C-Cap Benefit 2009 at Pier Sixty

Last night, New Yorkers gathered to raise money for the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).  Their mission?  To provide underserved high school students with culinary training, jobs, and scholarships.  Restaurateur Drew Nieporent (Nobu, Corton, Tribeca Grill) was honored for his contributions to C-CAP.   Attendees tasted dishes from thirty-six chefs at the city’s top restaurants, who were assisted by over 60 C-CAP culinary high school students.  This was one tasting experience that was hard to beat- where else can you find bites from the likes of Dan Barber, Wylie Dufresne, Michael White, Marcus Samuelsson, and Alfred Portale all under the same roof?

    Some of the best vegetable dishes were Blue Hill’s forono beet salad and buttermilk panna cotta with horseradish, and Payard’s petit pois and soft scrambled eggs with a uni-leek broth and caviar.  On the seafood side of things as well as the Park Avenue Soon-To-Be-Spring’s peekytoe crab salad with avocado and raspberry puree, served in tiny cones (pictured above.)

    Though we’re predicting spring menus peppered with crudo and ceviche, winter’s last licks included Landmarc’s lamb meatballs with red lentils and Dovetail’s duck sausage with cranberry-mustard relish.  For dessert,   Corton’s served an excellent cocoa nib financier with golden raisins and yuzu and chocolate peanut butter crunch from Gramercy Tavern.  Still, we want to know who won that dinner for five at Rao’s so we can claim a seat at the table.