Lillie-Beth Brinkman
Oklahoma City Chef Jason Heald showcased his culinary creativity and invited a group of guests to sample tastes from Spain during a recent four-course wine dinner hosted by the Ambassador Hotel in Oklahoma City.
Heald is executive chef of the Ambassador’s Chalkboard restaurant.
Assisting him were Keith Livingston, representing the local family-owned wine importer Wine Cellars, and Karole Cornelison with the distributor, Premium Brands Wine & Spirits.
Jason Heald, executive chef of Chalkboard at the Ambassador Hotel, showcases his culinary creations during a Spanish Wine Dinner. (Photo/Lillie-Beth Brinkman)
I keep hearing about local restaurants hosting wine dinners and inviting the community to purchase a ticket and participate. This Spanish Wine Dinner was the first I have attended, thanks to an invitation from organizers. I got to meet an interesting group of people at our table and enjoyed learning a little about the different wines and interesting foods.
A glass of Mas Fi’s Brut Cava from Catalonia’s El Penedés region greeted guests as they stepped in, and we started with a “pintxos” small-bites appetizer featuring imported feta cheese, a manzanilla olive and a Catalan grilled tomato dish.
First course was grilled Spanish octopus paired with an Argentinian wine I had never heard of – Torrontés, a white wine from the Zuccardi vineyard. White wine (my favorite) was also the second course – a Monastrell wine from the Spanish vineyard Wrongo Dongo paired with beet carpaccio featuring pistachio, parsnip, fennel and herbs. Third course? A skirt steak with mushroom risotto with a red wine – Volver Single Vineyard Tempranillo. We finished it off with a cheesecake and fresh berries and a red reserve wine from Carlos Serres.
A table is set for the Ambassador Hotel’s Spanish Wine Dinner, featuring wine pairings and a four-course menu inspired by Spanish cuisine. (Photo/Lillie-Beth Brinkman)
The dinner was Heald’s first wine dinner as executive chef at the Ambassador and the first held on the hotel’s seventh floor instead of in Chalkboard just outside the hotel’s entrance.
Heald said dinners like this inspire him.
“Events like this really allow me to get back into the kitchen and have some fun,” he said. “I hope they inspire other people to want to cook, to want to learn about wine and to play around with different pairings.”
Heald, via the Ambassador Hotel’s Chalkboard, is holding the next wine dinner featuring food and drinks from Italy on September 10. Stock & Bond is having a wine dinner on Monday, August 10, featuring Dearden Family Wines on the ground floor of The National, Autograph Collection in downtown Oklahoma City. Follow area restaurants on social media for insight into wine dinners.
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OKC Broadway is bringing the national touring production of “Hamilton” to the Civic Center Music Hall this week through August 23 and “The Outsiders” from Aug. 25 through 30. For tickets, go to okcbroadway.com.
Temple Grandin will speak at the Kirkpatrick Foundation’s fifth annual Animal Conference 2026 on Sept. 18-19 in Oklahoma City. Dedicated to animal well-being, the conference also will recognize excellence in architecture and design, farming and ranching, journalism, restaurants and grocery and veterinary care. Award nominations are open through Aug. 15. For information, go to theanimalconference.com.
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Dining and Cooking