Farewell Feast: Chef Jay’s Secret Supper Club Bids Orlando Goodbye – Adam Simon 

Secret pop-up dinner clubs still have bite in Central Florida, but we are saying goodbye to a phenomenal one by Chef Jay.

His Christmas dinner in December will be the last hurrah of a monthly feast for those in the know — the kind of people who find out about elegant dinner parties and wild raves through an algorithm seeking them out. However, for the final Dinner With Strangers series, just this once, I think he deserves to have the world know his secret.

For Thanksgiving dinner, his usual opulence was reduced to a more intimate family dinner where his daughter, Janay, played host while her wife served champagne and sparkling cider, keeping our glasses filled. Janay spoke to us all as if we were family.

It isn’t many dinner hosts who tell you deep intimate secrets like, “If I had a pet sugar glider, I would name it Gravy.”

Fate made it even more of a family simulacrum as the air conditioning went out during the meal. One of the strangers-cum-family, Dylan, was an A/C repairman, and before long the focus was able to return to Chef Jay’s master courses.

Before I tell you that this was the best turducken of my life, I must qualify this subjective opinion with the authority of family dinners in Louisiana. And while Chef Jay toned down the spice at the request of Janay for the sake of meeting the common denominators of the palates of strangers, it still was the best turducken of my life.

Chef Jay’s final secret pop-up dinner will be Christmas-themed in December. The date will be a secret for a few more days and the location a secret until the night before. The menu will be a secret until it lands in front of you.

The only way to experience this departing Central Florida legacy is to follow Table 410 on social media where ticket prices and details will be released.

The November Menu

• Handmade pasta with butternut squash purée and gingered cranberry sauce

• Seafood medley soup with fresh herbs and caramelized onions

• Brussels sprout salad with smoked ham hock and balsamic glaze

• Turducken with a duo of potatoes — sweet potatoes and roasted garlic mash — roasted carrots, and a citrus glaze

• Cinnamon cake with pumpkin tres leches sauce, roasted pineapple, and shaved chocolate