‘Evening of Decadent Delights’ is a feast for the senses

The best attire advice I gave to attendees at this year’s Penny Parker’^s Evening of Decadent Delights was to wear elastic waists.

Eight of Denver’s relatively new kids on the chopping block showed off their chef stripes by creating courses that wowed the sold-out crowd at Coohill’s, a French-style restaurant owned by Tom and Diane Coohill at 14^th and Wewatta.

This year’s kitchen crew started with passed apps created by Tom Coohill of scallop with English pea puree and pork belly; spring asparagus La Quercia Prosciutto, crisp capers, pickled red onion and lemon; buckwheat blini with eggplant caviar tomato jam and spring chives;  Snake River Farms Wagyu strip steak with spring onions and  Madeira sauce; blue crab flan with mustard sauce paired with Ruffino Prosecco.

The food lover’s feast moved on to baby carrots and parsley root puree from celebrity chef Kelly Liken; pho-style soup with rib eye and oxtail from Lon Symensma of ChoLon Bistro; gravlax, salmon roe egg salad with crème fraiche mustard from Patrik Landberg at Charcoal; shellfish ravioli with fava bean pesto from Gabe Balenzuela at Ambria; Lake Superior whitefish with toasted caraway carrot puree, morel mushroom vinaigrette and oxford garden arugula from Trillium chef Ryan Leinonen, lamb loin with spring ratatouille, black rice and quinoa with lamb jus from Elway’s Downtown chef Robert Bogart.

Dessert from Jenica Flippo at Aria was a panna cotta with strawberries, basil and black pepper, and Sean McGaughey at Opus created dark chocolate ganache with vanilla curd and lavender.

Besides being a gut buster, the evening – with a silent auction and live one emceed by the unsinkable Peter Kudla – earned roughly $30,000 for Sense of Security, a breast cancer organization that helps patients take care of their non-medical bills during treatment. SOS was a victim of Susan G. Komen’s money woes.

Big props go to event queen bee Trisha Lindeman, volunteer guitarist Robert Eldridge, sponsors King Soopers, Squire Sanders, Hamilton Linens, Republic National Distributing Co., air jordan 11 femmes Lifestyles Catering, Bagel Bakery, Seattle Fish Co., The Wedding Pink and Better Webs Online.

The shortfall in fundraising this year from Susan G. Komen has left a $60,000 loss in the SOS budget . Our next dinner for SOS will take place in the fall featuring “the old guard” of super chefs. Stay tuned for details.