Thursday, August 18, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests $115

For Cleveland culinarians, chef Scott Popovic of Fire Food and Drink has changed the dining landscape. Local critics were quick to recognize their hometown hero’s talent and have been singing his praises to anyone who would listen. Well, we heard. Now, in his debut headlining performance at the Beard House, Popovic is bringing his brand of sophisticated American cuisine to the national stage.

A native of nearby North Olmsted, Popovic traveled around the country honing his craft before settling back in Ohio. He attended Johnson & Wales University’s culinary program in Charleston, South Carolina, and he studied Low Country cooking at Magnolias in Charleston. Next he headed to Las Vegas, where he first served as master chef at Aureole at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and then as sous-chef at N9NE at the Palms Casino Resort. He returned to Ohio to cook at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland, and further refined his technique under chef Doug Katz at Moxie Restaurant in Beachwood, Ohio. He became the chef at Cleveland’s upscale XO, where he won acclaim for his “tightly composed, contemporary show-stoppers, infused with flavor and presented with charm and wit,” according to Elaine T. Cicora from Cleveland Scene, who continued, “Popovic’s upscale lunch and dinner menus are pure sex appeal.” Doug Trattner of Cleveland’s FreeTimes.com agreed, writing, “It is a restaurant such as this that reminds us why we eat out in the first place.”

A graduate of Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh, Angela Evanko-Popovic started her career as a pastry cook at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. She and then-boyfriend (now husband) Scott then moved on to Las Vegas, where she worked as a pastry cook at the Rio Hotel and Casino. The two returned to Cleveland to work at XO, where Evanko-Popovic was pastry chef. She was also pastry chef at Max’s Deli in Rocky River, Ohio, before reuniting with her husband at Fire Food and Drink.

Popovic continues to impress at Fire Food and Drink, where he has been brought in by mentor Doug Katz. Among the unique presentations Popovic employs is the use of vapors—several of his signature dishes are accompanied by a bowl of aromatic herbs steeped in boiling water, allowing the scent of the herbs to become part of the experience. For his second trip to the Beard House (his first was to assist Katz), he is sure to stir our senses—and make his fellow Clevelanders proud.