Café Nordo and The World’s Most Elusive Culinary Museum® dish up a selection of wonders in a progressive dinner at Seattle’s historic Washington Hall.
On May 4, 2012, the doors of Washington Hall (Seattle’s most pedigreed underground arts space) swung open to reveal Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities: a multi-room private collection of culinary exhibits, some not seen by the public since the early twentieth century. A dish exquisitely crafted by award-winning Chef Nordo Lefesczki accompanied each room, enticing adventurers to use all five senses to experience the wonder of food. Flights of wine and originally composed music laced the delirious adventure. Guided by Seattle’s most talented performers, the brave and hungry wound their way through the past and future of Carnal Food®. Only the most seasonal and local interpretations of culinary lore found their way to the plate. Politics aside, Chef Nordo is committed to deliciousness.
Since its first five course foray into food theatre in 2009, Café Nordo has served up two five- course dinner shows, (The Modern American Chicken, and Bounty! An Epic Adventure in Seafood) two cocktail shows, (Sauced, and To Savor Tomorrow,) served a five-course meal in a 30 ft tree house, won critical acclaim (including three Seattle Times Footlight Awards), and established a cult following in Seattle. The dining experience is both theatrical and intimate, only 60 seats available per night with a limited six week engagement.
Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities was Chef Nordo Lefesczki’s most ambitious five-course meal to date as his production team collaborated with local visual artists to transform Washington Hall. This building, located in the Central District, is a jewel of Seattle’s cultural history, having hosted Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Spalding Grey, and Mark Morris. After falling into disrepair, Washington Hall was purchased by Historic Seattle in 2009. The gradual renovations take a pause as Café Nordo utilizes every secret staircase and backroom to exhibit the history of food. With rooms dedicated to Edible Invasive Species, (designed in conjunction with artist Anne Blackburn,) French Culinary History, (designed in conjunction with artist Mark Siano,) Herbal and Medicinal Uses for Food, (designed in conjunction with Seattle Magazine Spotlight Award winner Mandy Greer,) among others, Café Nordo will create the most intimate and expansive use of Washington Hall to date.