“Kristen, where exactly are we going? I told my roommate we were going to some dinner at some guy’s house and she’s a little worried.” Kristen knew dinner at Rick’s was gonna be incredible, but didn’t give anyone any details, figuring the element of surprise would heighten the whole experience.
Rick Olejarz is a recent graduate of CofC, and from being a student, to joining the air force, to being an aspiring chef, he’s done it all. Kristen met him on their spring break study abroad to Havana with the Historic Preservation department, and they bonded in line at the airport talking about food. He showed off some pictures of food he had made, especially focusing on a different cuisine for every meal. When Rick offered to have the spoons over for dinner, we were pumped, knowing it would be a truly excellent culinary experience.
His thing is a series of dinner parties called Table for Six, and each Table is distinctly different. The theme for our night was Mediterranean/Spanish cuisine, and the guests, from the left, were Elise, Sam, Mattie, Kristen, Ashley, and Aliza.
Photo courtesy of Rick Olejarz
Peep that sangria in the middle though. The ingredients were approx. 3 fresh cinnamon sticks, mango puree, fresh sliced lemons, oranges, and limes. So good.
The first course was the appetizer, which consisted of olive crostini, pepper crostini, gazpacho, figs with serrano ham, balsamic, and cheese on top.
Photo by Samantha Buckley
We all basically chugged the gazpacho because we couldn’t eat it fast enough. It was so fresh and perfectly complimented the other dishes. I’ve had cantaloupe with prosciutto in Italy, so I wasn’t surprised that the fig and ham worked out as well as it did. Salty and sweet are forever meant to be together.
Photo courtesy of Rick Olejarz
Major key: olive crostini dunked in gazpacho.
Photo by Samantha Buckley
Next came the entree, which was sea bass, saffron fries, and tabbouleh.
We were all obsessed with the sea bass because it was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Rick was concerned since he had never cooked this before, but he executed it perfectly. He was originally going to make tuna, but since the store didn’t have any, he improvised with bass. We didn’t miss the tuna one bit.
Photo by Samantha Buckley
Next was a “between course,” calamari with lime.
Photo courtesy of Rick Olejarz
The calamari was gone in a matter of minutes due to excessive amounts of sangria. Also, every college student loves anything fried. #confirmed
Last but not least was vanilla bean flan with raspberries and lime.
Photo courtesy of Rick Olejarz
He was very nervous taking it out of the pan, but it turned out perfectly. Kristen was quite literally on the edge of her seat, hands folded, waiting in anticipation for the grand flan reveal. The flan was sweet and per Rick’s advice we squeezed lime over it, which really made the flavors pop.
The dessert cocktail was delicious: mint, homemade lemonade, and spanish rum all blended together with ice.
Photo by Samantha Buckley
Back to the sangria: it was some of the best we have ever had, and even at the end, we were still trying to enjoy it. The only struggle we faced was when the tap got clogged by a lime and we all panicked since there was quite a bit left. Two of us who will remain nameless resorted to eating the wine soaked fruit. Luckily, Rick came to the rescue and unclogged the tap so that he could enjoy the sangria with us.
Photo by Samantha Buckley
The chef was finally able to join us at the end for some fun conversation and shared drinks. We all had a great time together, and I know Rick definitely has at least 6 people who will line up at the doors to his new restaurant whenever he opens it.