Milwaukee's Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company is making a special appearance at the James Beard House in New York City on Tuesday, March 23.
Chef and Omanhene partner Francios Kwaku-Dongo is presenting a culinary retrospective hosted by The James Beard Foundation, the national organization that promotes professional culinary talent.
Kwaku-Dongo was born in the Republic of Cote d'lvoire (formerly the Ivory Coast). To the east is Ghana, where all Omanhene's single-origin chocolate production takes place.
Founder Steven Wallace, a Milwaukeean, started the cocoa bean company after spending time in Ghana as a foreign exchange student and recognizing it as the purveyor of the world's finest cocoa. His company provides jobs and higher wages for Ghana's Omanhene workers and cocoa farmers.
For the event, Kwaku-Dongo has created a singular menu inspired by the places he has cooked during his 25-year career, including desserts made with Omanhene chocolate. He worked as executive chef at Wolfgang Puck's famed Spago restaurants in both Hollywood and Chicago for 20 years before becoming the executive chef at L'Escale in Greenwich, Conn. This marks the fourth time Chef François has been invited to cook at the James Beard House.
"I am thrilled to showcase my own Omanhene chocolate at this event," says Kwaku-Dongo. "I grew up working on my grandmother's cocoa farm in West Africa and it brings me full circle to showcase authentic West African chocolate at the James Beard House -- the epicenter of American cuisine."
Umami Moto Head Chef Dominic Zumpano -- who cooked at the Beard House once before -- returns to cook there again on May 27.
Here is a look at his menu:
Hors d'Oeuvre
Smoked salmon with potato hash and caviar
Spiced chicken turnovers
Lobster tempura
Foie gras cubes with pear butter
Niçoise tapenade on Tuscan ham croutons
Curried chicken samosas
Dinner
Sea urchin and cauliflower mousse with sevruga caviar
Oven-baked black bass with Ivory Coast fish soup and lime-basil pesto
Seared carpenter ranch squab with cèpes ragoût and foie gras risotto
Braised beef short rib osso buco with bone marrow dumplings and petite legumes
Aged goat cheese and fromage blanc onctueux with heirloom baby beets
Dessert
Omanhene Single-Origin Cocoa Bean Chocolate -- chocolate mousse, decadent mint chocolate ice Cream and chocolate financier cake
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
