The news of Steven Caravelli joining the Entre Underground group traveled at warp speed after Entre founder John Perkins made the announcement to his email list. Entre Sucre, an all-dessert dinner to premiere Caravelli on July 28, sold out so quickly they had to add a second date.
Since leaving Araka last June, Caravelli's listed his occupation as "chef at large." He prepared last Sunday's dinner at Claverach Farms and is slated to replace Chef Chris Bork at the Mud House.
Perkin's established Entre Underground three years ago, first as an underground dining series. It's now grown to include catering and, soon, mobile dining.
Gut Check caught up with the Perkins to discuss the new pairing.
Gut Check How did the pairing come about?
John Perkins We have known each other for a while; we met at the Lambstravaganza [slowfood event] last summer. When his time ended at Araka, I contacted him to see if he would be interested in doing desserts for a wedding we are doing. As we started to talk more, it seemed like there was some really great potential for us to collaborate. Is this a one-time thing, or will he be a part of Entre permanently?
Sort of in the middle. Permanent is a bit strong right now, but what I can say is that he is a part of what we are doing currently, and our hope is that this will build into something really fantastic.
Is Steven going to stick to desserts?
No, but it will be his focus. Our dinners are always collaborative. It would make no sense for me to plan out a dinner and not take Steve's thoughts and input into account. At this point, there are three of us doing all the cooking for every event we do and so we all share a bit in what's being done.
Does this addition mean we can see further expansions of Entre?
There is more coming, certainly. But for now, I am going to remain mum on that.
