Dinner and Drinks: Pop Up with Chef Michael Condon
Our first DINNER & DRINKS event is going to be incredible. For our inaugural dinner, we'll be featuring Chef Michael Condon, from BaddaBing Catering, Atlanta Food Management and SANTO. Michael and his wife, Tanya, are the dynamic duo that brings exquisite food to events around Atlanta.
What's included in your ticket: choice of cocktail, apps, and a three-course meal!
Here's what's in store:
Begin your evening at the bar with a craft cocktail, delicious apps, and fabulous conversation. Join your friends at the table for a three-course meal fit for a queen, paired with wine to elevate the experience. Along the way, our host and chef will provide culinary notes, and his business partner and wife will provide guidance on the perfect wine.
Starts with . . . Charred Strawberry, arugula, smoked pistachio nuts, burrata, 25-year-aged balsamic, fennel pollen-infused olive oil
The main event . . . Roasted Halibut, ginger carrot beurre blanc, asparagus spring ramp fricassee, sweet pea risotto
Coup de Grâce . . . Valrhona chocolate panna cotta, hazelnut brittle, lemon curd, blackberry lavender syrup
You'll be able to add the perfect glass of wine or the wine pairing at the event.
More about Chef Michael Condon
Chef Michael Condon grew up on Long Island and developed a love for food by cooking with his mother and, at a young age, accompanying his “foodie” parents to some of New York’s finest restaurants. He credits his family for his love of good food, eating, and his passion for creating a meal that welcomes others to the table. Michael, like many American chefs, began working in the restaurant business at 16 as a dishwasher, a busboy and than a waiter.
Michael attended the Culinary Institute of America where, after two years of training in French cooking by some of the best Certified Master Chefs and a year’s externship in Aspen, Colorado, he decided to pursue his career in Manhattan, New York. After being mentored by Chef Joseph Guerra for two years, Michael was asked to assume the position of Chef.
At the age of 21, the owners of Zachary’s at 64th and Broadway hired Michael to rescue their failing restaurant. Michael accepted the challenge and soon put a casual elegance into the menu. He also created a fixed price, three course pre-theatre dinner, but it was his stunning creation of Shanghai Lobster which sealed the restaurant’s success.
Michael’s success continued and his role as a chef expanded as he moved from Zachary’s to Union Square Café to Lucky’s Bar and Grill, whose home is located on one of the busiest corners in New York City at 57th street and 6th avenue.
Lucky’s had a 250-seat capacity and the experience he gained there trained him in catering to high-volume clientele. Before moving into the even more demanding world of corporate catering, Michael Condon worked as the Executive Chef for the California Café Group where he was responsible for opening restaurants in Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Minneapolis.
After Michael’s move to Atlanta, while reading the AJC, he found a store in Decatur called Badda Bing Take Away was for sale. Owner Laura McCombs sold the restaurant to Michael where he was once again preparing food for the customers directly, something he had not done for the years after working for the California Café Group. He had taken positions at places like Morgan Stanley and the D.P.N.C. Group, and although he oversaw large volume restaurants that served many customers, he longed to create the food directly once again.
Badda Bing became a popular neighborhood destination with gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts and daily chef ready entrees. Michael’s menu changes and expanding to a full line of catering saved yet another restaurant. Badda Bing catering quickly grew in Decatur and Atlanta due mostly to word of mouth by people who had used his services.
Expanding further into higher-volume, daily venues was the next logical step for this small business, whose chef had a mind for volumes that private catered events could not accommodate. Atlanta Food Management continues to grow out of all this experience and gives the same quality and attention to 200+ people a day as it does to a private wedding for 25 people on a lazy Sunday afternoon in Decatur during the middle of the summer.