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Orlando Chefs Cook at James Beard House With Their Boss in Private Dinner

Written By Scott Joseph On September 25, 2010

Updated to include name of winning bidder.

How’s this for a private dinner party: five courses (not counting an hors d’oeuvres reception with Taittinger Champagne), each paired with wines of Louis Jadot, served by the staff of the James Beard House in the dining area of the late culinarian’s Greenwich Village townhouse, all for you and 50 of

richie_beard

Emeril Lagasse, second from left, and chefs from his Florida restaurants, including Gregory Richie, left, and Bernard Carmouche, second from right, in the kitchen of the James Beard House in Greenwich Village Friday evening.

your closest friends. Oh, and Emeril Lagasse will do the cooking, along with chefs from his three Florida restaurants.

That was the scene last night in Manhattan, the collection of a winning bid for an auction that benefitted the Beard Foundation. Assisting Lagasse — as they do most nights at the restaurants that bear his name — wereBernard Carmouche, culinary director, Emeril’s Restaurants Florida; Gregory Richie, chef de cuisine, Emeril’s Tchoup Chop; and Barbara Avayu, pastry chef, Emeril’s Miami Beach. David Slater, chef de cuisine at Emeril’s original restaurant in New Orleans, also assisted.

The dinner, which went for a reported $45,000 bid by Mireille Guiliano, author of “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” was themed Flavors of the Sun and featured produce and products from the Sunshine State, including conch chowder and Florida snapper. Each chef took the lead for a course. Richie had the fish course, pan roasting the snapper and serving with jicama citrus salad and Caribbean curry vinaigrette. Carmouche, who was at one time the chef de cuisine at Emeril’s Orlando, commanded the course featuring Wagyu short rib with celery root salad, root vegetables, and black truffle-chestnut sauce. See below for the full menu.

richies_dish

Richie’s dish of Florida snapper with jicama salad and Caribbean curry vinaigrette.

Richie reports the dinner went off without a hitch. Following the dinner, the chefs do what chefs do after they cook at a special event: they went to a restaurant. Cookshop was the restaurant of choice, where the chefs noshed on charcuterie, oysters, and my favorite Cookshop nibble, deviled eggs.

The Beard House has seen several Central Florida chefs in the last few months. In June, local chefs James and Julie Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig, Jamie McFadden of Cuisiniers Catering, Kevin Fonzo of K Restaurant, and Scott Copeland of Antonio’s La Fiamma cooked at the presitgious house in a dinner that was open to Beard House members and other paying guests.

Flavors of the Sun Beard House Dinner

Passed Hors D’Oeuvres
Fresh Hearts of Palm and Crab Meat Strudel
Olive Oil Whipped Goats Cheese on a Crispy Beet Chip
Drizzled Orange Blossom Honey
Rock Shrimp Ceviche
Key Lime Truffle and Soy
Taittinger Brut La Française

Dinner
First Course ~ Chef Emeril Lagasse
Floridian Cracked Conch Chowder
Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet 2007

Second Course ~ Chef Gregory Richie, Chef de Cuisine, Emeril’s Tchoup Chop
Pan Roasted Florida Snapper
Jicama Citrus Salad, Caribbean Curry Vinaigrette
Louis Jadot Meursault 2007

Third Course ~ Chef David Slater, Chef de Cuisine, Emeril’s New Orleans
Mangalitsa Pork Loin
Foie Gras Bread Pudding, Porcini Sauce, Micro Herbs
Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 2007

Fourth Course ~ Chef Bernard Carmouche, Culinary Director, Emeril’s Restaurants Florida
Wagyu Short Rib
Celery Root Salad, Assorted Root Vegetables, Black Truffle-Chestnut Sauce
Louis Jadot Pommard 2007

Dessert Course ~ Pastry Chef Barbara Avayu, Emeril’s Miami Beach
Cortadito Tres Leches
in a Chocolate Cup with Calle Ocho Churros
Taittinger Nocturne

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