By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The city of Pelham will be hosting its annual Pelham Palooza event July 17-18, and one of Helena’s newest and highly regarded chefs will be in attendance giving a free chef demonstration.

Pelham Palooza is a free two-day community event celebrating the recreational activities in the city of Pelham, according to the event description.

Helena’s Coal Yard Bar and Grill recently opened in Old Town Helena and the restaurant, bar and live music spot has been popular, and one of the main reasons is for the food.

Items on the Coal Yard menu range from shrimp and grits, seafood tacos, IPA braised short ribs, baked oysters, burgers and more and Coal Yard head chef Jason Shipp said he was invited by Pelham Palooza officials last weekend to take part in the festivities.

Shipp said for his demonstration he was going to make a seared blue fin tuna tataki and that’ll go on top of a vegetable dish, roasted corn and field peas paired with a tomato salad.

“We are not allowed to cook on the premises and the demonstration will be more about showing people how to combine vegetables, season them with herbs and olive oil, how to properly slice the tuna and presenting the dish instead,” said Shipp.

Shipp said that he has done numerous demonstrations before and he likes the fact that he can show people how easy it is to make some of the dishes.

“What I like about this time of year is that we’re using locally grown farmers’ items and I get a lot of my vegetables from them,” said Shipp. “About this dish itself, I just like showing people how quick, easy and simple it can be. Even if you’ve never cooked before it’s simple and something anyone can do.”

There will be about 100 vendors and organizations represented from all over Pelham. For more information and a full list of vendors, visit Pelhamonline.com/pelhampalooza/.

For more information on Helena’s Coal Yard Bar and Grill visit Facebook.com/coalyardinhelena?fref=ts.