Executive chef Christopher O’Harra and staff at the Flying Rhino Café & Watering Hole in Worcester have joined forces with the culinary arts department at Worcester Technical High School for the second year for a one-night-only takeover of the Rhino.
The Flying Rhino Restaurant Takeover, from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 6, is a fundraiser, with all ticket sales and donations to benefit Worcester Tech’s culinary and hospitality program. In the event of inclement weather, the fundraiser will be held Feb. 7.
Reservations are required, with no parties larger than six. Tickets are $50 per person for a three-course dinner, including nonalcoholic beverages; $75 per person, VIP four-course chef’s dinner, including nonalcoholic beverages. The menu will include choices of soups, salads, entrées and desserts.
Purchase tickets (cash or credit card) at the Flying Rhino Café, 278 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, (508) 757-1450, or at Worcester Tech’s Skyline’s Main Street Café (cash or check only), 1 Skyline Drive.
Students (seniors) will work side by side with the Flying Rhino staff. They not only will prepare the food but also will serve it, with the assistance of the restaurant’s waitstaff. Guests will be able to purchase wine, beer, etc. Bartenders and wait staff from the Flying Rhino will be in charge of pouring and serving all alcohol.
Kevin R. Layton, head of the culinary arts department at Worcester Tech, and chef/instructors at the school will be on site. Proceeds will be used for scholarships and class field trips for culinary and hospitality students.
Several businesses are sponsors of the event, including Paquette Farm in Shrewsbury, West Boylston Seafood and Dole & Bailey Inc.
The Flying Rhino is owned and operated by Paul Barber and Melina Capsalis Barber. O’Harra is an award-winning chef who took home first place in the People’s Choice Award at Worcester’s Best Chef competition Jan. 28 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. He took the first-place Judges’ Choice Award in the 2017 WBC competition and has won other local awards.
The Flying Rhino Restaurant Takeover last year sold out. Fantastic evening! We look forward to what the students cook up this year.
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Worcester’s original craft beer festival, Brew Woo, presented by Wachusett Brewing Co. and Austin Liquors, will take place March 31 in the DCU Center in Worcester.
The festival will feature two sessions, 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., in the DCU’s Exhibition Hall.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 at the DCU Center Box Office, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Standard tickets are $38 per person in advance, $48, the day of event. Souvenir glass and 30 drink tickets are included in the price of tickets. VIP ticket: $63 per person. Limited availability, and tickets will not be available the day of event. VIP ticket includes souvenir glass, 40 drink tickets, early VIP entrance and more.
Group discounts are available for parties of 20 or more for a limited time only. Send email to groups@dcucenter.com or call (508) 929-0125 for more information. This is a 21+ event.
The festival will feature craft beer tastings from more than 80 breweries. Live music, food offerings, vendors and more. Visit https://brewwoo.com for an update on breweries and vendors.
Event sponsors are radio station WEEI and the Massachusetts Pirates.
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Deadhorse hill restaurant, 281 Main St., Worcester, will offer Super Bowl Takeout Feb. 4. Orders have to be placed in person or by phone by 4 p.m. Feb. 3.
Super Bowl party platter, $100, serves 4 to 6. Platters include Korean-fried chicken wings, pork ribs, Buffalo mac and cheese, bean chili, coleslaw, housemade potato chips and onion dip, crudites and Israeli hummus. Visit www.deadhorsehill.com or call (774) 420-7107 for more information.
The restaurant will celebrate Valentine’s Day, Feb. 9-14, with a special four-course prix fixe menu.
Cost is $95 per person; additional $35 for wine pairing. Prices exclude tax and gratuity. Reservations are recommended, but not required. Call the restaurant for more information.
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The Castle Restaurant, 1230 Main St., Leicester will have its annual Game Dinner, paired with wine, at 5 p.m. March 4.
Cost is $112 per person, excluding gratuity. Reservations are limited; call (508) 892-9090.
Hors d’oeuvres will precede dinner. First course: Idaho mountain rainbow trout fillet en papillote with a fresh tarragon-lime cream and topped with fresh poached gulf white shrimp; Second course: Rich and warming duck confit stew with winter cabbage and vegetables; Dinner: South Texas antelope fillet “maple cured” and roasted, accented with shredded Axis venison sausage and a black and green peppercorn reduction; Dessert: Classic Black Forest Torte with macerated black cherries and an accent of black cherry gelato; coffee.
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Not Your Average Joe’s, 291 Turnpike Road, Westboro, will have its Valentine’s Day Celebration, Feb. 9-14.
