Bless Supperclub Pop-Up Dinner- 10/22/16
Over the past couple years, the food scene in Philadelphia has been drastically growing. There’s always a new restaurant or a new café to check out. There’s even been an increase in pop-up dinner events throughout the area. I personally think pop-up dinners are great because they give chefs from all backgrounds an opportunity to showcase their talents in a fun and more personable way. There are many hidden gems within our city that have yet to be discovered. And within those hidden gems are the creators of the food we fall in love with. There’s one special gem that I was honored to have met. Her name is Tonia Renae.
Tonia Renae is someone who possesses the natural talent of cooking and she’s been continuously mastering her craft over the years. Tonia took her passion and decided to show it through her food at an exclusive event, The Bless Supperclub Pop-up Dinner. This would be a dinner that would be served family style. It was Tonia’s first pop-up dinner and I had the opportunity to be an attendee for this special event. I couldn’t wait to experience it and be apart of something that she was so passionate about.
Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the one and only, Tonia Renae. I received a very warm welcome and was shown to the main room where the dinner would be held. She had a big night ahead of her, so she had to return back to the kitchen. As soon as I entered the room, I was greeted by the host for the evening. She was extremely polite. As for the room, you could feel it was prepared with love. The ambiance was perfect. The candlelit room set the tone for evening and it was a great feeling.
For the event, complimentary red and white wine as well as sparkling water were provided. I decided to go with wine as my first choice. There was also live entertainment provided for the evening and I arrived early enough to watch the singer and band set up. The performer for the event was named Jakeya. I could tell this was going to be an enjoyable dinner. The guest began to arrive, seats started to fill up and the band began to play. It was showtime!
The first course started to make its way out. We were served Thai curry shrimp empanadas. They were cooked perfectly and had the right amount of spicy red curry for flavoring. I love shrimp, so this course already won me over.
After everyone enjoyed their share of empanadas, it was time for the second course to come out. Next was an Asian noodle salad. It consisted of julienne carrots, edamame, red cabbage, crunchy ramen, shaved almonds and mandarin oranges. I really enjoyed this salad. It was packed with flavor, freshness and the mandarin oranges gave it a wonderful touch.
In between meals and great conversation, the band continued to play. Jakeya is an extremely talented woman. Her voice is simply captivating and singing comes naturally to her. If you haven’t heard of Jakeya, you have to look her up. She performed Aretha Franklin “Rock Steady” that evening, and goodness, when she hits those high notes she makes you feel good! You can't help but appreciate pure natural talent.
By this time of the night, everyone was feeling good and enjoying each moment. We were about to be presented with the third course. Orange chicken with scallions and sesame seeds. This course was delicious, the sauce had great consistency and I especially enjoyed the tenderness of the chicken.
Following right after the chicken, creamy coconut rice was also served. This paired well with the orange chicken.
By now, I’m feeling very proud of Tonia. Tonight was visibly a success and the night wasn’t over yet. We still had a few more things ahead of us to enjoy and so far everything was wonderful.
Next, we were served a sweet and spicy sriracha glazed salmon with sweet potato fries. I think this dish was my favorite dish of the evening. I really enjoyed the flavor of the glaze and the salmon was cooked PERFECTLY. It wasn’t dry at all and the portion was great. I would’ve never thought to pair it with sweet potato fries, but surprisingly it went exceptionally well together!
Along with the salmon, we were also served a vegetable stir fry. This was the last dish. It’s always nice to end a meal with a light, tasty and healthy option!
As the evening prepared to come to a close, many thank you’s and a huge round of applause was given to the one who prepared our meal. The talented, humble and amazing Tonia Renae. She came out and gave a brief speech and expressed a heartfelt appreciation for all who supported her throughout the planning of this event. She also expressed her gratitude for everyone who came out and attended. It was great to see pure happiness and feeling of accomplishment on Tonia’s face. She definitely had a lot to be proud of. A huge thank you goes out to Ms. Tonia Renae for allowing me to be apart of this beautiful event. It was an honor to attend and it was great being able to witness this milestone in her life. The dinner was a success!
She also sent all the guests home with a special treat. Packed away all nice and cute in little individual boxes were Green Tea cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese frosting. They were so adorable and they were sinfully delicious! I enjoyed mines at home while I was tucked away in bed. What a perfect late night snack! Again, thank you Tonia Renae for your hospitality and congratulations on such an incredible evening!
