Paula DaSilva Visits The James Beard House
Perfectly timed to disprove the now infamous TIME cover story, Chef Paula DaSilva, of Ft. Lauderdale's 3030 Ocean, brought a team of female chefs (who paired with female farmers) to the James Beard House on Monday, November 11, creating a feast worthy of many "food goddess" titles.
The menu focused on seasonal ingredients, many of which were imported from local Florida farmers, bringing a last taste of summer into NYC for the season.
While overseeing the lady-powered kitchen, Chef DaSilva and her chef de cuisine, Adrienne Grenier (not to be confused with this guy), prepared a slew of tasty appetizers, sourced from woman-owned Paradise Farms. Hor de'ouevres included Beef Tartare atop a thin radish and topped with a poached quail egg, shots of roasted pumpkin soup with black truffles and safe cream, and a miraculusly light Swordfish Escabéche with pickled vegetables.
Opening the sit-down meal was Chef Ali Goss of Parallel Post, who plated a gorgeous Brown Butter Lobster Ravioli with saffron bubbles.
Chef Lauren Deshields of Market 17 prepared a memorable Sweet Potato-Hazelnut Gnocchi, which had a fantastic crunch paired with the fluffy homemade gnocchi, which rolled alongside housemade Seely's Ark rabbit sausage.
The third course, by Chef Lindsay Autry of Sundy House featured a Florida Cobia, a delicate whitefish rare to New York, with braised fregola, crispy country ham.
The final, and perhaps "manliest" (if we're going to resort to gender norms here) course, was prepared by the bubbly, pony-tailed chef Brooke Mallory, of Asador Restaurant in Dallas. Smoked Hudspeth Farms Tenderloin atop a roasted poblano-Dutch Potato Salad, beef cheek-onion marmalade, and a smear of pepper-tequila paint stole the show for any carniverous eater.
And, of course, women love dessert. 3030 Ocean's pastry chef Huma Nagi, created a passion fruit-Coconut Streusel Bar with Banana Brûlée and a Guava-Strawberry Chutney that paired with a tropical Painkiller coktail made with coconut-infused Privateer Rum. All drink pairings of the evening were created by Dimitra Tsourianais, Chef DaSilva's childhood friend, who now works at Daddy Jones, in their hometown of Somerville, MA.
Overall, the night was a successful testament to the amazing feats women can accomplish in the kitchen. Anyone can dine at the James Beard House, though members recieve a discount on meals, and over 200 special events with fabulous visiting chefs are hosted each year.