I’m a self-taught cook who’s donated dinners for fundraisers that I’ve hosted in my home where I’ve enlisted help from others to make it happen. Taking on those gigs always makes me wonder how a real chef would handle everything.
Now’s my chance to find out, because for this auction donation, I’m partnering with the dynamic culinary duo, Christa and Cal DeMercurio and friends to prepare and serve dinner for eight guests.
You have met Christa via her delightfully informative columns, “Culinarily Yours” here on ANC where she shares what she’s learned as a home cook from her husband, award-winning chef Cal DeMercurio.
And Cal is well-known in the north state as a talented, creative chef who’s owned and operated a number of Redding restaurants.
The three of us will team up, and enlist the help of other foodies, to create and serve a gourmet meal for 8 in my newly remodeled 1938 west-Redding home. This 5-course meal will feature a show-stopping menu specially designed for you.
Love, Doni, Cal and Christa
Dinner for 8 in Doni’s Home
Value: $600
Opening bid: $300
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About Christa
Instead of a New Year’s resolution, Christa DeMercurio asked her chef husband to be her tutor/mentor/sage (not the herb) for the 2018 year, teaching her his tips, tricks and wisdom in the culinary department. She figured that after over a decade together, their bakers dozen year should be a fun journey of cooking. Her husband, Cal DeMercurio, has been in the food service business since, well, forever (40-ish years). When it comes to the restaurant life, she’s been more comfortable in the Back Office and sometimes Front of the House, but never really ventured into the professional kitchen. She’s obtained a few skills by observing her husband over the years and then experimenting here and there at home. Now she’s ready to take her apprenticeship to the next level. You can read her blog, Culinarily Yours, here.
About Chef Cal
Chef Cal has an extensive professional experience, from continental fine dining to American family casual. He began his passionate pursuit of food at the age of 16 when he entered the back door of a restaurant and offered to wash dishes for free just so he could watch the chef work.
At that early age, he also started competing as an amateur chef. He entered the American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program, and climbed the ladder to Certified Executive Chef, quickly being recognized as Chef of the Year. He has experienced everything from the pinnacle of cooking for dignitaries and professionally competing in the International Culinary Olympics (IKA), to getting into the trenches of designing and building professional kitchens from the ground up.
Chef Cal loves to blend his traditional French Escoffier training with his Italian heritage in many of his creations, but he has an ecclectic repertoire that spans cuisines from around the globe, including Asian, European, traditional American and beyond.
Throughout his career, as an instructor to ACF apprentices, CRAEF ProStart students, collegians, and aspiring foodies, his love for sharing his craft is infectious to those who want to learn more and grow as culinarians and restaurateurs.
For more information and to schedule Chef Cal for catering, please visit www.chefcal.net.