Chef-owner Matt Gallaher of Emilia with his fiancee, Jessica Capalik, whose family owns Savelli’s, another popular Italian restaurant.
Our friends at the Knoxville Museum of Art have for many years been celebrating the start of summer with a big fundraising blowout! First it was “Summer Soiree.” That morphed into “Kickoff to Summer,” a rollicking party held at the museum. Both shindigs were huge fun and huge successes.
The event this year made another pivot and became “Taste of Summer,” held recently at the museum. Taylor Lolley, the museum’s director of fundraising events, explains the reason for the affair’s latest iteration. “We thought it needed a refresh,” she said. “L’Amour du Vin is such a success that we wanted to get the next generation involved,” she said, referring to the KMA’s hugely expensive and hugely popular food and wine-centered extravaganza featuring a celebrity chef each year.
Lolley said Taste of Summer is casual and less expensive than the signature fundraiser that L’Amour du Vin has become. “It’s kind of L’Amour du Vin light!” she laughed.
And she’s right! Taste of Summer featured about a half dozen local eateries each bringing a couple of samples from their menus. It was a walk-around evening that also provided several wine-tasting tables so guests could mix and match their pairings throughout the night. The music was much more subdued, too, with popular local jazz artists playing pleasantly throughout.
Look at the paella that Tarik’s North African restaurant brought! What a huge pan!
Kelly and Dana Headden.
David Rhodes, left, and Bill Muse.
Emilia brought lobster salad on a local corn griddle cake with black truffle aioli, top, and jumbo lump crab on a rice cracker with gazpacho jelly, serrano pepper, and basil. Yum!
Jane George, center, with Steven Matijcio and Anita Hollmann Matijcio. He’s the executive director of the KMA. (And an understated dresser!)
Rhonda and Brian Clay. He’s in charge of the KMA’s jazz series, “Soundscapes.”
Speaking of jazz, the musicians were Taber Gable on keys, Taylor Coker on bass, and Vance Thompson on vibraphone.
Bistro by the Tracks wowed with Hadley Creek wood-grilled lamb chop lollipops with Appalachian masala and South Carolina peach chutney. At bottom right is Mountain Roots butter lettuce with white barbecue slaw.
From left, Barbara Apking, Ken and Leslie Parent.
Abby Ham and Travis May.
Kay and Larry Liebowitz.
How about this ice sculpture? There was no doubt about the title sponsor!
Dino Cartwright was the emcee for the evening. He works for the owner of Lexus of Knoxville and it was his idea to get these cool cocktail plates for the occasion.
With these, you can hold your food and wine in one hand!
Or you can sit down and eat with them like a regular plate, as many did.
Jeri Muse, left, and Jane Creed.
Susan Morris, left, with Karen and Rob Peacher.
The catering company Revel brought beet chips with pistachio emulsion, smoked trout, and grapefruit.
And tomato-infused cookie shells with whipped chevre, tomato jam, and basil.
They also brought two very interesting cocktails: Honeysuckle Hills, left, which contained yuzu, lemon, chive-infuted olive oil, honeysuckle simple syrup, and olive oil-washed Hendricks gin; and Blackberry Bramble, which was bacon-washed bourbon, lime, mint and fresh blackberry. Wow.
Sheryl Linck and Garry Conklin.
Stephen Wicks and Wokie Massaquoi-Wicks. He’s the longtime curator of the KMA.
Scott Bird, left, and Michael Higdon.
Mary Morris, left, with John and Elizabeth Swindeman.
The outdoor area was set up beautifully. But it was just too darn hot to stay out there! It was 92 when this photo was taken at a little after 6 p.m.!
Another beautiful area. But, no.
OK, back inside! Here’s Taylor Lolley, left, with Cassie Migawa. Lolley is the director of fundraising events and this soiree was her baby. Great job!
Mitchell Moseley, left, and Stefanie Hess.
Chef Matt Gallaher, left, and Alan Carmichael.
Louis and Kathy Gauci.
Windy Hill Farm’s hospitality director, Marlee Harris, and chef, Ben Warwick.
Steve and Barbara Apking.
David Butler and Susan Hyde. He’s KMA’s retired executive director.
Donna Davis and Ivan Beltz.
Restaurateur Randy Burleson (Aubrey’s, Sun Spot, The Marlowe, Bistro by the Tracks) and Gay Lyons. Sorry that I was shooting into the sun!
Sticky Rice Cafe brought mango sticky rice cookies with coconut ice cream, top, and hamachi carpaccio.
Kim Cunningham, left, and Cathy Briscoe.
June and Rob Heller.
Jim Williams.
Lilou brought French onion soup gougeres, if you can believe!
Anthony Wilson, left, and Tyler Janow.
Jennifer Ackley and Jeff Talman.
You gotta have dessert! Here’s Priscilla Tomlinson with Where Magpies Gather. You were given a cannoli shell and it was piped with the cream filling of your choice and then topped with any assortment of treats you selected!
I think I like this new version of a summer celebration!
Twas a lovely event. That is Talman, one L. My branch of the family tree decided that a lifetime of having to include and spell the silent thus superfluous 2nd L was too much to bear.
Do you have to run for public office around here to get your name spelled correctly or what?
Hi Cynthia!
Thank you and Alan for attending our KMA Taste of Summer event and as always adding your fun pics of the festivities, guests and the fare!
Best and stay cool!!
Lou Gauci
Jeff: Thanks for setting me straight. The beauty of online publishing is that errors can be easily corrected. Which I have done!
Lou: Great seeing you all, as usual! Sure was fun!
It was a fun change of pace. And always great to see so many friends and support the KMA at the same time.
Gay: Agree! The restaurants did a wonderful job displaying very creative and exciting fare and the crowd was in a convivial mood. Too bad we couldn’t enjoy that beautiful outdoor area, but you can’t control the weather!
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