Gabriel Lewis authors next moves post MasterChef

Izakaya pop-up alert! Ma Der may I?

A couple of Chefs Fest 2023 participants, Jeff Chanchaleune and Gabriel Lewis, are in the news, and I’ve got details.

On July 14, I was fortunate enough to join a dining room full of folks for dinner at Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s District 52. The occasion was a cookbook launch from chef Gabriel Lewis.

Lewis, 25, is mite young for his first book, but what a life it’s been in his short time. You might remember him from Gordon Ramsey’s MasterChef. He was only 19 when he went viral for being sent home by Ramsey but not without tuition money for culinary school and the promise of a job in New Orleans from Aaron Sanchez.

After that dramatic turn of events, Lewis attended Johnson & Wales in Denver and graduated in 2019.

The pandemic scuttled 2020 plans to work for Sanchez in New Orleans, but along with his sister Diyahna, Gabe built a healthy social media following. The siblings work together to provide a steady diet of content to an audience of more than 56,000 on Instagram and nearly 100,000 on TikTok. He returned to MasterChef in 2021, which only broadened his audience. Gabe also regularly participates in cooking events with fellow MasterChef alums around the country.

On Friday, he wowed the locals with a five-course dinner at his alma mater with help from current students.

Lewis and his youthful brigade began with a seared scallop served with a gel derived from COOP Native Amber, roasted corn puree tinged with Elemental coffee and pickled blackberry. Cucumber gazpacho with COOP Alpha Hive onion jam. A pork on pork attack came next with tenderloin wrapped in bacon. This came with coffied potato puree, pickled apple and a fennel emulsion.

My favorite dish was the immaculate New York Strip crusted with Elemental coffee rub. Prepared by sous vide, the strip of a strip came with charred asparagus, and both foam and butter affected by coffee. The final dish was an homage to Gabe’s father, who loves nothing like a simple serving of coffee and doughnuts. For the dinner, Lewis coated sugared doughnut holes with espresso dust and served them with COOP Territorial Reserve Stout cream and syrup made with Elemental. Blueberry coulis brought color and brightness to the affair.

Holding back tears, Lewis thanked his family and the kitchen cubs for their blood and sweat. After the dinner, Lewis gathered in the lobby to sign copies of his new cookbook, “We Got Food at Home.” He calls it a “guide to great home cooking” and plans to have it available at Chefs Fest along with a new collaboration with Elemental Coffee to eat.

Lewis will be joined at Chefs Fest by Jeff Chanchaleune, whom you may remember was a major subject of the July dining report. Specifically, the propensity of dishes prepared by Chanchaleune ending up on the monthly top 10 list and the relationship his special Monday events play in the phenomena. Rather than leaving you to wallow in my nostalgic wax come August, here’s an alert that chef Jeff will do an Izakaya Ma Der pop-up on July 31. The restaurant operates as Ma Der Lao Kitchen Tuesday through Saturday. Sundays are for family, but on Mondays chef Jeff gets creative.

For Monday’s event, he will reach back into the roots that earned him his first James Beard nomination. Locals who love to eat the good stuff will remember Gun Izakaya, which opened in 2019. Working under the 84 Hospitality banner with Rachel Cope, Gun was in a class of its own. The space is now home to Goro, which Chanchaleune co-founded.

Gun was a sleek cocktail emporium with impeccable bites, specializing in Yakitori thanks to a binchōtan-burning grill. I know Ma Der still employs one, so here’s hoping the Yakitori game is afoot and dreams of shumai, catfish karaage, Okinawan doughnuts, and Tonkatsu sandos come true.

ALERT! I have an update with details on Monday’s menu!!

I can tell you the Hokkaido scallop crudo Jeff has been perfecting will be on the menu, and it should be the main target of your visit. It joins a couple of other chilled items, including a Cucumber mizuna salad and Yellow curry fingerling potatoes.

There won’t be catfish karaage, but there will be chicken. The shumai will come in shrimp, and the katsu will be topped with smoked Lao sausage.

And yes, the Yakitori will flow: Thigh, pork heart, pork belly and a chicken satay. Prices will range from $7 to $27 on the a la carte menu. The pop-up is 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, seating is first-come, first-serve.

Stay hungry, more news fresh from the oven for the weekend.