The Back Bay Inn will hold the first dinner in its “Taste the World Guest Chef Series,” featuring Japanese cuisine from chef Paul Motoyoshi at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 9.
The five-course excursion into Japanese fare includes such dishes as chicken tempura with lotus roots and a soba noodle fan, pan-grilled orange miso salmon with deep-fried walnuts and a side of dragon sushi and plum ice cream. Each course is paired with saké or plum wine, and the evening ends with matcha green tea.
Known for his popular booth selling hot soup at the Saturday Farmers Market, Motoyoshi has cooked and taught cooking at venues throughout Seattle, including Uwajimaya and Puget Consumer Co-ops.
He learned Japanese cooking, including tea ceremony haute cuisine, Japanese restaurant and diner cooking and special occasion cooking, from his family, their chef friends and numerous teachers. Motoyoshi, a second-generation Japanese-American, apprenticed as a sushi chef with T. Fujimori in his Los Angeles restaurant.
The Back Bay dinner is $100 per person plus tax and gratuity. Make reservations by calling 463-5355.
Upcoming guest chefs include food from Argentina by Curtis Grey and Emily Haroz on Aug. 11, food from Vashon by Keri Bell on Sept. 8, food from France by Wally Bell on Oct. 13 and coastal food by Jessica De Wire (of Gusto Girls) on Nov. 10.
Heritage museum wins grant
The Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association received a $5,500 grant — nearly a quarter of its annual operating budget — from 4Culture, King County’s cultural services agency.
Holly Taylor, a historic preservationist who wrote the grant application, said the money will go towards operating support rather than a specific project.
“It’s the best kind of support to get, because we can use it for anything,” she said.
The two-year grant is the first one the heritage group has received since 2005.
Most of the rest of the operating budget comes from membership, donations and the annual Virginia V cruise, which is the heritage association’s biggest fundraiser, Taylor said.
Taylor said the grant will enable the organization to do additional special exhibits like the current Norman Stewart Edson show, upgrade its Web site, pay for archival supplies to care for photos and artifacts and cover basic expenses such as utilities and insurance.
The grant was one of hundreds announced by 4Culture last week. According to a news release issued by the organization, it awarded more than $3 million to 306 local arts and heritage organizations in King County.
