UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — New York City Chef Matt Migliore will tempt taste buds with a Peruvian flair at the 32nd Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner and Auction from 6-10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
Born in Rochester, New York, Migliore earned his culinary degree from Paul Smith’s College and has a background in classic French and modern American cooking. He said he moved to New York City to develop his palate and skill set and that’s when he fell in love with Peruvian cuisine.
“I walked into a Peruvian restaurant to see and taste the cultural influences, and fell in love with it,” Migliore said. “Peruvian food dishes are influenced by Japanese, Spanish, Italian, African and Chinese culture, as well as locally grown and seasonal ingredients.”
The 32nd Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner will feature a reception and a four-course dinner with wine pairing. Migliore said the menu will offer everything from black truffle arancini with Gruyere and aioli, to a winter bisque, vegan ceviche, short rib and Peruvian lucuma mousse brownie.
“While I consider all of the dishes to be my children and I love them all, my favorite is the vegan ceviche with rutabaga, pickled persimmon and yuzu,” Migliore said. “The rutabaga is charred and while it is a vegan dish, it holds a smokiness in its flavor and presents with the texture of fish.”
Migliore will host an in-person food styling workshop prior to the event from 10 a.m. to noon, where he will share tips to prepare for the next holiday, birthday celebration or family dinner.
He offers advice for those who are inspired to become a chef.
“Find a restaurant you like, go around to the back door, go in, and learn!” he said. “Start from the bottom and work your way up. Listen, watch, absorb everything, taste everything, keep your station clean and organized, and be willing to take out the garbage and mop the floors. At home, buy cookbooks, immerse yourself in the culinary arts, research the founding fathers of cooking, and understand their methods first.”
Tickets for the WPSU 32nd Annual Connoisseur’s Dinner and Auction are $215 per person and can be purchased online individually, or for tables of 10. Silent and live auction items are exclusively for attendees.
Tickets for the food styling workshop with Chef Matt Migliore are $50 per person and can be purchased online.
Isabel Reinert, executive director and general manager for WPSU, said all of the proceeds from the events benefit WPSU-TV.
“As a public media station, programming is dependent on monetary support from our audiences,” Reinert said. “This is a fabulous in-person and interactive way to be personally involved in the success and future of WPSU as a trusted source of programming and news coverage of events in central Pennsylvania and around the world.”
WPSU-TV, a Pennsylvania Public Service (PBS) member station, serves 24 counties in central Pennsylvania and reaches 515,000 households, and WPSU-FM is accessible to more than 450,000 listeners in 13 counties. The public media station also includes WPSU Digital Studios, which offers original web series that explore science, arts, and culture.
WPSU is a service of Penn State Outreach.