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Chef Phantom and his culinary team are keeping Jacksonville\u2019s foodie scene buzzing with their monthly\u00a0Taste & Cocktails pop-up experiences. Hosted at JAX Restaurant and Bar on Atlantic Boulevard, the invite-only affair has become a stylish destination for locals. Guests recently arrived in royal purple attire to match the evening\u2019s theme, setting the tone for a night of food, music, and flair. Chris McClendon\u2014better known as Chef Phantom, is a Navy veteran, caterer, and chef to the stars. His name, inspired by his Chevy Phantom and the stage play\u00a0Phantom of the Opera, reflects the mystique of his cooking style. \u201cAs a phantom, my cooking can be tasted without me in the room. My food has a flavor where you\u2019ll know it\u2019s mine without me being near it,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n
What began as a hobby cooking for family, friends, and fellow veterans has grown into a full-fledged second career.<\/p>\n
For more than 15 years, Chef Phantom has curated\u00a0Taste & Cocktails, originally an annual event that he has now reimagined as a monthly culinary day party. The 6\u201310 p.m. time slot allows guests to enjoy the theme, entertainment, and dishes, while still making it home at a modest hour. Each pop-up features live entertainment, a DJ, specialty cocktails, and Chef Phantom\u2019s signature creations. His events have also attracted the attention of artists and comedians visiting the First Coast, where he\u2019s often tapped for private catering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chef Phantom and his culinary team are keeping Jacksonville\u2019s foodie scene buzzing with their monthly\u00a0Taste & Cocktails pop-up…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":203952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-203951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115155213238546300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}