If you want to learn more about Tonia Renae, you can check out a Q&A that I was able to have with her. You can also find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bless.supperclub/
Getting to know Chef Tonia Renae
1. How many years of experience do you have of being a chef?
I executed my first “Sunday dinner” for a friend of mine and her family of about a dozen people at the age of 19. It was a huge spread of soul food favorites, fried chicken, baked turkey wings with gravy , greens, mac and cheese, rice, cornbread, potato salad, and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Odd thing was, no one ever taught me how to cook any of those things. I literally woke up one morning with an urge to cook, and this was the result, and I have been dominating every kitchen I’ve had the opportunity of working in ever since and that was 22 years ago.
2. Are you originally from Philadelphia?
I was born in Titusville PA but have lived in Connecticut the majority of my life until moving to Philly in 2008.
3. Did anything/anyone inspire you to want to become a chef?
Cooking has always been something I loved to do. It just comes so naturally. My grandfather was a chef and restaurateur. I somehow feel that his talents were passed on to me.
4. Are your culinary skills self-taught or did you attend culinary school?
I have a lot of background. Like I said most things come naturally, other skills I have learned over the shoulders of some truly amazing chefs that I have had the opportunity of working under. I did attend a culinary course offered by the state of PA back in 2010 and became a certified Sous Chef. I spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen perfecting my craft. Not to take anything away from furthering my knowledge by going back to school but I am not interested in learning the gastro science of cooking or any of these other modern day skills. I just want to make great food with quality identifiable ingredients. I am in no competition, I just want to express me through my dishes.
5. Do you have a certain dish that you would consider your specialty?
LOL. I just had a conversation with my wife and I said I hate when people ask this question because I don’t have a specialty and I feel like I am supposed to. I love to cook whatever is fresh on that particular day. If you ask my wife she will say I am great at all things meat. I don’t have anything I prefer to cook over anything else. I really enjoy creating different stuffing’s for empanadas. I can also make a mean pan seared salmon.
6. Do you have a favorite cuisine?
Right now I am on this Asian kick as you will notice by the Supper Club’s menu.
7. What ingredients do you enjoy cooking with the most?
Once again, anything that is fresh. I really do not like to use anything frozen unless I really have to, the quality diminishes in a way that comes through in the dish and I don’t like it.
8. Are there any challenges that you experience, or have experienced, as a chef?
Yes. All the time. Trying to make a name for myself in this field is challenging. Not having the “right” connections or resources to put yourself out there can be frustrating.
9. Do you come across many people with allergy restriction requests? (ex. Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy free). If so, do you find it difficult to modify your recipes to accommodate the customer’s needs?
LOL. So this woman whom I have had to create menus for, who is now a good friend of mine, is gluten-free, soy-free, vegan. And I’ll leave that right there.
I’m very flexible when it comes to requests and people likes and dislikes. I would like to believe I can accommodate any and every one. I mean I myself have to scope a menu before ordering because I don’t eat pork and I don’t drink so I don’t want anything that cooked with either. But both of these items are things I cook with so I am not entirely opposed if that’s what someone wants.
10. Is there a chef that you are inspired by? If so, what do you love about them?
Alex Guarnaschelli. And don’t ask me why, she’s just got kitchen swag.
11. What was your most favorite dining experience?
Most recently Phillips, Baltimore MD. Of all the places I have had the pleasure of eating. This place hit every spot. Cleanliness, customer service, quality of food, ratio vs price. The entire experience was amazing and left me wishing I could get back to there more often. This is what I am aiming for with my supper club events. I want people to be so fulfilled by the experience that they wish I had an actual spot they could dine in on a regular basis.
12. Is there anywhere in the world you would love to visit mainly for the food experience?
If you would have asked me this question a month ago I would have said Italy because not only would I love some authentic Italian food but I would also love to take a class or two. But now its Australia, because I follow quite a few people on Instagram now that make me rethink the way I am doing things. The food looks so amazing and some of the experiences they share are things I would love to take part in.
13. What do you love most about being a chef?
Chef? I don’t really like being called a Chef. I feel like when people call you a Chef they expect certain things from you. Certain foods. Certain plating. A certain attitude. Don’t expect anything from me other than great food. No gimmicks, no foam, no tweezer plating with edible flowers, and no random ingredient that no ones ever heard of unless they watch Chopped. Just a girl who loves to be in the kitchen, a culinarian if you will. A word that is thrown around yet there are no expectations because no one even knows what it really means.
