A Fireside Feast in Downtown Perryville: A Nine-Course Feast That Felt Like Performing Art
I’ve seen some things in this life so far, and I can honestly say I have had a very nice life. I’ve traveled and worked in many places, and I’ve met thousands of interesting people. But I can honestly say nothing compares to the people who live and work in the 573. They could move and live wherever they want. But they choose to live here and raise a family and do business. Doing business in this region is not a get-rich-quick scheme by far—no, it takes a passion for your craft and a strong desire to live here.
Recently we were invited to a special dinner and, like most entrepreneurs, I guard my time like Fort Knox, but this sounded too fun to pass up. When we first arrived, I didn’t know a feeling could change my day so fast. It didn’t arrive all at once. It started as a tightness behind my ribs, then it opened, and I was standing inside something I couldn’t name—I’d never seen anything like this before. For a few seconds I wasn’t a person with a past or a plan. I was just the feeling itself—grateful and excited. When they led us to the table, I said there was no way I was going to sit down and just watch this all happen. I would document the event—the first Fireside Feast in Downtown Perryville and the 120 happy eaters who showed up.
The Fireside Feast tag-team of Carisa Stark and Kate Richardet.
My name is Carisa Stark. Inspired by my grandma Mary Jane, my restaurant in Perryville, Mary Jane Burgers & Brew, has been a great success, and my outdoor venue, The Warehouse, has been great fun for the community. We are a neighborhood restaurant with delicious, local foods prepared in-house and served with a smile. I always focused on using the freshest ingredients, buying local when possible, and offering a tasty selection of hand-crafted cocktails.
The Fireside Feast idea comes from everything I love about hospitality: bringing people together, making them feel welcome, and giving them a night they’ll remember long after the last course. In my head, I pictured the gathering table full of people watching the chefs cook and prepare, jazz playing in the background, and the firelight flickering with a smell of char in the air. I want the food to feel comforting and familiar, but still give people that little moment of surprise when they taste it. Every course is part of the evening, and I hope people slow down enough to enjoy each other.
Charred oysters and marinated olives in bourbon brown butter with crispy country ham and a touch of smoked sea salt, served straight from the fire as guests arrive.
I’ve poured so much of myself into this event. My hope is that guests left feeling like they were part of something special, like they were on vacation—but here in downtown Perryville. It was so exciting having all the guests glued to every move we made—I felt like a performer on stage.
Fire-kissed cast-iron cornbread spread with whipped smoked butter, drizzled with local honey and finished with a sprinkle of flaky salt.
Fire-roasted late-summer peaches layered with creamy burrata and country ham, finished with peppery arugula, hot honey vinaigrette, and toasted pecans.
Wild mushroom raviolo in a brown butter sauce with crispy sage, finished with creamy Parmesan white sauce and smoked mushroom jus.
The Fireside Feast menu is rustic at heart. Warm, soulful food that feels right at home around a fire. Each of the nine courses is designed to be just two or three thoughtful, curated bites. I want everyone to experience every flavor, enjoy every course, and still be excited for what’s coming next. By the end of the evening, those little moments add up to a full dining experience. My team worked so hard.
Ember-roasted carrots topped with whipped goat cheese, sorghum glaze, pistachios, and fresh herbs.
I was so thrilled to work with Kate on the feast. Kate is one of those rare collaborators where everything just flows. You don’t have to over-explain. She gets the feeling you’re going for. Her eye for detail, for ambiance, for design—it doesn’t just decorate a space; it defines the whole experience. She notices things most people wouldn’t even think about, and somehow those little touches become what people remember most. Working with her feels seamless, like shared shorthand. That quiet magic makes her events stand in a league of their own.
We get by with a little help from our friends.
Kate Richardet with Brass & Bone.
My name is Kate Richardet. My husband, Will, and my cousins-in-law, Steph and Drew, and I took on the renovation and created Brass + Bone in Perryville for private celebrations, weddings, and other parties. We love creating a place where people want to stay a little longer, order another drink, have a great conversation, celebrate something important, and walk away saying, “That was so cool.”
Brass & Bone is a wonderful place to hold a special gathering.
Brass + Bone really taught us how much atmosphere can shape an experience, and that idea has carried into almost everything I’ve done creatively since. There’s something really special about knowing that a place we built together has now become the backdrop for so many other people’s memories.
Dr. Andrew Binder, Natt Townsel, Ben Estes, and Trey Miller from the SEMO Jazz Quartet kept it smooth and jazzy.
...she’s become a mentor to me, but she’s also genuinely my friend, and one of my favorite people to collaborate with creatively because there’s so much trust.
Carisa is one of those people whose creativity goes so far beyond simply being an incredible cook. Obviously, her culinary talent is unreal, but she also has impeccable taste and this incredible ability to understand the whole experience surrounding food. She’s well-traveled, she pays attention when she travels, and I think that’s what makes what she does here so special. She experiences great restaurants, beautiful spaces, interesting flavors, and hospitality in other places and then somehow brings the best pieces of those experiences home—not to imitate them, but to reinterpret them and share them with her own hometown community. I admire that so much. On a personal level, she’s become a mentor to me, but she’s also genuinely my friend, and one of my favorite people to collaborate with creatively because there’s so much trust. We can throw a half-formed idea back and forth, make it bigger, make it weirder, edit it down, and eventually turn it into something people here may not have experienced before. I think we both really believe that you shouldn’t have to leave Southeast Missouri to experience something thoughtful, beautiful, or unexpected, and getting to create those kinds of moments together is incredibly rewarding.
Sadly, the hog didn't make it.
Slow-smoked whole hog glazed with apple butter and bourbon, served with charred pineapple and bacon onion, apple butter & pumpkin jam.
Simple elegance never gets in the way of a good feast.
Charred Brie wedge with ember-roasted apples, bourbon pecans, honey, and grilled sourdough crostini.
Oak-fired whole chicken finished with rosemary-molasses demi-glace, served with smoked garlic potato purée and charred seasonal vegetables.
The Happy Eaters loved the music.
I wanted guests to arrive and immediately feel like they had stepped into something completely different from an ordinary dinner—something intimate, warm, a little dramatic, and very intentional. That meant thinking about everything from the long communal table and the candlelight to the textures, styling, lighting, and all of those tiny visual details that people may not consciously notice individually, but absolutely feel when they experience them together. That’s probably my favorite part of event design: creating a setting that changes the way a moment feels. We were so blessed to serve 120 people at the feast.
Warm cast-iron apple bread pudding finished with bourbon caramel, vanilla bean ice cream, brûléed apple, and a touch of smoked sea salt.
GET OUT THERE!
Take a hike. Start a business. Collect something. Attend a feast. Move. Do anything. Do something. Get out there, that sunken sofa won't miss you—time's a-wasting!
—Pics & Words by Supreme Leader T. Smugala.
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