Perfect blend of food and entertainment

If you are looking for the ultimate package of mouth-watering food and an exciting theatre experience, look no further than The Pantry.

Laveda Thompson, owner of Peculiar People, a company which tells peculiar stories about peculiar people living in a peculiar world, partners with veteran chef Karl Hart, and theatre practitioner, to give patrons dinner and a movie during the Gleaner-sponsored Restaurant Week.

Thompson had the idea of a dinner theatre, and Restaurant Week provided the perfect opportunity to put that idea into action. "Ideally, I chose The Pantry because of the quality performance on the stage and in the kitchen," he tells Food.

Known for its theatre productions, The Pantry was a restaurant from 1984-1999 then revamped into the Pantry Playhouse and a restaurant and catering company. Soon after, they dropped the restaurant and progressed into a full-fledged catering company.

For Restaurant Week, The Pantry will focus on gourmet dishes. "The Pantry is typically a catering company, but for Restaurant Week, it will be transformed into a restaurant. The dinner theatre will be in the courtyard," Hart explains.

Dinner will begin at 7 p.m, and the three-course meal offers an entrée of chicken, pork or fish and a choice of two appetisers and a choice of two desserts. The chef's special is the pimento wood jerked breast of sliced chicken. "It is treated in the same way you would jerk chicken, by marinating and charbroiling it slowly over wood. Cooked to perfection, it is then topped with a papaya salsa which tempers the spices as well. Accompanying the chicken is a light curried and currants rice pilaf, medley of hot vegetables and a maple-glazed sweet potato croquette," Hart explains.

The play titled Clues begins at 9 p.m, and will feature an experienced cast of fantastic performers. "The name of the play, Clues, is in keeping with the tradition of having mystery at a dinner theatre," Thompson highlighted, encouraging all to come out early and have a good time at the dinner theatre.

- Krysta Anderson