Chef Hector Ibarra – Cravings

I have always been a sucker for unique dining experiences. I love the feeling of going to a table, meeting new people, and learning the stories that fuel these soulful creators. “Cravings” by Chef Hector Ibarra is right up my alley.

Chef Hector was formerly the head chef at Lido at Dolphin Bay and he just made a jump into his biggest role yet…he recently became a father! Now he has cooking classes once a month and collaborates with Babe Farms and local wineries to create a delicious dining experience for 12 guests at a private home in Nipomo. Tickets cost $75 each.

The dinner experience includes recipe cards so you can recreate the menu at home and the chef demonstrates how to prepare each dish. Dinner talk and cooking questions happen during casual table conversations and you can’t help but feel like you’re part of a big family. Chef teaches a lot of helpful cooking tips to help impart flavor into the food or easy ways to create elevated meals. The menu for September’s dinner was as follows:

Goat Cheese Bacon Date Spread on Crostini

Mixed Green Salad with Watermelon Vinaigrette

Pork Chop with oyster mushrooms, and brussles over an apple, celery root, and carrot puree. The portion size on this was large…and I’m not against it. The pork chop was so tender and juicy I didn’t want to leave it behind, luckily they provided us foil so we could take it to go. #foilismyfriend