May 26, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Minervas.

It has been two years since Chef Brad Herr has had four days off in a row – until now.

Heading to see family – and take in some fine dining – in Las Vegas, the executive chef at Minervas in downtown Sioux Falls knew it was time for a break, and that his team was ready to step up in a new, fun way.

“A lot of the features that came out of Minervas were ones I developed,” he said. “And in the kitchen, our chefs were always talking about food ideas, and while it’s hard for me to give up control, with the amount of talent we have on our team it has to happen.”

So he pulled the chefs together and delivered a message: “Come up with a menu, do whatever you want, have fun, and go against the grain a little bit.”

The team began working on their featured menu immediately. Garde manger chef Jordan Klein was tasked with sourcing their ingredients and went local as much as possible.

“I started digging into my local and regional vendors to source all these ingredients and get them in so they could play around and create the dishes and see what we could do,” he said. “Eggs, tuna, greens and edible flowers are all sourced from local producers.”

“And the result is beautiful,” Herr added. “I’m classically French-trained, and they came out with dishes that used different herbs and flavors.”

Here’s a look inside the kitchen at the menu, which will begin Friday and last until ingredients run out or customer demand suggests it should continue.

The appetizer course: Vodka tuna

Sous chef JD Willis has been part of the Minervas team for a few months and has years of experience in the area dining scene.

For an appetizer, he wanted to create something with tuna but go a different direction.

“No sesame-crusted because you see that everywhere,” he said. “So I researched and found a flavor profile I really liked and tried it out – wasabi pea-encrusted. I did a little something spicy and then threw in the gingers and orange zest for a little sweetness with a roasted radish puree.”

The vodka tuna dish is finished with a spicy plum sauce.

The entree course: Jerk chicken

This dish, created by saute chef Keone Hart, is the perfect one to take you from spring toward summer.

“Keone recently won the Cleaver’s Chef Challenge, and he’s got the touch and is just clever,” Herr said. “He can put together spice blends off smell alone, and he’s just a talent.”

The jerk-marinated chicken dish includes mango salsa and a unique plantain mash.

“The mash incorporates the fruits with the summer and the season, and that’s what I like most about it,” Herr said. “He’s always clever, but it’s complex, making sure all those things work together. Putting bananas in mashed potatoes is fun, it goes against the grain, and I like the no-boundary approach.”

The dessert course: Creme da Limon

Pastry chef McKenna Geringer is just three weeks into her new role at Minervas and already making a statement in the kitchen.

The 21-year-old recent Mitchell Tech grad grew up in Brandon and originally studied biomechanical engineering before realizing her heart was in baking.

“I just wanted to be in the kitchen the entire time,” she said. “And I love it.”

When Minervas was looking to hire, “there were all these big-name chefs out there, but we kept hearing her name,” Herr said. “We met her at a couple competitions, and you could just see that willingness to work.”

Her dish is a short dough tart with lemon curd crema, lemonade aspic and candied lemons, topped with apple honey blossoms and plum lucky sorrel leaves.

“We wanted something lemon and a tart, so I went with the short dough crust because I don’t like pie crust,” she said. “This isn’t as flaky, it’s more on the cookie end, and then I added the lemon curd pastry cream and the gelatin on top.”

The result “is really good,” Herr said. “We think guests will love this menu and love learning more about the chefs who created it. If it becomes super popular, we’ll continue to run it.”

Want to make sure you can try the menu? Make your Minervas reservation through opentable.com.