A premier food and wine event in Jacksonville for the past 21 years has been the Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation’s Delicious Destinations.
During that time, it has become not only a marquee nonprofit fundraiser in the area but also a culinary dream for those who enjoy the intricacies of some of the finest food and wine the Southeast has to offer.
The theme of this year’s event is “Salt & Fire,” and many of the dishes presented during the showcase will be tailored to fit with the theme.
Each year’s theme is an excellent way to allow the chefs in attendance to demonstrate their creative side and allow their dishes to really evolve into something memorable.
In many cases, even just walking by the culinary spread on display will catch the attention and amazement of those passing by even before it is tasted.
This year’s featured chef for the Celebrity Chef by the Sea Luncheon event at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club Friday Sept. 8 will be Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro.
He will be joined at the special event with master sommelier Matthew Citriglia, director of wine education for Southern Glazers.
The two-day event will conclude with the main event at 7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 9 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.
Chan is a native, having grown up in Jacksonville and in many ways his path to becoming a chef was one he discovered at an early age, as his family owned 12 restaurants throughout the past eight decades.
According to Chan, some of his earliest memories of food came during his childhood, as he remembers standing on a little stool next to his grandfather’s restaurant stove and just watching him cook.
Chan and the culinary world found a perfect fit with each other when he opened Blue Bamboo in Jacksonville in 2005 after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America.
Following his time in school, he worked for Disney and learned under the tutelage of celebrity chef Ming Tsai.
The knowledge and experience he gathered during that time prepared him for his creation of the Blue Bamboo, and he has since strived to pass along that knowledge to others by serving as an adjunct professor at Florida State College at Jacksonville and by teaching personal enrichment cooking classes at Blue Bamboo.
He has also written a pair of cookbooks in his career, with the first one called “Hip Asian Comfort Food,” being published in 2019 and the second, “Let’s Eat!,” hitting shelves a couple of years later in 2022.
Chan has also held the position of president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Northeast chapter and was chosen as one of 16 chefs to take part in the Hormel Foods Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program.
He currently lives in Jacksonville with his wife Elizabeth, and their 8-year-old sons Bennett and Michael.
“After working around the country, I am so happy to have found my way back home,” Chan said.
