Event Recap 1: De Gustibus at Macy’s in Herald Square
Kathy begins our event roundups with her report from De Gustibus at Macy’s in Herald Square.
The De Gustibus cooking demo started our event-filled week here in the Big Apple. Our team was ready and excited to get to work, and they started with some very necessary preparation for the events. Our site for prep on day one was the French Culinary Institute, where we got into the kitchen and started to break down boxes of ingredients and organized them for the work ahead of us.
The culinary brigade did a wonderful job with the prep for the Degustibus Cooking School demo that took place on Monday, Oct 24. When we entered the demonstration area, the first thing we saw was photos of the chefs that had demonstrated in the past. Some of the most important culinary figures were up on the wall. Some of them were Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse who have made a name for themselves in the American gastronomical scene. I was able to ask Samantha Sklar and Lindsay Osborne who assisted onstage with the demos, how they felt about cooking and presenting in the same space where these culinary legends had presented. Both felt intimidated at first, but they also said that it was an honor to be in the same space where these chefs have worked their magic. When speaking with Samantha she also said that she was honored to work alongside Apicius’ Chef Andrea. For the whole week of events and before departing from Florence, Samantha assisted Andrea to make sure that all of the menus and shopping lists were in order. Samantha was also responsible for overseeing the back of the house in several occasions or when the brigade was split up into teams. Lindsay is a professional baking student who currently lives in Florence and has also been working with the Pastry cef Ilaria Fusi. She was also happy to be chosen to work next to Ilaria during the demonstration and appreciated the opportunity to be recognized for her work.
As far as the event itself, Andrea and Ilaria seemed like pros up on the stage while explaining their dishes. Both Chefs were very engaging with the audience who thoroughly enjoyed the personality and “flavor” that they added to a regular food demonstration. The audience members had many questions for both chefs, both regarding their backgrounds and naturally the ingredients and special techniques presented during the demo. While Andrea and Ilaria demonstrated and explained the dishes, our kitchen brigade was hard at work on the dishes that were served to the guests. We could immediately tell that the guests were enjoying their meal because every time a new dish was served, the room fell temporarily silent as flavors were savored.
My personal highlight was the sea bass “isolana” or “island” style (served with tomatoes, olives and potatoes). The sea bass had the crispy skin that Andrea and Samantha demonstrated so well and the potatoes were baked to a golden perfection. The other highlight of the evening that must be mentioned is the dessert presented by Ilaria and Lindsay. While the instructions for the dessert were very lengthy and involved many culinary techniques that you average home cook might not know, it would be well worth the time to make this dish at home. The dish consisted of a velvety smooth caramel custard dripping with a chocolate glaze, served over a fresh mixed berry sauce. The description seems overly decadent but the interpretation was light and delicious, a wonderful way to end the event.
Audience reactions were extremely positive and the event was a great way for our team to start off the week!
About the blogger: Kathy Martinez is studying Business and Hospitality Management at Robert Morris University in Chicago.
Photo credit: Meaghan Kacsmar