Bon Appetit Presents "Feast or Fashion"

Where the food and fashion worlds collide.

Chef Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen

At the tail end of NYC's premier fashion week, Bon Appetit magazine invited Chef Dan Kluger and the crew of ABC Kitchen to cook in the beautiful, high-tech home of fashion designer Lela Rose.  The goal here was to feed 50 of Lela's high end guests, one of which included Chef Mario Batali, a multi-course, "pull out all stops" type of sit-down dinner.  Dinner challenge accepted.

As chefs and cooks we are always wary of cooking at off-site events.  You never know what you're walking into.  Never know how big the space is, what type of cooking equipment will be on hand, how demanding guests are, etc.  We are taken out of our comfort zones where we know our kitchens like the back of our hands, where proper cooking temperatures and timing are key.  Luckily, we did not run into any major challenges at this event, and that is more so due in part to Lela Rose's home.

Four stories set inside a swanky Soho building, which included a living room displayed to the street, of which the floor electronically lifts up to act as a runway.  A dessert table which lowered from the ceiling.  A stainless steel kitchen equipped with all major cooking appliances, an eight-burner stove, and an elevator which dropped down to subsequent levels including a hidden linen area.  Finish it off with a kid's playroom which was the size of most NY apartments, and a suede-laced hidden drinking room in the basement and you have yourself a home that would make anyone jealous.



We quickly got to work setting up the kitchen to our needs, and getting the prep work out of the way.  As were busy getting our plan of action in place, Lela Rose was busy getting the room set up.  The table settings were gorgeous, fresh plants sat atop a deep, dark wood table accentuated with radishes from ABC Kitchen's rooftop garden and house-made butter.  We didn't even realize until halfway through the night that only half of the dining area was set, not until all the guests moved out of the living room and the floor elevated to reveal their seating areas.

Rented wooden tables were lined with plants and china

Radishes and butter finished the table decor

A runway elevated from the floor to give the last guests a seating area

We started the guests off with passed hors d'oeuvres.  Sliced fluke ceviche sat atop buttered, crisp sourdough bread, and finished with a generous dollop of osetra caviar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Chef Kluger finishes the ceviche with caviar

Sandra Kim lines plates

Fluke ceviche with lemon and caviar

Fresh crab was marinated in dill, lemon, and lemon aioli, also layered on top of buttered toast.  The first two hors d'oeuvres were very successful in wetting the guests' palates, evoking true tastes of the Long Island coast.

Sous Chef Karen Shu juices lemon over the crab toast

Finishing the toast with lemon aioli

Peekytoe crab toast with lemon and dill

Pizzas which were prepped from ABC's wood-burning oven were then heated and sent from the kitchen.  A spicy meatball pizza with red-chili laced tomato sauce was a good contrast to the seafood being passed around the living room.  A goat cheese, spinach, and fontina pizza, also finished with red chili flakes and olive oil, made its way around the room next.

Spicy meatball and spinach & goat cheese pizzas

Pizzas were passed on racks to help stay crisp

The guests were then given a chance to finally sit down, and we went straight to work on the next course.  Lining Lela Rose's 8'x5' stainless steel island with 150 plates and bowls, Chef Kluger pulled out all stops and gave the guests a real show, making fresh mozzarella on site.

Pulling and forming the fresh cheese

Mario Batali complemented Chef Kluger on technique and taste

While still warm, fresh mozzarella was formed, pulled, and teared to complement an heirloom tomato salad.  The tomatoes were marinated in basil, olive oil, and lemon juice.  The philosophy of "simple and fresh" ran through this salad as well as all of Chef Kluger's dishes for the night.

Heirloom tomatoes were cut and left to marinate in their own juice

Heirloom tomato salad with Fresh Mozzarella

Next up was a tri-color beet salad, with yogurt made on-site at ABC Kitchen and fresh chervil.

Tri-color beet salad with house-made yogurt and chervil

The signature roasted carrot salad of ABC made its way onto the table next.  Carrots roasted with moroccan spices are complemented with fresh avocado, croutons, pumpkin and sesame seeds, microgreens, and fresh creme fraiche.  The salad has everything.  Heat, sweetness, texture, color, and freshness.

Sandra Kim plates the carrot salad

Roasted carrot salad with pumpkin seeds & creme fraiche

For guests looking for a lighter appetizer, tuna ceviche made its way to the table.  Marinated in soy, ginger, mint, and parsley, it gave guests looking for a clean-tasting palate-cleanser exactly what they wanted.

Tuna ceviche with mint was finished with soy at the table

To finish off the first course, roasted squash and parmesan, marinated in chili and lemon were then heated, plated, and sent from the kitchen.

Roasted summer squash with parmesan, lemon, and chili

We were then all hard at work at the second course, offering a choice of salmon, pork, or fried chicken.  We multitasked quickly, and the stove was taken over with numerous pans of pork skin crisping, sauces warming, and sides reheating.  Chicken and salmon lined trays set in the ovens, and once again the stainless steel table was lined with numerous warmed plates ready to be picked up and sent to the guests.

The stoves were quickly taken over by all

Slowly roasted salmon was garnished with greenmarket peach and tomato sauces, plated side by side to create a beautiful, artistic backdrop for the fish.  Fava leaves, lime segments, and black pepper helped bring it all together.

Slowly roasted salmon with peach and tomato

Fried chicken was pulled from the oven and dusted with lemon zest.  Collard greens and ABC's signature hot-sauce butter finished off the plate.  Their hot sauce, in my opinion, is one of the best I have ever tasted, a perfect fermentation of yellow bell peppers and habaneros, emulsified with butter.

Fried chicken with lemon, collard greens, and hot sauce butter

Pressed pig was the popular entree of the evening.  Whole pig is butterflied, confited in duck fat, then de-boned, and the meat is all picked from the animal, seasoned, and pressed back onto the skin.  It is then portioned and cooked to create a crispy pork cracker, with meat from the entire animal tenderly collapsing underneath at the touch of a fork.  A plum-bacon marmalade complements the pig perfectly, and braised turnips bring a tender, sweet bite.

Working hard to ensure everything goes out hot

Pressed pig with plum-bacon marmalade and braised turnips

Pastry Sous Chef Jennifer Lee was on hand to help plate desserts.  Peach and blackberry crostatas were finished with fresh creme fraiche.  Chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow icing and chocolate ganache were plated.  Cookie plates with peach marmalade and rasberry-iced doughnuts lined the dessert table.

Pastry sous chef Jennifer Lee looking over dessert plates

Chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow icing

Peach and blackberry crostata with whipped creme fraiche

Cookie plate with peach shortbread cookies

The dessert table fell from the ceiling

Finishing the dessert table for guests

At the end of it all Lela Rose was ecstatic, Mario Batali came over to complement Dan Kluger, and the guests were too drunk to remember any of it.  A good night indeed.

Click here to read Bon Appetit's coverage of the event.