James Beard chefs savor Nashville's dining scene

While chefs Tandy Wilson and Sean Brock prepare to go to Chicago for the James Beard Awards on Monday evening, the Beards came to town Thursday night for the Savor Nashville event.

More than 200 guests gathered in the ballroom of the Hutton Hotel for a six-course showcase of some of the country's best culinary talent. Four of the visiting chefs can string together an impressive list of James Beard awards and nominations, and to have them cooking together for a night hosted by Nashville Lifestyles magazine was an indulgent treat.

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It was one of the better large-scale meals I've attended over the years. Too often they devolve into glorified banquet affairs where you feel like you're at your cousin's wedding reception rather than a gourmet affair, but this one delivered, from the appetizers to the final dessert course. I think that's in large part because the courses were remarkably light and not simply starches and meats on parade.

Beard winner Justin Aprahamian of Sanford in Milwaukee channeled his Armenian heritage into small bites of goat basturma on lavosh crackers with labneh and brandied apricots, an elevated conjuring of traditional brandy sips with dry-aged meats.

Steve Phelps sourced local Sequatchie Cove cheese for his baked grits bites topped with caviar. Phelps has been a champion of sustainable fishing practices at his restaurant Indigenous in Sarasota, Fla. I asked him about the recent expose "Farm to Fable" in nearby Tampa, where restaurants were caught serving foods that were presented on the menu as something else.

"There are two things I hate," said Phelps, hunched over small blocks of grits as he spooned out the little black pearls. "One, is people who lie about what they serve. And two, is people who lie and then keep posting the lie."

A simple and light salad course of tender, marinated octopus with shaved fennel showed a deft hand from Jason Stanhope from Fig in Charleston, S.C. It proved to be a great counterpoint to Aprahamian's take on a wildly aromatic Oaxacan mole sauce served with malt soda-braised pork belly, the night's richest dish.

The most indulgent course of the night for me was the eye of the ribeye cut of Wagyu beef, dusted with powdered porcini and morel mushrooms and topped with a marrow butter that melted into rich madness on top. This was the food child of Hosea Rosenberg, who made his way down from Boulder, Colo., to visit Nashville for the first time.

While in town the chefs enjoyed sampling Nashville's robust dining scene, taking in meals from Rolf & Daughters, Arnold's Country Kitchen and the obligatory hot chicken stop at Hattie B's.

Chef Jake Strang of 1808 Grille in the Hutton was again a tremendous host for this traveling road show for the James Beard Foundation, and graciously let his pastry chef, Lokelani Alabanza, shine in the spotlight with the evening's closing act, a strawberry ice cream pop underneath an indulgent white chocolate and pink peppercorn shell.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367, on Instagram @culinarity and on Twitter @ReadJimMyers.