Home For The Holidays

The 2013 Home for the Holidays Designer Showhouse & Marketplace presented by Dovetail Homes is bringing holiday cheer to the Atlanta area beginning Friday, November 15, and running through Sunday, December 8. An unparalleled experience, the featured home, located at 58 Blackland Road NW in Atlanta’s prestigious Buckhead neighborhood, will play host to tours, weekend workshops and seasonal activities with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Southeastern Horticultural Society.

The Home for the Holidays’ newly constructed, LEED-certified designer home will feature environmentally friendly elements as well as the work of acclaimed local designers carefully selected to add their lavish touches to every room from the grand entryway and family room to the master bedroom suite and custom home-office. This year’s roster includesCourtney Giles of Courtney Giles Interior Design, Kelly Wolf Anthony of Anthony | Wolf, Peace Design’sBill Peace, Alison Womack Jowers of Womack Interiors, Barbara Westbrook of Westbrook Interiors,Will Huff and Heather Dewberry of Huff-Dewberry, Rick Bonner of Insidesign andAllison Hennessy of Allison Hennessy Interior Design, among others.

The nearly month-long open house event will also include a gourmet café presented by Savi Provisions and a specialty gift shop featuring Georgia-based designers and vendors. The café will offer a relaxing spot to sit and enjoy bites and sandwiches, while the adjacent marketplace will serve as a one-stop-shop for everyone on your list showcasing holiday and home décor and gourmet goodies, as well as children’s and pet items and live garland, wreaths and trees. Local chef demonstrations, weekend workshops, mini seminars, a working garden kitchen and child-friendly holiday arts and crafts will also add to the experience.

A portion of the funds raised from the event will benefit the Southeastern Horticultural Society (SHS), a membership organization dedicated to furthering the knowledge of the horticultural industry throughout the region. SHS is committed to creating sustainable yet beautiful communities through key partnerships with area businesses and corporations while sharing its passion for horticulture through educational ventures.

Beginning Friday, November 15, and running through Sunday, December 8, the Home for the Holidays Designer Showhouse and Marketplacewill be open to the public for tours Thursdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Advance tickets purchased before Thursday, November 14 are $20 per person, and $25 at the door or online after Thursday, November 14. Groups of 10 or more are $15 per person, and children 10 and under are free.

New F&B Partner and Exec. Chef

F&B Atlanta co-owners Fabrice Vergez and Cindy Brown are pleased to announce Philippe Haddad as partner and executive chef of F&B Atlanta.

“Cindy and I are taking F&B to the next level by bringing in longtime friend Philippe Haddad,” says Vergez. “With Philippe’s tenure and vision we are not only expanding our menu, but we are expanding our brand. His fresh perspective has already inspired significant additions to the restaurant.”

The trio and longtime friends are re-introducing classic bistro fare with the launch of their new fall menu. Haddad brings 38 years of global culinary and hospitality experience to F&B in addition to two prestigious culinary distinctions including a DiRona and James Beard Foundation Award. Accompanying Haddad is sous chef Gabriel Capo who most recently worked with Restaurant Eugene and St. Regis Atlanta. Together, this dynamic team brings exceptional culinary skill, experience and innovation to the restaurant and its menu.

“There is something to be said about approachable, rustic dining. It’s not about the latest culinary trend at F&B,” says Haddad. “We want our guests to experience pure, flavorful food.”

