April 2022 • Nebraskaland 35
the harvest dinner, the chef plans
on incorporating more bison into the
regular menu at the Cottonwood's
Committee Chophouse.
Another impetus for these dinners
is to bring the Cottonwood back into
regional conversations as a premier
dining spot, as it was during the
Blackstone Hotel's heyday.
"I want people in like Chicago or
Kansas City to hear about some of the
stuff that's going on here and make the
trip. I really want to be able to showcase
our local ingredients, so that they leave
Nebraska with a sense of 'Oh, wow.
It's not a culinary wasteland out here.
They're doing some amazing food.'
I want people to leave these dinners
feeling satisfi ed, feeling that they've
expanded their horizons and broadened
their palates," Sirois said.
These dinners are also a lot of fun for
the staff . They're opportunities for the
culinary team to fl ex their creativity
and collaborate beyond the day-to-
day, often monotonous, tasks of hotel
dining. They hope to put on these
harvest dinners twice a year in the
spring and fall. Sirois anxiously looks
ahead to the future.
"In the spring, we have all these
beautiful, small local farms and people
growing amazing produce. So, to
showcase some of those items, we'll
make dinner a little lighter as the
weather is warming up. We're looking at
the end of April," he said. Morels likely
will make an appearance and possibly
rabbit, lamb and walleye. Eventually,
Sirois hopes the success of these
dinners will encourage other chefs and
wine purveyors to collaborate.
Keep an eye out for the next
harvest dinner at the Kimpton
Cottonwood Hotel on their website,
thecottonwoodhotel.com. The food will
beat raccoon off a buff et line in 1958 by
a long shot. Suit and tie not required.
N
Guests sat down to dinner at a community table decorated with autumn squash, lit candles and
accents of pheasant tail feathers.
