Themed Dinners Continue to Spring To Life In The Upstate

It’s not just here’s the menu, take the order any more.  Themed dinners have been making their way across the upstate from Greenville to Central and now to the Golden Corner of South Carolina with the recent reopening of Beyond the Bull (Tableside) which moved from downtown Central to an abandoned property on Rte. 188 in Seneca, nearby the Lake Keowee communities.   If you are a Facebook follower of Beyond the Bull, then you already know of the trials and tribulations encountered while taking over an abandoned nursery and vacant restaurant---taking it back from the most recent occupants, a family of skunks, termites, spiders, rats, mice, beavers and grease, lots of grease.  But, after 87 days of renovations, cleaning, painting and disaster clean up (a failed fire suppression system), Beyond the Bull is back and continuing its tradition of monthly themed dinners which previously sparked a wave of similar venues in nearby Anderson and Pickens counties.

Chef Bell, executive chef and owner of Beyond the Bull, like other forward thinking restaurateurs, is now taking on the role of educator in today’s restaurant environment, offering new dining experiences to a more savvy and diverse diner as well as the home cook enthusiast.  Dinners pairing wine with classic Italian and French cuisine are being replaced with whiskey, cigar, craft beer and farm to table pairings as well as multi-course dinners with single food themes such as a five course feast starring several varieties of in-season tomatoes at their peak or regional themes showcasing foods that are not necessarily local, such as Texas Dorper lamb and wild boar or Maine lobster, blueberries and clams.

Although it is absolutely essential to the success and longevity of local food producers, and to our long term health, from a fine dining point of view, serving farm to table severely limits dining choices.  “As a chef and restaurant owner, I feel like I am short changing my guests if I do not stretch their palates and give them a taste of something out of the ordinary”,   says Bell.  “In my establishment there is a menu to which I must adhere, a standard menu on which my guests can rely to be consistent time and again, so breaking out a themed dinner now and then fuels my artistry and satisfies my desire to educate my guests.” 

Diners and home cook food enthusiasts are generally limited to ingredients that are available at the local grocers or online.  It takes a great leap of faith or fortitude for a nonprofessional cook to order a pound of baby octopus, a whole rabbit or sea cucumbers without ever having eaten them.  Even though there are videos galore available on the internet that show how to prepare everything from an antipasto to zucchini flowers, the world wide web  will never provide them with the aroma, flavor or texture of the ingredients properly prepared by a professional chef.  The themed dinner provides the opportunity for guests to expand their food and beverage experience as well as a chance for chefs to prove they are multi-dimensional.

Themed dinners in the upstate are generally pairings of five courses ranging from $ 45 to $ 150 depending on the venue and ingredients, and most are small, intimate gatherings.  At Beyond the Bull, Chef Bell is leading the way in the Golden Corner with a monthly offering, the third or fourth Sunday of every month.  The venue is small, limited to 40, and casual enough so that if a guest wants to take a break and stroll outside to the fire pit, explore the grounds or just sit on the deck and sip some wine for a breather, he can.  And, he just might meet the chef out there, taking a break as well. 

Will they catch on?  “Our first dinner held on December 23, 2012, the theme of which was the Feast of the Seven Fishes, was a resounding success”, says Bell, “so now we are already planning for our third Feast of Seven Fishes in Seneca, on December 23, 2015”.  Other more recent dinners are planned for June 28, Bison, Boar and Beer No. 3 (a six course pairing of wild game and craft beer beginning with a limited edition IPA from Anderson’s Carolina Bauernhaus Ales) and July 25, a celebration of Maine, which of course stars 

Homerus Americanus, popularly known as the Maine “lobstuh”.    Other themed dinners planned for later this year will include an homage to the BBC Two Fat Ladies, as well as a collaboration with local farms, the best of the best.   

For more information on upcoming events go to www.facebook.com/beyondthebull or call Chef Bell at 864 508 1254.  Chef Angela Bell is the chef owner of Beyond the Bull, an eat smart kitchen located at 8095 Keowee School Rd., Seneca.  In addition to her culinary duties at The Bull, she is a culinary instructor and food writer.  Her latest book, GOOD FOOD BAD FOOD, a how-to of anti-aging gastronomy is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.