Janice Hudgins and brother Ryan Nguyen of Little Miss Ha will hosting a special 8 Hands Dinner collaboration Nov. 21 with chefs Nikko Cagalanan, Carlos Parades and Nico Quintero.
After taking a brief vacation, Cagalanan came back to Charleston with a goal to do a big collaboration pop-up in addition to his Mansueta’s pop-up — “more than just Filipino and one other [cultural cuisine].” And with his experience from previous collaborations with Little Miss Ha (Vietnamese), Umay Peruvian pop-up and Quintero (Colombian).
For $100 per person, guests will an enjoy an eight-course dinner, featuring two dishes from each of the chef’s respective cultures, highlighting Vietnamese, Filipino, Peruvian and Colombian cuisine, including Vietnamese pork & shrimp spring rolls with pineapple nuoc cham, Filipino twice cooked ribs tocino, Peruvian ceviche, Colombian sudado de pescado (fish stew).
The chef’s dishes will alternate each course for guests to experience not only the individual flavors of each cuisine, but to taste the “natural progression” of the menu.
“Everything happened so organically,” said Quintero about designing the menu. The progression of the menu has naturally formed into something that seems very interesting and beautiful. It’s all placed so naturally.”
“The climate, the ingredients are all pretty similar,” said Nguyen. “Even the bright colors in our dishes are very similar, I think.”
Despite being from four different parts of the world, the four cuisines blend well with one another for a unique dining experience, a shared sentiment from all the chefs.
“I’m very very excited to be thrown into the mix of very talented chefs,” said Parades. “We’re all trying to show our culture through our food. We all share that passion.”
“We’re four completely different corners of the world that are coming together and I think it’ll be something interesting, something unique that you see, but don’t see a lot,” Quintero added.
There will be two seatings for the special dinner — 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with cocktails, beer and other drinks available for additional purchase.
Tickets and more information can be found on the Little Miss Ha’s website.
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