August 6, 2012

Taste of the Wasatch

An absolutely beautiful day in the Wasatch range.
Yesterday Frida Bistro participated in the annual Taste of the Wasatch at Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Taste of the Wasatch is Utah's premiere culinary event and raises funds to help end hunger in the state.  Frida joined over 50 other restaurants, resorts, wineries, and craft breweries to dish out tastings to the eager crowd.

Esther is very proud/protective of those beautiful tostaditas - watch out!
Let's just say the guests weren't the only ones eating the irresistible tostaditas...
Needless to say, getting Frida staff to volunteer wasn't exactly difficult: free entrance to an event that otherwise costs $125/ticket isn't a tough sell.  That's not to say it was all fun and games - we went all out in our tastings and needed all 8 employees to help stage, cook, and serve food.  The dedicated team was as follows: Thomas (Fierro Group COO), Josh (Frida Bistro Manager) and his girlfriend Lauren, Raul (Head Chef), Gretchen (Server/Bartender) and her boyfriend Michael (who is a professional chef), Esther (Server), and Jessica (Server).  The team was focused on plating excellent tastings for the event guests...and doing some excellent tastings of our own!
Raul putting the finishing touches on the chocolate mole cake.
We may be slightly biased, but we were partial to Frida's delicious gourmet spread!  We started guests with house-cured salmon tostaditas: a crispy corn tortilla, salmon cured with reposado sotol and topped with jalapeno/balsamic aioli, cucumber, radish, and dill.  Next we had Mexican risotto paired with a pistachio-encrusted Chilean sea bass complemented by an elote/cilantro sauce.  And to finish it off, our famous chocolate mole cake topped with chocolate mousse, a fresh raspberry, and strawberry coulis.  I think it's safe to say Frida made some new fans yesterday afternoon!

Hey Jessica, less peace signs, more tostaditas!
By the end of the afternoon the crew was exhausted.  We had a fantastic week at the restaurant with the help of the Outdoor Retailers, and Sunday, which is typically everyone's day off, came and went in a haze - prepping the food, loading the truck, driving up the canyon, unloading the truck, setting up the booth, serving food in the intense mountain sun, breaking down the booth, reloading the truck...you get the picture!  It was a long day, but well worth it.

We want to thank Solitude Mountain Resort and everyone else who made this outstanding event possible - we'll definitely see you next year!


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