Chefs Up Front 2017 with Lena

May 29, 2017  •  Restaurants

My favorite charity event of the year – both because of the cause and because of the format – is hands down Chefs Up Front. It benefits Cooking Matters Colorado, the organization I have volunteered with for 10 years, that teaches families on limited budgets how to shop and eat healthy food. And the format is no rubber-chicken banquet, but rather a team of Denver’s top restaurant chefs cook table side for groups of ten, an amazingly intimate dining experience for the diners. This year my restaurant choice was Leña, and I somehow neglected to get a photo taken with the very young, very hospitable Chef Matyas Urban. While I’ve been to Leña before (photo of restaurant above) and enjoyed the Latin American cuisine (what you’d expect, delicious ceviche, empanadas, and chimichurri), Chef explained that he had made us some really special things for the night that are not on their every day menu. Wow, was that an understatement. Here’s our meal.

Ceviche Rojo
blood orange / jalapeño / corn / herb-ash shrimp crisp
(Bouvet Brut Rose, Loire, France)Chicken Skin Tostado
seared Hudson Valley foie gras / mango / radish / saris criolla
(Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA)Black Cod Mole
raisin and cashew mole / fave beans / tamarind / sesame salsa
(Villa Nozzole Chianti Classico, Italy)
Lengua Taco
poblano tortilla / squash blossom / burnt ancho salsa / horseradish foam
(Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA)Tastes Like Rhuberry, Dessert by D Bar Denver
vanilla buttermilk panna cotta / wild strawberry creme / confit of rhubarb / almond crumble / strawberry lavender sorbet

Please go visit chef Matyas Urban at Leña!
Leña
24 Broadway
Denver, CO 80218
720.550.7267
www.lenadenver.com