Paging through images of Cartier’s jewelry, seeking to create a menu that mirrored the exhibition , Austin Cueto was enthralled by the elegance.
“It was over-the-top decadence,” said Cueto, executive chef at Palettes, who designed a three-course prix fixe menu with each dish reflecting the spirit of Cartier.
The vibrant hues of the gems — emerald green, sapphire blue and garnet red — became his focus for culinary interpretation, because shapes didn’t really work.
“The iconic images were leopards, crocodiles and snakes, and you can’t really put those on a lunch menu,” he said.
So pomegranate seeds — red as the rubies in the necklace Cartier designed for the Indian Maharajah of Patiala — glisten in an appetizer of house-smoked salmon, carrot salad, cucumber and dill crème fraîche.
An entrée of grilled pork loin features White Gem parsnip potatoes and dried stone fruit to evoke the precious gems and stones used in Cartier’s jewelry, like the flamingo brooch worn by the Duchess of Windsor in 1940.
And then there’s the chocolate pistachio truffle cake: layered with green pistachio cream to emulate emeralds, covered with diamond-sparkling sugar crystals, and sparked with raspberry jellies molded into the shape of tiny jewelry boxes.
The prix fixe menu is $32, and items can also be ordered … la carte for people who want a lighter meal. Palettes, 100 W. 14th Ave., 303-534-1455.
Beaujolais fest
Each year in France, the arrival of the is celebrated on the third Thursday of November. On the same day in Denver, the Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce will host the 16th Annual Beaujolais and Beyond Food & Wine Festival.
This annual fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce is a fête for Francophiles — about 600 French and American business leaders schmoozing with food-and-wine fans, sipping the young wine from the Beaujolais region of France.
This year, more than 40 Beaujolais Nouveau wines are on the tasting menu, with about 14 restaurants cooking up a range of food, from homemade Eastern European cuisine to handcrafted, contemporary desserts. Entertainment includes acrobats and aerialists from the Imagination Circus Arts.
Tickets at the door are $80. The event is Nov. 20 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the McNichols Civic Center Building, 144 W. Colfax Ave.
Deep-dish gratitude
Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, people are using pies to express gratitude.
This weekend, jewelry designer will bake about 300 chocolate pecan pies to give to clients, retail partners, and people in the local homeless community. The pies are made from locally sourced ingredients, including eggs from NestFresh and chocolate from Chocolove.
Reed, who graduated from a culinary school before he founded his jewelry company, started his annual pie-baking tradition about 10 years ago as a way to say thanks to people who’d supported him all year.
“What’s better than making something good from the heart?” he said. “It’s a sweet metaphor.”
Other people are ordering from Pie in the Sky at , because all funds raised from pie sales go directly to support free, nutritious meals for people living with life-threatening illness.
Bluepoint Bakery, one of Colorado’s leading wholesale bakeries, makes the pies in four flavors: pumpkin, pecan, cherry and apple. They cost $25, and $20 per pie is tax-deductible.
Pies must be prepurchased by Nov. 20. To order, call 303-830-0202.
Purchasers can pick up their pies at one of 18 locations throughout Denver and Colorado Springs on Nov. 25.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor@denverpost.com or twitter.com/coconnordp
