Spinnaker's Restuarant and Catering

Radford News Journal “Chef whips up African dishes” - by Heather Bell

RADFORD - The Olympic gold medal-winning chef preparing the Radford Chamber of Commerce's upcoming Jungle Safari auction says guests will enjoy a spread unlike anything they have ever experienced in Radford. Just a few more days remain to be added to be added to the auction guest list; the deadline for reservations is Monday. And Robert Adlam, the Spinnaker's chef who will be preparing the African safari cuisine, says it will be an experience not to be missed.

"We have some really fun and interesting, exotic ideas brewing," said Adlam. "People will definitely see and taste things they will love and may not have experienced before."

From Zulu cabbage to periperi and Duukkah, Adlam is busy preparing a visual and culinary adventure for the Chamber auction guests. He says the atmosphere and decor of the jungle safari meal is nearly as important as the food itself, and says he will scrimp on neither.

And Adlam should not have any problem with either the culinary or decorative aspects of his safari buffet either. Adlam is the gold medal winner of the International Culinary Olympics and has won numerous other accolades for his food and his culinary art abilities alike. He can carve an incredibly realistic flower arrangement using nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables at the drop of a hat, and his deftness with a chef's knife had yielded honeydew melon swans, for example, with incredible attention to detail. Adlam was trained at the Disney Culinary Institute, where he was valedictorian of his class, and most recently worked for The Rio, an exclusive casino and hotel in Las Vegas. He has also trained and cooked around the world, including Hong Kong, Tahiti, and the South of France. Adlam gave up his Vegas life to move back east and help his brother, Ed Adlam, run three Spinnaker's restaurants that Ed and three investors bought when the Spinnaker's corporation dissolved a little less than two years ago. When faced with the prospect of coming up with new menus and atmosphere for the three restaurants, Ed could think of no one he would like to be his chef than his brother.

"Robert's ability is just amazing," said Ed. "And he is a true artist; his presentation is almost as important to him as the actual cuisine, and he does both with extreme attention to detail and superb results."

Radford Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandra Stanwitz says she is anxiously awaiting this Saturday's auction and a chance to see the fruits of the Adlam brothers' labors.

"I can't wait; we are really excited," she said.

"I know Robert is going to come up with some really stunning things."

The Chamber's annual auction is the organization's biggest fund raiser of the year, with last year's auction raising $17,000 for the Chamber. Stanwitz says she expects the totals to be down a bit this year, but she is still hoping for the best. The event includes both a silent and live auction, with items donated by businesses in Radford and beyond, and a few choice items purchased by the Chamber as well.

Much of this year's loot sticks to the jungle safari theme, with several memberships to zoos on the list, including the Mill Mountain, Natural Bridge Safari, Knoxville, and Asheboro zoos. Other trips include a week at Top Sail Beach, a night at Nesselrod-on-the-New and weekend trips to Baltimore, the Hotel Roanoke, the Peaks of Otter and Doe Run; there is even a Family Llama Trek, on which a family of four can go to a llama farm in the Shenandoah Valley and go on a mountain hike on llama-back, among other activities. Two round trip airfare tickets to anywhere in the Continental U.S., a $3,000 copy machine and an autographed copy of a script from the WB television show "Reba" are also on the list. Safari-themed clothing and accessories, fine jewelry, a few P. Buckley Moss prints, a spa at Images by B, limousines rides, furniture, tons of restaurant gift certificates and other items round out the full-slate of items to be auctioned.

"We tried to combine a lot of items based on the theme with some items that are always big favorites at the auction," she said. "I think we came up with a pretty good list of things to auction, thanks to the generosity of a lot of businesses both in Radford and beyond."

In addition to the meal, the two auctions, and a cash bar, the even will also include some entertainment, although Stanwitz is being pretty tight lipped about what that certain entertainment will be.

"A friend of Cher's will be stopping by, that's all I can say," she said.

Tickets to the auction are $25 for the buffet and auctions, or $10 just to attend the auctions. The meal will be held in the banquet rooms of the adjoined Best Western hotel.

Anyone interested in reserving his or her spot can contact Stanwitz at 639-2202 on Monday.