Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.

Valentine’s Day is this Saturday, Feb. 14, and I have a confession: I’m not a fan of the commercialized holiday. But make no mistake, readers, I’m no Bitter Betty or love-hater. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

I adore flowers, greeting cards and thoughtful notes and gifts, but the idea of only receiving them once or twice a year when someone says we’re supposed to do — it makes me sad. Yet, oddly enough, the idea of Galentine’s Day is right up my alley.

Most of my girlfriends are typically wrapped up with caring for parents, husbands, children and the businesses they’ve built. While we frequently exchange cards, gifts and flowers with one another, we don’t often see each other. Galentine’s Day is an opportunity for us to get together as the girly-girls we are and to leave the men off the hook for a day.

This year, I’m excited to gather the girlies and attend Bake Swap Memphis’ Galentine’s Day Cookie Swap.

Bake Swap Memphis is exactly what it sounds like: It’s a bunch of Memphians who love baked goods gathering together to trade everything from opinions and recipes to finished products. 

The group was founded by 901 Bakes owner Courtney Sanderson and is being taken over by Chloe Sexton, owner of Chloe’s Giant Cookies. The two bakers will co-host the Galentine’s Day Cookie Swap on Sunday, Feb. 15, at Grind City Brewing.

“It used to be called Cake Swap, but people had such an interest in branching out — and it grew so rapidly, it was so successful — that people wanted to do this in different mediums,” Sexton said of the event’s evolution.

Memphian Chloe Sexton was a contestant on "Next Level Baker." (Lorraine O'Sullivan/FOX)

Sexton recently competed in Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Baker” on Fox, where she finished as a finalist. Fellow contestants will join her and Sanderson at the event, including the reality show’s winner, Stefanie Embree.

You don’t have to be a baker — professional or otherwise — to attend. You can simply be a cookie-lover with an appetite for sweets, like me, and sample a bunch of cookies. 

But if you are a baker, bake three dozen cookies of whatever size you’d like and prepare yourself to be judged by some of the city’s top confectioners, such as Inga Theeke. She’s the mastermind behind the desserts at Felicia Suzanne’s, a Michelin-recommended fine-dining restaurant on South Main Street in Downtown.

“I want people to have fun and to understand the sense of community that comes with baking — that anybody can bake,” Sexton said. “It’s not intimidating. You can start anywhere. This isn’t the kind of event that’s geared toward putting the most skilled bakers on a pedestal. Everyone at every skill level has won at some point.”

Kid bakers, ages 7-12, are also welcome at the event but they won’t have to deal with the nail-biting, self-induced pressure of their adult counterparts. According to Sexton, the group simply wants to encourage kids’ creativity in the kitchen so their entries will receive praise but no official judgment.

All attendees will receive sugar cookie kits, complete with buttercream in varying colors, allowing everyone an opportunity to create a cookie. Cookie competition winners will receive prizes to help them in their home baking efforts.

The Galentine’s Cookie Swap will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, at Grind City Brewing Co. from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10, but be sure to select the appropriate ticket as either an attendee or a baker.

This week on the Memphis dining scene

The tiramisu French toast from Fuego Vivo, made with thick-cut brioche soaked in espresso and vanilla custard, griddled until golden, layered with mascarpone cream, and finished with cocoa dust and warm maple syrup. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)

Fuego Vivo, the latest concept from the owners of Tekila Group, is officially open. Sophia Surrett takes us through a look at the new restaurant and its global menu.

In the weekly Food Files column, Surrett introduces us to the couple trying to bring The Melting Pot back to Memphis and tells us about Playa Bowls’ latest location.

Jennifer Chandler sat down with Chef Phillip Dewayne of Park + Cherry at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens to hear about a special, seasonal menu inspired by the museum’s artwork.

In this week’s Recipe Exchange, Chandler also brought us a chicken and andouille jambalaya straight from Chef Kelly English’s kitchen — and just in time for Mardi Gras.

After nearly 30 years of serving Memphis unique seafood dishes, Chef Ben Smith announced he’s closing Tsunami, his Cooper-Young restaurant. But stay tuned; we’ll have more on that in the coming week. 

The future home of Bain Barbecue’s Germantown location is a former Arby’s. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

From me this week, Bain Barbecue is moving east, bringing its Texas-style barbecue outside of the Interstate 240 loop.

I also introduced readers to Kai Stowell, a local food influencer and professional chef who is helping to feed Memphis’ unhoused residents.

Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies just opened its first out-of-state location in Sandy Springs, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb, with the intention of bringing “the 901 to the 404.”

Speaking of, Atlanta-based vegan fast food chain Slutty Vegan is eyeing the Memphis market for a franchise location and recently hosted a pop-up event at Smackers.

And don’t miss out on “The AM/DM,” our morning news podcast hosted by editorial director Mary Cashiola. In this episode, Surrett joins her to discuss restaurant openings, closings and upcoming announcements.

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