Chef Zia Matoori,

Churchill’s - Thursday, June 25
Zia Matoori has worked in the culinary field for nearly 30 years. He started out with Marriott Hotels at the Lake of the Ozarks, worked at the Country Club of Missouri for six years, and has spent the last 15 years at Churchill’s.

His philosophy? Use the finest ingredients and present them with elegant simplicity. He likes to introduce diners to cuisines that will get them talking about different cultures.

“I feel like I am spanning a bridge to the culinary arts,” he says.

Matoori’s Mediterranean menu for the Wine & Food Festival will be summery and refreshing to match the feel of the season.

He finds cooking therapeutic and describes it as a mixture of a craft and art.

“It’s something to do with expressing a passion I have inside,” he says. “One must work with dedication and put heart and mind into it.”

Churchill’s

Prawns and scallops
Spanish red prawns and sea scallops with chervil lime broth

Bisque
Mediterranean midsummer bisque of artichoke heart and watercress with fresh tarragon cream

Salad
Endive, spinach and Bibb lettuce, goat cheese and walnuts with a pomegranate vinaigrette

Halibut and lobster
Halibut and medallions of lobster with blood-orange saffron sauce accompanied by basmati rice with sweet-and-sour zereshk berries along with fresh asparagus and baby carrots bundle

Caspian-style phyllo rosette
Filled with pistachio, mascarpone cheese and cardamom with fresh figs and seasonal berries