We figured six months was a long enough gap between news updates to shake anyone of the misconception that we were going to be starting
a blog here. (Ok, so we still might, but that’s neither here nor there.) And what a six months it’s been! Let’s see… we
opened with much fan fare (and many, many more
drinks. We had approximately thirty six seconds to
catch our breath and emerge from a powerful hangover prior to putting on our first official dinner,
Farm to Chef, Field to Table
with Mike Anthony of Gramercy Tavern and famed food writer Peter Kaminsky, followed closely by our
Valentine’s Day blow-out dinner, featuring
the foie-ful cuisine of D’Artagnan owner and founder Ariane Daguin and nine exquisite vintages of Yquem Sauternes. (Surprisingly, no one
had a heart attack at the table, despite our best gastronomic efforts.) We capped off this series of opening fêtes and feasts by inviting
the San Francisco-based king of offal Chris Cosentino to dish out his famous
Head to Tail Dinner, which was hosted by food writer
extraordinaire Michael Ruhlman. (The
video coverage of the night,
while no replacement for the lamb’s neck and candied coxcombs, is nonetheless quite entertaining.)
All this while maintaining a full calendar of “regular” classes and events! Our bread and butter staples, consisting of introductory
classes such as
The Elements of Wine, with
Astor owner and president Andy Fisher,
The Elements of Saké with Saké
Samurai Tim Sullivan,
Sommelier’s Secrets, with famed wine educator Marnie Old, and the
Elements of Mixology with Jonathan Pogash have continued in their
appeal to novice drinkers and more seasoned imbibers alike. The spread of basic offerings has been punctuated by a generous smattering of
special one-off classes, such as
Resurrecting Historic Cocktails with Dave Wondrich,
The Elements of Flavor: Umami (which we’re repeating this July) and a
special installment of the Gastronomica Forum on the subject of
Food and Faith (to name but a scant few).
When we weren’t busy putting on our own classes and events, we played host facility to other worthy endeavours within the gastro
community. There was a
lively benefit for the Southern Food & Beverage Museum,
with New Orleans chef Susan Spicer; we turned our focus to all things green for the
Night of Eco-Chic Entertaining
presented by online mag
Notesonaparty.com; we hosted the esteemed (and exhausting!)
Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) Program, the week-long
intensive spirits and mixology program led by Paul Pacult, Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, Steven Olson, and Dave Wondrich, which happened – by
mere chance – to coincide with the
Rhum Clément Coctkail Challenge (meaning that, for a period of six hours on a
sunny Tuesday in May, there were enough bartenders under our roof to form a modest-sized army); we opened up our kitchen for the
Top Chef Season 5 open casting; and there were
trade tastings and
consumer tastings galore.
Right now, we’re focusing our energy on keeping cool with some summer themed
classes and gearing up for the fall. We can’t reveal the details
just yet, but rest assured – there will be some serious epicurean throw-downs in the very near future.
We’re just getting started. Stay tuned.
LT, 06/13/08
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