Top 10 Takeover dinner series: Tickets on sale for Chef of the Year winner
Susan Selasky
As the Top 10 Takeover dining series winds down, the next-to-last stop features our Chef of the Year winner.
On Aug. 27, the 11th stop in the popular Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Top 10 Takeover dinner series will feature Vigilante Kitchen. The restaurant, formerly in Midtown, landed at No. 7 on the Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Top 10 New Restaurants & Dining Experiences list. Vigilante Kitchen chef Aaron Cozadd was also named Chef of the Year.
This event takes place at Birdies Restaurant at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course, 1300 S. Telegraph Road in Dearborn.
Cozadd began his culinary career at 16 and attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Like many workers in the restaurant industry, Cozadd faced the common traps of drug and alcohol addiction.
“During a stint in the Oakland County Jail, Cozadd committed himself to a life of sobriety and conceived of a restaurant that would support the needs of recovering addicts like himself and so many of his colleagues,” wrote Free Press dining credit Lynsday C. Green.
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Vigilante Kitchen and Bar earned Cozadd the 2024 Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Chef of the Year recognition for his “commitment to creating a healthy work environment for restaurant workers in recovery from addiction and substance abuse,” Green wrote.
While Vigilante Kitchen closed its original Midtown space earlier this year, Cozadd said he has plans to re-open in another location. In the meantime, the Dearborn Hills Golf Course will host this chance to taste Cozadd's latest creations.
"Proceeds from the event will go toward the purchase of a new meditation bell for the future employees of Vigilante Kitchen to use as part of its addiction recovery program,” Cozadd said.
Communal seatings for this event will be at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27. Tickets are $75 per person, including tax, gratuity and a donation to Forgotten Harvest.
The Free Press first unveiled the 2024 Restaurant of the Year, Restaurant of the Year Classic and 10 Best New Restaurants and Dining Experiences back in March.
How to get tickets
Tickets for the Top 10 Takeover dining series go on sale every other Thursday, when Free Press subscribers have first access to tickets for each event. Subscribers should check their email at noon Thursday for a link to ticket sales. Following subscriber sales, tickets for the general public go on sale at noon Friday, at freep.com/top10, where you will also find a schedule of upcoming dining events.
The Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers also offer a contest for a chance for one diner to win two complimentary tickets to each dinner of the series. You can enter the contest at chevydetroit.com.
Here is Vigilante Kitchen’s Top 10 Takeover menu:
First Course
- Szechuan Hot Chicken Bao: Crispy fried halal chicken thigh, brown sugar szechuan peppercorn dry rub, house takuan pickles, togarashi mayo, scallion and cilantro.
First course vegetarian option
- General Bao: Crispy fried cauliflower, t'so t'sauce, togarashi mayo, troll pickles, fried ramen, black sesame, scallion.
Second course
- Patio Potluck: Heirloom tomato, smoked sea salt, chilled farro + smoked jalapeno "risotto," toasted hemp seeds, charred cauliflower, ras el hanout roasted heirloom carrot, caramelized fennel, baby arugula, black garlic tahini whip.
Third course
- Waygu Skirt Steak: Char-grilled halal skirt steak, aka miso-chili brown butter emulsion, watercress, 24-month aged Parmesan, Marcona almond, yuzu oil, creamed corn + smoked jalapeño croquette.
Third-course vegetarian option
- Lions Mane "Ribeye:" Char-grilled Stony Creek lions mane steak (mushroom), aka miso-chili brown butter emulsion, watercress, 24-month aged Parmesan, Marcona almond, yuzu oil, creamed corn + smoked jalapeño croquette.
Fourth course
- Nitro ice-cream: Liquid nitrogen churned, ube + black sesame ice cream, wafer cookie garnish.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.