Cabinet of curiosities | spring mainstage 2012
A careful curation of culinary wonders at Seattle's historic Washington Hall
“A marvelous, maddening feast of creativity you’d be a fool to miss.”
-Seattle Magazine
THE STORY
.
The doors of Washington Hall (Seattle’s most pedigreed underground arts space) swing open to reveal Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities: a multi-room private collection of culinary exhibits, some not seen by the public since the early twentieth century.
.
A dish exquisitely crafted by award-winning Chef Nordo Lefesczki accompanies each room, enticing adventurers to use all five senses to experience the wonder of food. Flights of wine and originally composed music lace the delirious atmosphere.
.
Guided by Seattle’s most talented performers, the brave and hungry wind their way through the past and future of Carnal Food. Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities is Chef Nordo Lefesczki’s most ambitious five-course meal to date. His production team has collaborated with local visual artists to transform Washington Hall into an extra-temporal house of wonder. This building, located in the Central District, is a jewel of Seattle’s cultural history, having hosted Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Spalding Grey, and Mark Morris. Café Nordo utilizes every secret staircase and backroom to exhibit the history of food. With rooms dedicated to Edible Invasive Species, (designed in conjunction with artist Anne Blackburn,) French Culinary History, (designed in conjunction with artist Mark Siano,) Herbal and Medicinal Uses for Food, (designed in conjunction with Seattle Magazine Spotlight Award winner Mandy Greer,) among others, Café Nordo will create the most intimate and expansive use of Washington Hall to date.
.
Featuring music composition by Annastasia Workman, a script by Terry Podgorski, direction by Erin Brindley, and performances by Aimée Bruneau, Mark Siano, Maximillian Davis, Carter Rodriquez, Opal Peachey, Evan Mosher, and Sachie Mikawa, Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities provided a truly transporting five-course dining experience.
THE MENU
A French Culinary Revolution
Camembert and Morel Tart served with Microgreens
Invasive Species Salad
Rabbit Confit hidden in Shaved Fennel with Hazelnuts, Blue Cheese, and pickled Fiddleheads Dressed in Blackberry
The Banquet of the Cabinet
Ancient Healer’s Soup
Celeriac with Herb Cream Served with selections from the Crone's Apothecary
The Banquet of the Cabinet
Height of the Seasonal Bounty Roasted, Seared, Glazed, Charred, and Poached (What grows that week is what we will serve, with Filet Mignon and King Salmon easily avoidable by our Herbivore friends.)
A Cloud at Sunset
Rhubarb and Lemon Curd Trifle