Chef's themed dinners in North Huntingdon offer creativity, fun, delicious food

Dec. 30—Nick Saxon loves the creativity that the kitchen provides .

From his main job as executive chef and beverage director for Braddock's Rebellion, the restaurant in the Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh, to his commercial kitchen, SaxonFood Ink in Prospect, Butler County, Saxon loves nothing more than firing up a burner and creating something new and delicious.

He has plenty of fans. A February dinner at The Kitchen by Vangura in North Huntingdon, where Saxon will prepare a meal with bacon as the star ingredient, sold out more than two months ahead of time. He has themed dinner menus around the final meal passengers ate

aboard the Titanic, and around culinary staples from his hometown of Chicago.

"The dinners allow me to be creative and take some of my guys out there," he said of the Vangura dinners. "And it's a beautiful establishment."

Saxon said the key to creating a well-crafted, themed dinner is variety.

"I look for all of the flavor profiles of an ingredient, from sweet to savory," he said. "You try to find a way where it's going to compliment a dish rather than be the main ingredient."

When The Kitchen by Vangura opened in 2016 — an outgrowth of the Vangura Surfacing Products company, which designs and installs custom counter tops — it wasn't long before they connected with Saxon.

"We were introduced by a family friend, chef Donato Coluccio, when Nick joined the Renaissance Hotel," said Krystal Vangura, director of customer relations and event manager for The Kitchen.

Vangura said her favorite of Saxon's meals so far was a 1990s-themed dinner.

"It was the most underrated, I think," she said. "He did chef's versions of '90s favorites like Dunkaroos and Hot Pockets, we had a DJ who played all '90s music and did trivia, guests dressed the part — and he served everything on cafeteria trays!"

In March, Saxon will take dinner participants across the Atlantic Ocean with "Irish ConFusion," a meal rooted in Irish staples but with a few unique fusion cuisine twists.

"We're doing an Irish cream of vegetable soup, corned beef and colcannon with beer-cheese sauce, lamb and rutabaga pie, seafood chowder with biscuits and apple crisp," Saxon said.

The dinners also typically come with drink pairings. The "Irish ConFusion" dinner will include an "Irish Maid" — a variation on the whiskey sour — an espresso martini made with Bailey's Irish Cream, and Jameson whiskey.

As spring kicks into full swing, Saxon said he's planning a Southern-themed "Hoedown Showdown" meal.

"People will sort of eat their way through Nashville and Texas," he said.

"Irish ConFusion" will take place at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at The Kitchen by Vangura, 14431 Vangura Lane in North Huntingdon. Tickets are $98, and are available at Eventbrite.com — type "Irish ConFusion" into the search box.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .