New venture will offer brunch, dinners and a pot luck cookbook club
Tallahassee can celebrate a new creative culinary venture launching this week. Damas, a dining experience that began as a pop-up showcasing the talents of women in the hospitality business, is becoming a permanent destination.
You may have heard of Damas (ladies in Spanish) in the spring when three outstanding women in the hospitality world got together to offer something special in the charming Rough House Cottage on the grounds of Goodwood Museum & Gardens.
Sommelier Amanda Morrison (pictured above) had joined forces with chef Kate Spelman (now executive chef at Food Glorious Food) and Sylvia Gould (James Beard Foundation‘s semifinalist for best pastry chef in the country, and the former pastry chef at Kool Beanz Cafe.) They presented delightful four-course dinners, elevated happy hours and Saturday retail/food events.
Now, Amanda is teaming up with Jasmine Dunn, a local chef who worked on the original Damas dinners in the spring – fyi, if you loved the homemade butter (among other items) it was Jasmine’s treat.
“We’re instant partners in what we value and how we work,” Amanda said of Jasmine, who will be executive chef.
Their values include connecting people around the table, spotlighting the contributions of women in the field and building the community through food, wine and hospitality.
Tallahassee Table sat down with Amanda and Jasmine at the cottage to discuss their dreams for Damas.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Damas will feature several options. One is a European-inspired brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, beginning Sept. 26 and 27. The brunch will be a casual but classy affair, with dishes such as quiche, Parisian-style baguettes, deviled eggs and a caviar station. Coffee and tea, from women-owned businesses, will be made in a French press.
* Damas is launching its first, four-course Chef’s Table dinner at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the cottage. “It’s closer to the original Damas experience,” Amanda said. Though unlike the spring pop-up dinner, this incarnation will be a food-only price of $90 (prices could vary depending on the menu).. The beverage list will be separate. I expect it will be excellent, with new vintages to discover. Damas will feature a curated wine list with choices from female winemakers.
* Damas started a once-a-month pot luck cookbook club this summer and that will continue. “The last two filled up in 24 hours,” Amanda said. The pot luck takes place the last Wednesday of every month at the cottage. Check the Damas Instagram site at the start of each month to find out the name of the cookbook author (the first two cookbook authors were Martha Stewart and Ina Garten and sign up on the start-up sheet. Decide on a dish you’d like to bring (preferably enough four to eight people). You pay $5 to participate and bring your own plate (you can wash there). The September gathering is already sold out so be on the lookout for info for the October pot luck.
“There’s communal seating and people get to know each other,” Jasmine said. “It was a beautiful thing to see everyone get together. The September gathering is already sold out.
Elevated happy hours with tasty snacks and also providing food for many of Goodwood’s events.
“People might not be able to come for the $100 dinners but they can come to the pot luck,” Jasmine said. “It builds community.”
Amanda and Jasmine will be focusing on locally sourced ingredients, including herbs and vegetables grown at Goodwood, which has launched its own food nutrition program. Beauty berries, grapefruit and chanterelles are some of the crops found there. Amanda said she will also be planting an herb garden out front.
In the past, the cottage has been home to Rev Cafe, Chef Shac of Soulful and Jason McArthur, owner of Argonaut Coffee.
Amanda and Jasmine are optimistic they have found a winning formula for the cozy cottage setting.
Amanda, who was named “One of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know” in 2021, is an ideas person who has been a star in the hospitality industry, the world of nonprofits and then entrepreneurship.
She transformed a Southside garage into the neighborhood gathering place, Happy Motoring, then converted a historic downtown building into Poco Vino, a wine shop and event space. After three years, she and her husband, Gus Corbella, decided to close the shop.
When launching Damas, Amanda, who had an all-female staff at Poco Vino, said: “We want to showcase as many women in business as we can, “We want to foster that collaboration, especially in hospitality, where women are generally in the minority in the back of the house.”
Jasmine Dunn studied culinary arts at the Lively Technical College. She cooked at Tomato Land. “Miss Linda taught me Southern Cooking,” said Jasmine, who was also a cook at Bella Bella Tallahassee and Rootstock Pours + Plates and opened her own food truck called Crave, which was often open at Amanda’s Happy Motoring.
“There was unbelievable quality for food coming from a food truck,” Amanda said.
Now the two are eager to share their Damas dreams for an intimate space serving high-quality fare.
“It’s as close to a scratch kitchen as you can get,” Amanda said.
IF YOU GO ….
Damas, Goodwood Museum & Gardens, 1600 Miccosukee Rd.
To reserve a spot for brunch or dinner, visit resy.com
