Taking mullet to the Windy City


  • October 7, 2015
  • /   Shannon Nickinson
  • /   economy

Pensacola Celebrity Chefs Irv Miler, Jim Shirley and Dan Dunn in Chicago. Photo credit: Bill Strength Photography/courtesy Visit Pensacola.

Nothing takes the chill out of a fall day in Chicago like bacon wrapped shrimp.

The Pensacola Celebrity Chefs did their thing Oct. 1‚ highlighting the rich culinary heritage of our area for a group of travel writers, hosts and bloggers from Chicago Tribune, Dining Out magazine, Chef magazine, Chicago Food Authority, NBC Chicago, Southwest magazine, Splash magazine Chicago edition, Food Travelist and Plate magazine, among others.

Three of Pensacola’s five “Celebrity Chefs”—Dan Dunn, Irv Miller and Jim Shirley—traveled to Chicago with Visit Pensacola to host a late afternoon tasting for media guests at Chef Art Smith’s restaurant, Table fifty-two.

The event offered an opportunity for Visit Pensacola to meet and network with media and social influencers who have a combined total reach of more than 2.2 million potential travelers. 

It could be important exposure for the Pensacola metro area's tourism industry, which is a critical part of the area's economy. One measure of the tourism industry on the local economy is bed tax, one of the 16 metrics in the Studer Community Institutes's Dashboard.

The dashboard, developed with the University of West Florida, is a group of metrics that give a snapshot of the area's social, economic and educational well-being.

{{business_name}}Chef Dan Dunn prepares his signature dish, bacon wrapped Gulf shrimp stuffed with local cheese and jalapeno finished with Pensacola Bay Brewery barbecue sauce.  Photo credit: Bill Strength Photography/courtesy Visit Pensacola

Chef Dan Dunn prepares his signature dish, bacon wrapped Gulf shrimp stuffed with local cheese and jalapeno finished with Pensacola Bay Brewery barbecue sauce. Photo credit: Bill Strength Photography/courtesy Visit Pensacola

The trio of chefs showcased their signature culinary styles with small-plate-sized samplings that fused modern Southern flavors with each chef’s own artistic touch.

Dunn’s Bacon Wrapped Gulf Shrimp Stuffed with Local Cheese and Jalapeno Finished with Pensacola Bay Brewery Barbecue Sauce and Miller’s Smoked Mullet Dip and Johnny Cakes were two courses on a menu prepared with fresh, sustainable Gulf Coast seafood and locally harvested ingredients.

Guests also had the rare opportunity to sample lionfish—or more specifically, Shirley’s Lionfish with Asian Pesto over Fresh Masa & Lump Crabmeat. Lionfish is a delicacy, but it’s also is an invasive species that poses a serious threat to the Gulf Coast ecosystem. Wine pairings, a sweet tea bar, Bushwacker tastings and Hummingbird cupcakes helped to deliver a true sense of Southern hospitality to the Midwest.

{{business_name}}Pensacola Celebrity Chef Jim Shirley in the kitchen at Table fifty-two. Photo credit: Bill Strength Photography/courtesy Visit Pensacola

Pensacola Celebrity Chef Jim Shirley in the kitchen at Table fifty-two. Photo credit: Bill Strength Photography/courtesy Visit Pensacola

“So many people know the Pensacola Bay Area for its beaches alone,” said Brooke Fleming, communications manager for Visit Pensacola. “This event was the perfect opportunity to get key players in the Chicago media into one room and show them just how much our beautiful destination has to offer — on the beach and beyond.”

Pensacola’s five “Celebrity Chefs,” Dan Dunn of H2O at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, Irv Miller of Jackson’s Steakhouse and Jim Shirley of the Fish House (Chefs Frank Taylor of Global Grill and Gus Silivos of Nancy’s Haute Affairs were unable to attend the Chicago event), have created a distinct culinary style by taking advantage of the rich cultural and historical influences on Pensacola.

“Pensacola was America’s first settlement,” said Miller, "and the flavors you'll find here have been influenced by five primary cultures as well as those of Mexico, the Native American, Central and South America and the Deep South. Our local cuisine truly is a celebration of flavors from centuries of time and travel.”

Winning hearts and minds with mullet? I'm all in.

 
Your items have been added to the shopping cart. The shopping cart modal has opened and here you can review items in your cart before going to checkout