When Gov. Cuomo ordered restaurants across the state to limit their operations to takeout and delivery last month in an effort to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, the mandate left restaurants reeling – and scrambling to adapt and survive. It also left many people cooking at home like never before and wondering what they can do to help keep chefs and restaurants afloat.
To remind people that it’s possible to come to the table -- without sitting next to or across from each other -- four Central/Upstate New York chefs pooled their energy and creativity to collaborate on "Social, from a Distance -- a Virtual In-Home Dining Experience.'' In doing so, they showed some love to local farmers and producers and brought nearly 300 people from across the region together, virtually, to celebrate food and community.
"Social, from a Distance'' was held on Friday, April 3 and a second event spotlighting restaurants in the region is in the works. It's scheduled for April 24.
The logistics of the project were "intense," according to chef Sarah Hassler, of Syracuse-based Hassler Hospitality Group, one of the event organizers. Hassler partnered with Luke Houghton of Pure Catering and Events, Auburn, Tim Hardiman of The Tailor & the Cook, Utica, Michael Lanahan of The Cellar Modern Fusion Restaurant, Corning, and food photographer and social media marketing specialist Chris Johnson of We Eat CNY (who served as emcee) to put the event together in a two weeks.
The event sold out and some guests attended the show only (no food) via Zoom and live stream on YouTube. Hassler's brother, Chad, managed all the technology aspects of the night, which went so far as to seat guests at "tables'' together in private chat rooms. Everything went off smoothly, with few glitches.
Tickets cost $35 (or $5 for virtual access only, no food) and meals, meticulously packaged for reheating at home, were picked up the afternoon of the event at designated locations in each city (or delivered, for an extra charge). The chefs planned each course virtually and prepared them remotely. Courses prepared in Auburn were delivered to Corning and Utica -- and vice versa.
We picked up our dinner box (shown above) outside The Sweet Praxis in downtown Syracuse and opened it up to find about a dozen plastic containers and a helpful explainer sheet for all the various ingredients. Most of the items required just refrigeration, reheating, plating and garnishing.
Michael Lanahan's black bean soup was a tasty starter. The soup had a hint of spicy heat on the finish and polenta croutons and lime cabbage slaw added some interesting texture.
Hassler's dish, "Running Hot and Cold'' put braised potatoes and chilled celery root salad on the same plate with delicious results. The salad was cool and crunchy, with a light lemon vinaigrette. The potatoes, finished in the oven, were crispy on the outside and topped with a slightly spicy remoulade sauce.
The main courses by Luke Houghton were long on flavor: cauliflower and mushroom curry (above) and fork-tender braised beef short ribs (below) with kale on the side. Both were served with creamy polenta prepared with coconut milk.
I'm still thinking about Tim Hardiman's "Layers of Flavors" trifle, which combined blueberries, sweet potato custard, gluten-free sponge cake, milk jam and whipped cream, topped with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Hardiman said he had been thinking for a long time about a dessert that included blueberries and sweet potato, and when The Tailor & the Cook closed its doors in March he had eight gallons of milk on hand to put to use. That inspired the milk jam, a mix of caramelized milk and sugar that is cooked over low heat for hours. It's similar to dulce de leche.
The dessert was the only dish we enjoyed straight from the container, in order to preserve the multiple layers of the trifle. The photo below by Chris Johnson of We Eat CNY shows the beautiful presentation it would receive under normal restaurant circumstances.
A Finger Lakes Riesling and Long Island Cabernet Franc were available as add-ons for $20 per bottle. Each meal box contained a small jar of artisan flake salt from Syracuse Salt Company. Hassler suggested adding a pinch or two of it to the celery root salad and Hardiman suggested adding a sprinkle of it to his dessert.
Chef Luke Houghton demonstrates making polenta
Technology allowed guests to interact with and ask questions of the chefs: Hassler from her home kitchen in Syracuse, Houghton at Pure Market & Café in Auburn, Hardiman at home near Utica and Lanahan in his kitchen at The Cellar, where he was in the midst of Friday night takeout dinner service. It also allowed guests to send messages to each other and the chefs.
This comment, from a guest who lives in Utica, sums up the experience: "What you guys did tonight was amazing. ... Thank you so much for organizing this and please do this again and again -- even after all the restaurants are back up and running.''
To learn more about future "Social, from a Distance'' events, follow chef Sarah Hassler on Instagram and Facebook or visit the Dining Inside Out website.
For us it was fun and food (and wine, of course) on a Friday night.
Do it again, and we’ll do it again.
A salute to the chefs who managed gnarly logistics to make this happen.
👏🏼💜👍🏼
Posted by: Robert Poormon | 04/08/2020 at 05:29 PM