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Food

Here's what you can expect from Klyde Warren Park's new food and wine function this weekend

New York chef and Food Network personality Amanda Freitag has spent years leading kitchen crews at nationally-known restaurants. But cooking at home? "Scary" she says.

Savor, a restaurant located inside Klyde Warren Park, will be home base for those with VIP...
Savor, a restaurant located inside Klyde Warren Park, will be home base for those with VIP tickets to Park & Palate.(Rose Baca)

"I don't know why I behave differently in my home kitchen," she says. Maybe it's because she has an army of cooks in a restaurant. Perhaps she's missing that commercial-grade dishwasher. She took inspiration from cooking in her own home kitchen  -- it's "small," she says -- for her first cookbook, The Chef Next Door: A Pro Chef's Recipes for Fun, Fearless Home Cooking.

Dallas diners can be the first to buy the book at an event called Park & Palate on Sept. 26 in Dallas. (The Chef Next Door then becomes available widely on Sept. 29.)

This celebrity chef cookbook sneak peek is one of several glitzy accoutrement that comes with a $150 to $450 ticket to Park & Palate.

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The food and wine event is pricey, but Erika White, vice president of events and programming for Klyde Warren Park, says it's "fair" compared to other food and wine events around the country.

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Park & Palate is the first fundraiser event for Klyde Warren Park, which costs about $3.5 million to operate each year. Organizers say 100 percent from Park & Palate goes back to the green space.

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"The park offers so much free programming and so many free events," says White. Now, regulars can say "thanks." In return, organizers assembled star talent to encourage foodies to check out the brand-new event.

Freitag will be joined by chef Jonathan Waxman and tons of Dallas-area chefs, including John Tesar (Knife, Oak, El Bolero); Julio Peraza (Proof + Pantry, Madrina); Kent Rathbun (Abacus, Jasper's, Hickory); Brian Luscher (Luscher's Red Hots, the Grape); Joel Harrington (Bolsa); Stephen Rogers (Gemma); and John Coleman (Savor, located inside Klyde Warren Park).

Park & Palate allows its 1,000-or-so attendees can mingle with chefs the entire time. 

Activities include chef demos, food tastings and wine wine wine.

Park & Palate is 21 and up only.
Park & Palate is 21 and up only.(Tom Fox)

"This park is so small and beautiful and intimate, it's going to feel really cozy," White says.

Most of Klyde Warren will be gated and closed off for the event, but the East Lawn will remain open for passersby who aren't attending Park & Palate.

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Chefs will offer pointers that home cooks can use in their own kitchens -- much like Freitag's book does. She's eager to taste Texas chefs' food.

Traveling and tasting food are "where I get inspiration," she says.

Perhaps she'll experiment next with tastes of Texas.

Park & Palate events

  • Concert and food competition: Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30-10 p.m. Judges are Food Network chef Amanda Freitag, Texas Monthly restaurant critic Patricia Sharpe and Dallas Stars player Tyler Seguin. The 12 chefs competing must make "comfort food with a modern spin," according to the Park & Palate website. Music comes from Paul Thorn Band. Tickets cost $175 to $275 for a single-evening pass; two-day passes also available.
  • Grand tasting: Saturday, Sept. 26, noon to 5 p.m. Expect 30 chefs and 30 wineries. Chefs and sommeliers will mingle while diners watch cooking demonstrations, taste food and sample wine. Tickets cost $150 to $250 for a single-evening pass; two-day passes also available.
Klyde Warren Park is a bustling place. Here was one of its many events, Uptown Jazz Live in...
Klyde Warren Park is a bustling place. Here was one of its many events, Uptown Jazz Live in 2013.(Allison Slomowitz)