The Shaved Duck is a family-friendly, New American restaurant and craft cocktail bar located in the Westchester Commons Shopping Center in Midlothian. The name was inspired by owner and Executive Chef Joe Kmetz’s grandfather who was an avid collector of hand-carved “shaved” ducks. Today, assorted shaved ducks are prominently displayed around the restaurant much to the delight of guests and staff.
Chef Joe’s upscale food and craft cocktails fuse traditional flavors and classic techniques with foreign cooking styles and elements. While duck is definitely the house specialty, their menu also features a seasonal variety of unique, yet approachable variations of familiar dishes that highlight fresh, local ingredients. They are a scratch kitchen with all of their breads, pastas, sauces, and desserts executed in-house. As a result, they are able to customize their offerings in order to accommodate diners with special dietary needs such as food allergies or gluten free.
In addition to everyday dining, The Shaved Duck offers personalized, high-quality dining experiences for any special occasion or event. Their private dining room is perfect for date nights, anniversaries, family brunches, business happy hours, holiday parties, private Chef’s Tables, networking events, and more. They offer course-plated dinners, family-style meals, and buffet-style appetizer and brunch options. Whatever your style, The Shaved Duck has you covered!
Chef Joe recently invited Midlothian Lifestyle and their partners to partake in an exclusive Chef’s Table experience. Each dish served in this multi-course tasting menu was paired with a purposely selected wine. All the dishes served at this event were part of Chef Joe’s test round as he plans many delicious additions to their fall menu. At the end of the night, guests were provided the opportunity to share their experiences during this multi-course tasting event. Let’s hear what they had to say.
Up first was the complimentary bread and butter. “Homemade herb butter and slightly sweet bread were awesome to start!” said Steven. David agreed, “Fantastic butter and bread.” Deanna described them as “well balanced.”
After that came a perfectly cooked duck breast amuse bouche. Navona shared, “Loved the chipotle blueberry sauce on the amuse bouche. The surprise small hint of spice was an awakening.” Deanna added, “The duck breast on the amuse bouche was perfection, ditto the chipotle blueberry heat was subtle on the tongue.”
The Summer Agnolotti was served for their second course. Steven said, “Summer Agnolotti had a nice color contrast incorporating the squid ink into the pasta; paired well with the Sauvignon Blanc.” Navonna agreed, “The presentation was fantastic. My personal favorite was the Summer Agnolotti- what a great combo of flavors!”
Next came a watermelon sorbet palate cleanser. “Loved the Watermelon Sorbet for our ‘intermission,’” said Deanna. “The pickled watermelon rind added a great complementary flavor.”
For their final course before dessert, guests were served a house specialty, duck pot pie. Deanna shared, “The Duck Pot Pie was hearty, great fall flavor and warming.” Steven described it as, “full of flavor, peppery.”
They rounded out their evening with a delicious blueberry mousse cake and a sparkling limoncello toast. “I am not a big dessert eater, but the Blueberry Mousse Cake was a surprising change from the standard desserts. It was very tasty!” said Naylor. Gabrielle agreed, “Loved everything! Amazing experience! Looking forward to more events like this and seeing these items on the fall menu!”
The Shaved Duck’s small yet mighty team is made up of a balance of seasoned restaurant workers and talented food and beverage artists. “Like our dishes, we are the sum of many parts,” said Chef Joe. Much of their staff have been with the restaurant for years. This helps create a familial vibe that is felt by their guests. “Great tag team by the chef and the server in explaining all the dishes and wine pairings! Very attentive and paid attention to allergies,” noted Deanna. “Made us feel like VIPs!” added Gabrielle.
With rave reviews like these, we hope that each of these dishes will find its way onto The Shaved Duck’s menu this fall. “Highly recommend the chef's table experience with wine pairings,” shared Navona. “I would bring friends and family for a fun night out.” Get excited, Midlothian, because The Shaved Duck will be opening up the Chef’s Table experience to the public this fall! Now’s the perfect time to book your next event to truly make it a night to remember.
GUEST LIST:
Alyse LaFollette of Agnihotri Cosmetic Facial Surgery
Navona Hart of Century 21 Realty @ Home and her husband, David
Deanna Allbrittin, Channel 8 News evening anchor
Naylor Taliaferro of LCR Media and his wife, Gabrielle
Steven Casupanan of Midlothian Lifestyle and Short Pump City Lifestyle
ON THE MENU:
COMPLIMENTARY
House Bread, toasted, trio of house butters
AMUSE BOUCHE
Duck Breast, house brioche, chipotle-blueberry, pickled red onion
2ND COURSE
Summer Agnolotti, squid ink house pasta, house ricotta, hot honey sweet corn velouté, fresh basil oil
3RD COURSE
Fresh Watermelon Sorbet, fresh basil, pickled watermelon rind
4TH COURSE
Duck Pot Pie, confit duck, confit potatoes, carrot, leek, peas,
DESSERT
Blueberry Mousse Cake, candied orange peel
MAKE IT A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
If you are searching for an upscale dining experience or need somewhere to celebrate a special occasion, then head over to The Shaved Duck. To book a private Chef's Table, email Joe Kmetz at joe@theshavedduckrestaurant.com or call 804-379-7505 for availability. For more information, go to: theshavedduckrestaurant.com
Come celebrate The Shaved Duck’s 5th Anniversary on October 13th!
