On the Menu: June 27 through July 3


Here’s what’s happening at the Beard House and around the country next week: Monday, June 28, 7:00 P.M. Atlanta’s Rising Star A 2010 JBF Rising Star award semifinalist, Kevin Gillespie gave the Voltaggio brothers a run for their sous vide machines during last year’s Top Chef. The executive chef and co-owner of Woodfire Grill, Gillespie wowed the show’s judges with the same unpretentious, seasonally inspired cuisine with which he regularly impresses Atlanta diners. Tuesday, June 29, 7:00 P.M. Softshell Crab Extravaganza To help us celebrate one of the most precious moments of the culinary calendar year, David C. Felton, pastry chef Jessica Knik, and sommelier Brooke Sabel, of New Jersey’s much-buzzed-about Ninety Acres at Sir Richard Branson’s Natirar, will be preparing a softshell crab-focused menu designed to keep guests happily sated until next season. Tuesday, June 29, 7:00 P.M. Friends of James Beard Benefit at Blackberry Farm Employing a forager, jam lady, and other specialized artisans, the culinary team at Blackberry Farm offers a gourmet farm-to-table experience that is without peer. Join us for the Relais & Châteaux property’s annual Friends of James Beard Benefit, which will feature pairings from seventh-generation Rhône Valley winemaker, Michael Chapoutier. Wednesday, June 30, 7:00 P.M. Sud de France Mediterranean Feast Aided by the gentle Mediterranean climate, the millennia-old winemaking of the Languedoc-Roussillon region has recently matured, producing bold, elegant bottles that are attracting attention worldwide. To showcase these excellent wines, we’ve enlisted the talents of Languedoc-Roussillon natives Cedric Tovar and the Michelin-starred Jean-Marc Boyer. Thursday, June 1, 10:00 A.M. Feast Your Eyes on This Photographer Jeffrey Gurwin experiences New York City’s food world through his camera lens. His photos have appeared in the New York Times, Time Out New York, and GQ. This Greenhouse Gallery exhibit, Feast Your Eyes on This, features images of dishes from some of NYC’s top restaurants. Thursday, June 1, 7:00 P.M. Land Meets Sea Canada Day celebrates the peaceful birth of a majestic nation. To mark the holiday, our thoughts and palates will be pointing True North at this Beard House dinner, for which a group of Canada’s brightest culinary stars will prepare a regional feast of surf-and-turf specialties. For details and reservations, visit www.jamesbeard.org/events or call 212.627.2308.