The Poolside RoofTop Chefs Series Returns This Month

Karen Akunowicz, Tony Maws, and more are having summer fun by the pool at the Colonnade Hotel.

(L to R) Chefs Jen Royle, Matt Drummond, Nick Calias, Karen AKunowicz, Josh Ziskin, and Julie Cutting are making menus for this summer's RoofTop Chefs at the Colonnade Hotel

(L to R) Chefs Jen Royle, Matt Drummond, Nick Calias, Karen Akunowicz, Josh Ziskin, and Julie Cutting are participating in this summer’s RoofTop Chefs at the Colonnade Hotel. / Photo by Jeff Cutler

While the dreary weather has us holding onto our coats this week rather than breaking out the swim trunks, things will improve—this is New England, after all. And when they do, the rooftop pool at the Colonnade Hotel will be pristine and ready. The 12-story oasis is also a dining destination this summer: The RoofTop Chefs series for No Kid Hungry returns June 13.

Nick Calias, who’s been at the helm of the Colonnade’s Brasserie Jo for more than a decade, dreamt up the charity dinner series last spring, as he and his colleagues were preparing for No Kid Hungry’s Taste of the Nation fundraiser. (That annual event takes place tonight, and there are still tickets available.)

“I was chatting with a couple of chef buddies about cooking together and potentially doing a pop-up on the roof, but it needed to be more than us just collaborating on the roof deck. There needed to be a message behind it,” Calias told Boston last year. “As a dad, [childhood hunger is] a topic that particularly resonates with me and along with the fellow chefs, this was the perfect opportunity to make a difference.”

The casual, cookout-style tasting events support the anti-hunger organization 100 percent. Every other Tuesday through September 13, a different chef joins Calias on the roof with their own creation. The Brasserie Jo chef will create a complementing dish or cocktail. Every ticket also includes a swim.

Check out the lineup of participating chefs:

June 13: Jason Santos, Buttermilk & Bourbon, Abby Lane, Back Bay Harry’s
June 27: Karen Akunowicz, Myers+Chang
July 11: Julie Cutting, Cure Bistro
July 25: Tony Maws, Kirkland Tap & Trotter, Craigie on Main
August 8: Rich Garcia, Crescent Hotels
August 18: Josh Ziskin, La Morra, Heritage of Sherborn
August 29: Fred Bisaillon, B-ACK Yard BBQ, Surfside Smoke
September 5: Matt Drummond, Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar
September 12: Jen Royle, Dare To Taste

$30 each night, Roof Top Pool at The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Back Bay, Boston, Eventbrite.