Cochon555 coming to a city near you; Aspen FOOD & WINE Classic

Chef Kelly English's eclair, created for Memphis' Cochon555 competition, isn't your average pastry. Photo courtesy of Cochon555.

Kelly English is the kind of guy who will point you to the item you’re looking for in the grocery store, or even guide you through the coriander/cilantro conundrum on the spice aisle. (I know this because he aided my neighbor in the latter, and because when I interviewed him, he admitted to it, confessing: “I don’t take off my chef coat before I go in [the grocery store]. It’s just gotten easier for me to answer people’s questions rather than explain to them I don’t work there.”)

In the kitchen, English is a killer. So he has proven time and time again by the accolades he’s racked up, most recently at Memphis’ Cochon555. For the uninitiated, Cochon555 is a culinary competition/tasting that hits a select number of U.S. foodie capitals (now in its fourth year). At each event, five local chefs execute their own snout-to-tail menus using heritage breed pigs (one pig per chef = five pigs). Five winemakers complement the menus with their pairings – thus the 555. When the meat supply runs dry, event attendees vote for their favorite chef of the evening.

English says he’ll take a similar approach at Grand Cochon, the Cochon555 finals scheduled during the Aspen FOOD & WINE Classic in Colorado (June 15-17). “We won’t do what we did in Memphis. It’s always fun to do new things, but we’re going to be …”

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Make your reservations now for April 26

Restaurant Iris Named One of the Top Restaurants for Service in the U.S. by OpenTable Diners

MEMPHIS, TN — March 1, 2012 — Restaurant Iris announced today that it has been named a winner of OpenTable Diners’ Choice Awards for the 100 restaurants in the United States providing the best service. The list of winners is derived from nearly 5 million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Restaurant Iris is one of only two Tennessee restaurants that made the list.

“The staff at Restaurant Iris and I realize how important guest relations truly are to the success of a restaurant,” said Jeff Frisby, general manager at Restaurant Iris. “Our job is made easier by our generous regular guests; they make our job a sincere pleasure. We are honored that they took the time to show their appreciation on Open Table!”

“You only have one chance to make a first impression, and this is particularly true for restaurants,” said Caroline Potter, Chief Dining Officer of OpenTable. “These honorees understand that the dining experience begins the moment a patron walks through their doors and have mastered the art of attentiveness at each and every point of service.”

Based on reviews collected from OpenTable diners between February 2011 and January 2012, the 100 award-winning restaurants received the highest scores. For more information about all of the restaurants on this list, please visit http://www.opentable.com/bestservice.

About Restaurant Iris

Restaurant Iris, a charming French-Creole restaurant near the historic Overton Square of midtown Memphis, has taken the Memphis dining scene by storm. Among its many accolades, Restaurant Iris has received a four-star review from the Commercial Appeal and was voted Memphis’ “Best Restaurant” and “Best Chef” three years in a row, and “Best Service” four years in a row by Memphis magazine readers. In 2011, 2010 and 2009, Memphis Flyer readers voted English and Restaurant Iris “Best Restaurant” and “Best Chef.” Restaurant Iris was named “Editors Choice: Best Restaurant” by At Home Tennessee, “Best Bet Outside of Louisiana” by Louisiana Life Magazine, and “Hot New Restaurant” by Delta Magazine.

About OpenTable, Inc.

OpenTable is a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants. The OpenTable network delivers the convenience of online restaurant reservations to diners and the operational benefits of a computerized reservation book to restaurants. OpenTable has more than 25,000 restaurant customers, and, since its inception in 1998, has seated more than 280 million diners around the world. The Company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and the OpenTable service is available throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. OpenTable also owns and operates toptable.com, a leading restaurant reservation site in the United Kingdom.

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Tiffany Tastes: Five Star Dining at Restaurant Iris

Via Tiffany Tastes

So my husband and I finally made it to Restaurant Iris, and all I can say is what took us so long? For as long as Restaurant Iris has been open, it has been considered one of the best restaurants in Memphis, and it was a perfect location for a fabulous celebration dinner.

We decided on the five-course degustation which gave us seven courses total (with one shared appetizer and a shared entree.)

I started with their version of soup and sandwich – butternut squash bisque and and grilled cheese piled high with duck confit. I can’t say I’ve ever had duck on a grilled cheese sandwich before, but I definitely will again.

Click here to read the complete review.