Hadley Passela for Eat It and Like It:
We’ve all witnessed Low Country cuisine in Coastal Georgia continuously being elevated by talented chefs and imaginative culinary expansions. One place where you will be able to find foodie treasures is in Richmond Hill. A 30 minute drive from heart of Savannah. The man in charge of everything you can Eat and Like at the Plantation? Resident Certified Master Chef Gerald L. Ford. (Yes, a distant cousin to the Henry Ford.)
Ahead of last months lunar eclipse, culinary stars aligned at The Ford Plantation with six Certified Master Chefs coming together for a first of its kind event. Ford hosted his fellow chefs in a Dine Around to pay tribute to Low Country cuisine with their individual interpretations of the classic Southern fare. To put the magnitude of such a gathering of chefs in perspective, the American Culinary Federation Certified Master Chef designation is the highest level of mastery a chef can attain; there are only 72 chefs in the United States who have passed the eight-day exam, with 67 currently being certified.
“I thought it would be nice to bring everyone together,” Ford said, “and this is a special way to pay tribute.”
The world-class special events team at Ford Plantation, led by James Scott, director of food and beverage, curated a whimsical and enchanting evening that aligned perfectly with the mastery the chefs brought to this rare event.
Guests were greeted by a hostess in an iron tiered dress holding Prosecco and punch at the base of the winding staircase of the clubhouse. The evening began with passed Hors d’oeuvres of mini crab cakes with remoulade, candied bacon lardons, smoked salmon canape’s and Hamachi tartare in cucumber cups. As members gathered at the top of the clubhouse, the smell of fresh pralines filled the air while they were churned in an old cauldron on the porch.
Breathtaking views of the golf course and Ogeechee River, the chef stations were adorned in each corner of the clubhouse creating a magical setting. As the Dine Around began, each chef prepared a first and second course.
Chef Ford, for his first course, offered a caramelized onion mini tartelette with wild rice granola, roasted shallot vinaigrette and mache. His second course was a charcoal grilled venison strip, with a celery root pavé, collard greens, and Carolina rice grits with a garlic-molasses jus.
The chefs’ preparations were masterfully complementary to the international influences steeped in Low Country cooking, and all aspects that makeup the significance of the use of ingredients indigenous to the coastal regions, that are flush with seafood and the abundance of long-grain rice bordering the marshland of the plantation.
“For me it’s about using traditional techniques to develop flavors,” said Ken Arnone, certified master chef.
Arnone, a former professor at the Culinary Institute of America, prepared an anise crusted sea scallop, with hedgehog mushrooms, coupled with a cauliflower vellutata and watercress with hazelnuts and celery.
Rounding out the evening-not to mention the waistline- was a chocolate fountain with a plethora of sweet dipping accoutrements. A dessert station with peach crunch sundaes, banana pudding and a panna cotta as well as a display of local cheeses.
Chef Ford, who also happens to be the youngest of Certified Master Chef’s in the nation, will continue his exceptional level of achievement in the 2020 Culinary Olympics, as team Captain of one of 48 international teams competing for top honors in Stuttgart, Germany.
Among the six chefs and the team at Ford Plantation, what was so special about this unique evening was the synergy and magnetism in their camaraderie, which was indicative of the passion they have for tradition, technique and flavors, which came forth in every single dish.
Chef Ford is dedicated to making sure his members know, “they are getting the best meal in Savannah right in their own backyard,” and for those that are privy to his dedication and his cooking—as we say in the South—“are blessed.”
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