Chef’s Corner: Scott Wallace
Serving Up Innovative Catering and Contracting With S.B. Wine Dine Build
Tenure: While it’s not every day your contractor will drop off key lime cheesecake, Scott Wallace is not your average culinary tastemaker — a contractor by trade, former professional downhill skier, and chef by night. S.B. Wine Dine Build is a passion project, started summer 2015 as an innovative catering and event planning company. “I cook for all my clients after I finish a project,” said Wallace. “It’s a great way to offer a more personalized approach to catering and to showcase my passion for the food and community.”
Résumé: While Wallace has worked in all sectors of the hospitality industry, it was the 2015 Bud and Burgers Competition that launched his signature chef style. Competing for the Best Burger in America, Wallace made it to the finals in St. Louis for his Cubano-themed “Cuban Cowboy” burger. The following year, Wallace competed on Food Network’s Cooks vs. Cons, where two amateur chefs go against two professional chefs. Wallace made it to the final round, inspired by the art and construction of culinary arts. “Construction and cooking are both an art; they are both a creative process,” said Wallace. “Each day you start with a blank state and you get to create something unique from scratch.”
Dish he digs: Known as the Cuban Cowboy, Wallace built his brand out of his love for the Cubano sandwich, reinvented in a burger format. With a heavy Cuban influence, the burger is composed of veal and pork, with a mesquite steak sauce, smoked applewood ham, pepper jack cheese, a kosher pickle, and Dijon mustard on a toasted sesame-seed bun. For his audition for MasterChef, Wallace created “Waves & Grass” — a fun and layered play on surf-and-turf California cuisine. Coconut shrimp comes stacked on top of tender beef tenderloin and wasabi lima bean mashers, with crispy mustard greens and ponzu crème sauce, all drizzled with a sweet chili sauce.
The scoop: Currently, Wallace caters small, intimate gatherings (10-100 people), having catered events for Grassini Family Vineyards, Standing Sun Wines, and various other corporate clients. With the ultimate goal of a brick-and-mortar establishment, Wallace plans to host themed pop-up supper clubs alongside sips from Ian Cutler’s Artisan Spirits. The series will help raise money for the arts and other philanthropic endeavors. For more information, visit sbwinedinebuild.com.
