cibochat

We are a mere 2 weeks away from the highly anticipated Tutto Toscana! event series to be held in part at the James Beard House in New York City.  The menus are in print, recipes are receiving final touches and the event planning team is finally writing their last words.  But in all the excitement  haven’t we missed something? We are bringing the deep rooted traditions of Tuscany to New York and we are kicking off the series at the home of James Beard.  Everyone is talking about it, James Beard Foundation, JBF, Mr. Beard, but who is this mysterious man that we so casually discuss daily in preparation for our events?

In 1954, when the New York Times pronounced James Beard the “Dean of American cookery” he had only accomplished half of the work that he would finish by the end of his astoundingly prolific life.  The fact that he didn’t even embark on his culinary career until 1935, at the age of 32, adds to the wonder of this great figure.  At a time when the idea of a “celebrity chef” was as foreign as the notion of putting a man on the moon,  James Beard started a ball rolling that would eventually grow to become the extraordinary world of highly celebrated American chefs and gastronomic groupies that we have today.

His operation started small, a self run catering business shortly followed by a miniature food shop entitled Hors d’Oeuvre, Inc.  Inspired by his specialty, James Beard wrote the first cookbook that was devoted exclusively to cocktail food, Hors d’Oeuvre & Canapes.  Unlike the great chefs before him, Beard took a completely different approach to the concept of a cookbook.  No Escoffier himself, the pages of Hors d’Oeuvre & Canapes were filled with recipes meant to be read and easily followed by a cook in an average American home; and unlike similar styles of cookbooks that were being introduced this was focused solely on American food.  Without realizing the weight of the impact he would have, James Beard was laying the ground work for what would be an empire based entirely on the food of his country, finally giving the American food world an identity of its own.

When Americans tuned in to the NBC network in1946, history was once again being made.  James Beard appeared on television’s first ever cooking show, bringing himself off of pages hidden in books and straight into homes all across the nation.  Writing a library of books spanning from topics of out door cooking to how to eat better for less money, Beard solidified his place in the American food revolution.

Upon his death at a well lived 81 years, the friends and colleagues of Beard wanted to commemorate what an inspiring and important figure he was; and with the preservation of his legacy, would continue to be.  Operating on charity alone, the New York City brownstone where James called home was bought and captured in time by some of his closest friends.  Today it serves as a culinary center piece in a city that boasts some of the most incredible food in the world. When Wolfgang Puck, still making small waves on the West Coast, proposed that he  would like to use the house as a venue for just one night to show case his culinary creations to the city of New York a new tradition was born.  Today chefs from all over the world are invited to bring their cuisine and expertise to one of Americas gastronomic capitals, further educating our palates without ever leaving our tables.

Thomas Keller, Rick Bayless, and Alice Waters, to name a few, flourish in a food world that was lovingly nurtured by James Beard.  Before he introduced what food could really be to everyday people no one could have predicted that flocks of hungry foodies would travel from all over the world to what seemed like the smallest restaurant on the highest hill in Napa valley just to taste what chef Keller was creating.  America has a cuisine that the world recognizes, and we have men and women like James Beard to thank.

It is only fitting that Tutto Toscana! is to be held at Beard’s brownstone in downtown Manhattan.  The events will focus on a region seeping with ancient recipes and cultural history, and the dining rooms which will hold our guests are the roots of America’s gastronomic beginning.  Two countries, two regions, two cities brought together by an astounding appreciation of food and wine.

And who is James Beard to me?  He is the Led Zepplin of American cooking. Americans were eating well before he came along, but after he touched the country’s food world things were never the same.  Chefs, cookbook authors, columnists, and home cooks all in some way have been influenced by this god of American gastronomy.  Standing on the steps of his brownstone you feel that something is happening here, this is where New York City hospitality begins.

– Amanda Kehr, Special Event Management Team