The Visiting Chef Series is a way to expose the greater Lansing community, the MSU community and staff to great American chefs, hotel general manager Joel Heberlein said.

Wednesday night’s session allowed attendees to see the chefs demonstrate how to cook each meal. On Thursday night a visiting chef prepared a four-course meal with no demonstration.

A five-course dinner — each meal was prepared by a different chef — and a packet of recipes greeted 165 attendees who paid $60 for a chance to watch world-class chefs cook. True to the theme of the night, every dish was prepared by a Michigan chef.

The variety of culinary statements elevated the dining experience Okemos resident DeAnne Hamilton said.

“The last time I was here it was good,” Hamilton said. “But this time there was more of a variety because there were more chefs, each flavor was a little different from the last.”

The chefs each gave a cooking demonstration of their chosen dish, demonstrated preparation techniques, told anecdotes and provided useful information on how to achieve the best possible flavor. Meals were chosen based on their simplicity to cook and complexity of their flavor, MotorCity Casino Executive Chef Don Yamauchi said.

“When you have cooking classes for the general public you really want to do something they can replicate at home,” Yamauchi said. “If you do things they can’t do at home, it’s a waste of (everyone’s) time. If you give them something they can replicate that’s flavorful and easy, everyone wins.”

Spring rolls started the night, followed by pumpkin soup, chicken, lamb and a peanut butter bar to finish. The devil, as always, was in the details.

The spring rolls were stuffed with salmon belly or poached chicken breast, basil, cilantro, soba noodles and cucumbers served with a soy honey mustard sauce. The pumpkin soup was flavored with caramelized vegetables, honey and nutmeg. The chicken was chopped into a pate, wrapped around another chicken breast, poached, garnished with black truffles and served with an apricot and dried cherry chutney.

The final entree, aromatic lamb in brik pastry, from Ann Arbor’s Eve Restaurant Executive Chef Eve Aronoff, was a crowd favorite and drew on Aronoff’s love of North and West African spices.

“I think the dish I made tonight represents my style of cooking because it’s a combination of sweet, savory and spicy,” she said. “It has a lot of complexity, but then something simple and bright for contrast in the spinach and mint salad with lemon vinaigrette … it brings out the best in both.”

Those points hit home for MSU alumna Kathy Delgado. She said she was a big fan of the lamb not only because of the taste, but the practicality of preparing it at home for her family — which includes two 5-yearolds and a 6-year-old.

“The lamb was one of my favorites because it’s more practical for what you can do in the evening with a family and children,” Delgado said.