The restaurant will feature wines, etc. Appetizers include Lobster Bisque, Heart Beet and Goat Cheese, and Crispy Kataifi Wrapped Shrimp; Entrées: Surf & Turf ($24.99); Crab-Stuffed Flounder ($21.99); Herb-Roasted Statler Chicken Breast ($19.99); Dessert: Love in a Glass (decadent chocolate mousse, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, marshmallows and toasted coconut.)
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Arturo’s Ristorante, 54 East Main St., Westboro, will serve its regular menu on Feb. 14 in addition to Chef’s Valentine Day Specials.
Reservations are required. Seating at bar is first come-first served. Call (508) 366-1881 or visit www.arturosristorante.com.
The restaurant also will offer “Amore Meal To-Go,” a four-course packaged meal, with easy heating instructions included. Cost is $80, plus tax. Orders must be placed by 5 p.m. Feb. 9. Orders may be picked up until 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14.
Arturo’s Amore Meal To-Go menu: Primo: Italian Antipasto; Secondo: Spinach and Endive, roasted apples, strawberries, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, Asiago cheese, sweet carrot and white balsamic vinaigrette; Terzo (choice of two entrées): Beef Tenderloin, a coffee- and cocoa-rubbed 8-ounce center-cut beef fillet, topped with ancho chili butter, served with potato and vegetable; Cod Fillet, pan-seared and served over a fresh tomato pizzaiola sauce and topped with an olive tapenade. Served with fresh vegetables; Butternut Squash Risotto, cauliflower, leeks sautéed with Parmesan risotto (vegetarian). Meal includes a house-selected dessert.
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Tomasso Trattoria & Enoteca, 154 Turnpike Road, Southboro, will have seatings from 5 to 10 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.
Executive chef Daniele Baliani will prepare a four-course meal, $70 per person, plus tax and tip. Regular dinner menu will not be available that night. Visit www.tomassotrattoria.com or call (508) 481-8484 to reserve.
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Local chefs heated up the kitchen at the 11th anniversary of Worcester’s Best Chef Competition, held Jan. 28 in Mechanics Hall in Worcester.
Chefs started competing for the Judges’ Choice Awards shortly after 10:30 a.m., winding down after 3 p.m. Judges knew dishes as 1 through 20 for the blind tasting.
Culinary students from local vocational high schools presented the nine judges with the chefs’ presentation dishes and descriptions, and of course, dishes to taste.
The chefs then turned around and headed to their booths on the second and third floors of Mechanics Hall to prepare tasting dishes for the public.
Julio’s Liquors in Westboro brought in wine, beer and spirits’ representatives to pour tastings for the more than 1,000 guests at the event. Owner/executive chef John Lawrence and staff from Peppers Artful Events in Northboro worked behind the scenes with chefs, expediting their food, etc. It was a whirlwind of activity!
Chef Robin Clark from deadhorse hill restaurant in Worcester won Judges’ Choice First Place Award; Brian Treitman, chef/owner of B.T.’s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, second place; Chef Ken O’Keefe of the Publick House Restaurant in Sturbridge, third place.
All three chefs competed on stage for the Iron Chef Award. They all had to incorporate three mystery ingredients in their dish: Buddha’s Hand, a gnarly fruit sometimes referred to as fingered citron, ground turkey and Sambal Oelek hot sauce.
Chefs had 30 minutes to prepare dishes before judges and guests. O’Keefe was the Overall Iron Chef winner.
Note: Robin Clark of deadhorse hill was the first woman to take the stage and compete for WBC’s Iron Chef Award. She is the second woman to win the first place Judges’ Choice Award at a WBC competition. Laddavanh “Anna” Bouphavichith, chef/owner of Yama Zakura Sushi Bar and Fusion Cuisine in Northboro, won the WBC award in 2008. There was no Iron Chef Award at the time the event took place at Worcester Technical High School. She also won a Judges’ Choice Award in 2009 and People’s Choice Award in 2010.
Guests at 2018 WBC voted People’s Choice Awards. Winners: Christopher O’Harra of the Flying Rhino Café in Worcester, first place; Brian Treitman of B.T.’s Smokehouse, second place; Michael Arrastia, chef/co-owner of the Hangover Pub/Broth in Worcester, third place.
People’s Choice Best Student Dessert: Tantasqua Regional High School in Sturbridge, first place; Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton, second place; Central Massachusetts Collaborative in Worcester, third place.
Other awards: TV3 Student Dessert Winner: Central Massachusetts Collaborative; WXLO Perfect Palate Award: Chef Kenny Smith of Volturno in Worcester.
It was a fantastic evening, and guests got the chance to meet chefs and restaurateurs. Some chefs were first-timers at the event, while others work for restaurants that are scheduled to open early this year in Worcester.
Great job, chefs!
— If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.