Showcase Dinners at PINE: Food & Beverage Director Kent Anderson Gives Us the Inside Scoop
Feb 12, 2018 07:51PM ● By Linda Ditch
If you’re a fan of the wine dinners featured at the Hanover Inn’s PINE Restaurant, you’re in luck. Chef Justin Dain has created Showcase Dinners that he’ll offer throughout the week. This is a delicious way to enjoy dishes, not on the regular menu, each one paired with a specific wine to enhance its flavor.
The Hanover Inn’s food and beverage director, Kent Anderson, answered some questions about Chef Justin’s Showcase Dinners:
Q: Where did the idea for these dinners come from?
A: We try to do a wine dinner nine or ten times a year, but it is limited to around 60 people. Since we have quite a few “regulars” at PINE—and although we change our dinner menu about five times a year—Justin came up with the idea of doing the Showcase Dinners in order to give our guests a different food style similar to the wine dinners. The menu is priced out to be a prix fixe or à la carte pricing.
Q: Do you stick with one winery per week, or do the wines vary?
A: We are focusing mainly on the food and not pairing it with any winery. Tara, our restaurant manager, is pairing a wine with each dish, but the focus is on the food at this time. We plan to consistently pair a wine or one of our signature drinks with each course in the near future.
Q: Do you think these dinners will continue into March?
A: The plan is to keep on going for the foreseeable future. There may be a few changes to the format as we go forward, depending on how the dinners are received.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: In addition to the Chef Showcase Dinners, we are also doing Collaborative Dinners. The first one will be on February 25 with Keith Sarasin, founder of The Farmers Dinner, along with Chris Viaud. We currently have a second dinner scheduled for April 11 with Chef Rogan Lechthaler, owner of the Downtown Grocery. Menus for both these dinners will be available online soon.
Currently, the dinners are offered Tuesday through Thursday and cost $75 per person. The menu is available online at www.pineathanoverinn.com, where you can also make your reservation.
A: We try to do a wine dinner nine or ten times a year, but it is limited to around 60 people. Since we have quite a few “regulars” at PINE—and although we change our dinner menu about five times a year—Justin came up with the idea of doing the Showcase Dinners in order to give our guests a different food style similar to the wine dinners. The menu is priced out to be a prix fixe or à la carte pricing.
Q: Do you stick with one winery per week, or do the wines vary?
A: We are focusing mainly on the food and not pairing it with any winery. Tara, our restaurant manager, is pairing a wine with each dish, but the focus is on the food at this time. We plan to consistently pair a wine or one of our signature drinks with each course in the near future.
Q: Do you think these dinners will continue into March?
A: The plan is to keep on going for the foreseeable future. There may be a few changes to the format as we go forward, depending on how the dinners are received.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: In addition to the Chef Showcase Dinners, we are also doing Collaborative Dinners. The first one will be on February 25 with Keith Sarasin, founder of The Farmers Dinner, along with Chris Viaud. We currently have a second dinner scheduled for April 11 with Chef Rogan Lechthaler, owner of the Downtown Grocery. Menus for both these dinners will be available online soon.
Currently, the dinners are offered Tuesday through Thursday and cost $75 per person. The menu is available online at www.pineathanoverinn.com, where you can also make your reservation.
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