Diners can expect an expanded menu selection that blends modern French cuisine with regional fare. Both dinner and lunch menus feature selections of appetizers, rustic salads, fresh catches from the sea, savory sandwiches, comfort foods, innovative entrees and iconic F&B staples such as the white bean soup and theroast skate wing. The new menu showcases Haddad’s customary take on classic bistro cuisine while continuing to position F&B as an influencer among Atlanta dining. Featured starters include the chef’s famous “mussels from Brussels,” house cured salmon with avocado, fennel, radish salad, yuzu vinaigrette and chives and the Thai lobster soup with coconut milk, lemongrass and ginger. Enjoy a hearty display ofbraised Harris Ranch veal cheeks with sautéed brussel sprouts, soft mushroom polenta and a port reduction or the duck leg confit with mushroom broth, asparagus and roasted bell peppers. Entree highlights include risotto with braised lamb shank blended with mushrooms, parsnip puree and parmesan shavings, and the tagliatelle with lobster, fennel, roasted tomatoes and blended with a truffle lobster sauce. From the sea is a Scottish salmon on top of a cauliflower puree, kale, citrus butter and a candied Meyer lemon confit, and by land the chicken ballantine stuffed with mushrooms, broccolini, pearl onion and dressed with a sage dark chicken jus. Within the comfort food portion of the menu, Haddad includes his family’s Belgian style braised rabbit recipe simmered with shallots, carrots and a dark Belgian ale, a slow braised venison osso bucco with juniper berries, pearl onions and winter root vegetables, and lastly the New York Strip, a fourteen-ounce Linz, Chicago steak with chipollini onions, garlic potato gratin, beet greens and a shallot red wine sauce.

A diverse selection of beverages completes the carefully curated menu to include seasonal beers and house-made craft cocktails in addition to an expansive wine list available for purchase by the glass or the bottle.Randy Kuder, the bar manager for the restaurant, continues to excite diners with a variety of specials and innovative cocktails. Each Wednesday, sip on six-dollar bellinis from 5 to 8 p.m., and every day diners may enjoy cocktails made with 100 percent organic, fresh-pressed juices from local juice bar DTox.

About chef Haddad

For the past 33 years, Haddad has worked in a variety of environments such as hotels, resorts, restaurants, private clubs and private yachts. His impressive career includes Merv Griffin’s L’Escoffier in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, The St. James Club in Antigua and Paris, as well as many top country clubs throughout the U.S. In Atlanta, he was the executive chef at the Occidental Grand, now the Four Seasons, the Abbey and the four-star, five-diamond Nikolai’s Roof.  By 1999, chef Haddad broke away from hotel and resort work and opened his own Zagat-rated Buckhead hot spot, Philippe’s Bistro. After six successful years in business, Philippe’s Bistro closed their doors and Haddad left Atlanta and spent the next two years working in the food and beverage division of two luxury brand hotels’ destination resorts. Upon returning to Atlanta, Haddad reunited with Vergez and Brown with the hopes of revitalizing European fare in Buckhead. Haddad was born in Ghent and was raised in Bruges, Belgium.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!!!

HomeGrown Restaurant Concepts Doc Chey’s and Osteria 832 are bringing the North Pole down south for the 11th Annual Breakfast with Santa benefiting local fire stations. On Saturday, December 7, Santa Claus will spread Christmas cheer at Osteria 832 and again at Doc Chey’s in Grant Park on Saturday, December 14. During his visit, guests will enjoy a hearty breakfast and have the chance to deliver their Christmas wish list to the big man personally.

The family friendly event kicks off with Santa’s grand entrance atop a fire truck alongside neighborhood firemen. After breakfast, children can sit on Santa’s lap for a special photo. A staff member will take complimentary digital photos, but parents are also encouraged to bring their own cameras. In addition to meeting Mr. Claus, children will mingle with local heroes from area fire stations.

Osteria 832 seating times are 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Doc Chey’s Grant Park location will seat at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive a few minutes prior to their reservation to catch a glimpse of Santa’s exciting entrance on the fire truck.

Tickets are $22.76 per person for all ages and include breakfast and the Santa meet-and-greet. 100% of ticket sales will be donated to Virginia Highland Fire Station 19 on North Highland Avenue and Grant Park Station 10 on Boulevard SE. The money raised will be used to repair and renovate stations for the comfort of our local firemen. Since its conception in 2003, Breakfast with Santa has raised more than $56,000 for area fire stations and Doc Chey’s owner Rich Chey was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Service Award at the 2011 GRACE Awards.