collaborative dinner will be held at Paris Bistro on Wednesday, June 8:
  • Chef Al Paris and Chef Drake will host two seatings, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • Each seating will include four courses, with a shareable first course for two and several options for each subsequent course:
    • The shared first course will be Artisanal Charcuterie for two
    • Starters will include Cypress Lobster Bisque and Hickory-Smoked Heritage Pork Belly
    • Main courses will include Shellfish over Grits and Pan-Roasted Breast of Duck
    • Desserts will include Warm Cream Cheese Brownie, White Lilly Sweet Biscuits with strawberries and Southern Pecan Pie with bourbon-caramel sauce, vanilla bean ice cream and candied pecans (from Uptown Down South Cuisine)
  • Guests can choose to enjoy the menu for just $45 per person or add a signed cookbook for $65 per person. Reservations are required.

Chef Donald Drake has worked at Charleston, SC’s landmark Magnolias restaurant since 1991, when he accepted as position as a sous chef. There, he made lifelong fans of several Chestnut Hill residents who also frequent Charleston, and he is thrilled to bring his cooking to their hometown with these two dinner events. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he is known for his distinctively Southern meals with surprisingly worldly flavors that nevertheless remain true to the history and culture of their Lowcountry beginnings. He is the author of Uptown Down South Cuisine (Gibbs Smith, June 2015), a collection of the upscale Southern recipes that he and his team at Magnolias have made famous.