CTbites Invite: Blue Lemon Cooking Demo & Lunch Recap

Restaurant CTbites Invites Westport Lunch

Meaghan Morelli May 23, 2012

Blue Lemon chef Bryan Malcarney can clean, prep and sear a baby squid in just under 10 minutes, all while making small talk with a patio full of hungry diners. In fact, he makes it look pretty easy.

“That’s my job,” the affable chef joked to a lunch crowd last week at a cooking demo organized by CTBites. The lattice and flower enclosed patio was packed with avocational foodies who had jumped at the chance to learn from one of the area’s most established chefs through the CTBites Invites program, which has regular offerings to take people behind the scenes in some of Fairfield County’s most respected kitchens.

Recap: Cooking Demo & Lunch w/ Barcelona's Chef Helton

Restaurant CTbites Invites

Meaghan Morelli March 05, 2012

Helton DaSilva knows how to work a room. The 26 year-old native of Brazil is currently the Executive Chef at Barcelona in Fairfield, but his talents expand beyond the kitchen. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of watching him in action, courtesy of CTBites Invites.

It was a chef demo and lunch, and the ladies who were lunching met Chef Helton’s enthusiasm and raised a flirt or two. “Are you married?” one woman ventured after the chef had introduced himself, much to the tittering pleasure of the crowd.

And this was before sangria was served.

The demo lunch was a mix of insider tips and delicious dishes with more than a dash of Chef Helton’s charm thrown in.