The Underground Kitchen, the acclaimed Richmond, Va.-based experiential dinner series, will bring its latest food tour, themed “The New Americana,” to Charleston on October 5th.
Organizers say the tour was created to celebrate their team of chefs and “showcase each of their individual experiences and creative culinary vision.” The tour also serves as an after-party on the heels of the group’s first-ever James Beard Foundation / Beard House “Cultural Collaboration” dinner in June.
“I thought it only fitting that for these crazy times we're living in to spotlight these culinary forces of nature – to not only tell the story of Underground Kitchen, but to tell the stories of the supremely talented individuals with whom we partner,” Underground Kitchen co-founder Micheal Sparks said. “For good or the bad, this is an opportunity for our chefs to tell his or her life's story through food in a way that resonates on a deeper level with our guests.”
Underground Kitchen says they will “artfully customize the mood, setting, and ambiance to compliment and add dimension to the menu and personal story each chef has to share.”
“Part of Underground Kitchen is us getting to know our chefs personally – getting to know their hearts and souls and not just their heads and hands,” Sparks said. “This tour is about our chefs telling their unique personal stories – from childhood to adulthood… sometimes tragic, more times triumphant – all prepared and plated in an intimate, evocative, community-connecting, no-holds-barred multi-course dinner.”
Tickets are now available at theundergroundkitchen.org/
ABOUT UNDERGROUND KITCHEN Underground Kitchen (UGK) is known for hosting high-style, multi-course dinners in secret locations with renowned and up-and-coming chefs across the Mid-Atlantic. UGK was co-founded in 2013 by design and branding expert Micheal Sparks as a community pop up dinner series. Since then, it has expanded to nearly 30 cities across the Southeast while maintaining its community-driven philosophy. With each event, UGK crafts a distinctive experience that revolves around a unique theme, location, and menu. It has been referred to as “the most exclusive dining ticket in town” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Why is UGK so secretive? Details are limited to heighten the aura of suspense. Before the event, only a few pieces of information are divulged – the date and time of the dinner and the theme. The exact menu, chef, and location are kept secret (in most cases) until 48 hours before the event. Underground Kitchen has worked with some of the best chefs on the East Coast, including Matthew Tlusty, former executive chef at Julep’s in Richmond, Va., Joy Crump, former “Top Chef” contestant and executive chef at FoodE in Fredericksburg, Va., award-winning New York City chef Giovanna Delli Compagni, and chef J. Ponder, an alum of Food Network’s “Chopped” and “Cutthroat Kitchen.”
