Eye Candy: Gnocchi with Maine Lobster and Uni Butter

When JBF Board Chair (and acclaimed pastry chef) Emily Luchetti visits the Beard House, it’s usually for an important meeting. But recently, the multiple JBF Award winner stopped by to cook up a fantastic collaborative feast. Along with chef Jennifer Puccio and their talented colleagues from the San Francisco–based Big Night Restaurant Group, this dynamite team of chefs grew ever stronger as fellow JBF Award winner Jonathan Waxman, joined the roster for a powerhouse meal from start to finish. 

Beginning with a trio of oysters that were baked, grilled, and raw, the chefs continued the seafood saga with beet pancakes with house-smoked salmon and caviar, a rock shrimp–dungeness crab crêpe, and other bites that honored some of the best creatures from beneath the waves. Waxman, known for the delicate seared gnocchi served at his perennial New York City favorite, Barbuto, maintained the theme of the evening with an iteration of his classic homemade pasta featuring sweet Maine lobster and umami-packed uni butter. Just one of many hits from throughout the evening, diners enjoyed a tidal wave of top-tier technique by a roster of some of the culinary industry’s most talented and trusted chefs.

View this event's menu and details here. For upcoming Beard House dinners, check out our events calendar. Photo by Martin Ramin.

Hilary Deutsch is editorial assistant at the James Beard Foundation. Find her on Instagram.