By Laura Hibbs
Philadelphia’s best and brightest culinary minds gathered together for the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America event on October 4 at the ultra-posh reception space Pêche, a Peachtree & Ward venue located in East Falls. The soiree, one of ten held around the country, showcased Philly’s up-and-coming chefs on their home turf and benefitted the James Beard Foundation, which strives to nurture America’s diverse culinary heritage.
More than two dozen local food pros prepared small plates for guests to nosh on while The New American String Quartet Hot Club of Philadelphia crooned swanky tunes in the background. Carla Hall of ABC’s “The Chew” co-hosted the taste-around, themed “The Philadelphia Food Evolution,” alongside local Nectar executive chef and partner Patrick Feury. “I am so excited to be here because I travel through Philly on Amtrak from New York to go home to D.C,” Hall told me. “I was just saying to my husband, we have to meet up in Philly and do more Philly stuff. So this gives me an opportunity to get to know these chefs and it’s a draw for me. We love Philly, yay Philly, go Philly!”
Hall was right to be excited. Philadelphia’s chefs brought their A-game to the event, including Patrick Feury, who enlisted one of his sous chefs to prepare fresh goat cheese stuffed with mozzarella for guests, right in front of their eyes. His pastry chef Julie Watters used the very same cheese to create a creamy brownie, a potential preview of future desserts to come at Nectar [pictured above]. “This dish is not served at the restaurant yet, but it’s a possibility,” Watters revealed. “This particular dessert really focuses on the cheese and I’ve contemplated putting something like it on the menu.” Guests were also treated to delicious libations created by Nectar’s beverage manager Scott Zoccolillo, including a ridiculously scrumptious deconstructed Apple Pie Martini, which was topped with vanilla ice cream foam.
Sean Weinberg of Restaurant Alba was scouted for the event by Feury himself. “Patrick is a good friend of mine. Our restaurants are in the same area of the Main Line and we all stick together,” he revealed. “He’s asked me to a couple events in the past, and they always have a great turnout with other great chefs. When Patrick calls I always like to get involved.” Weinberg, who named his Malvern restaurant after a town called Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region, offered three tastes of the area’s famous antipastos. “Alba is really the food capital of Italy, so one of the things I wanted to do tonight was really show what the region is all about,” Weinberg said. “Antipasto is a big thing there and these are three classic dishes from that region.”
Michael Falcone’s Funky Lil Kitchen wowed with a savory veal hot dog topped with Oley Valley mushrooms and lentil chili [pictured above]. The dish was a last hurrah of sorts for the Pottstown bistro, which closed its doors on October 5. Falcone described the experience as “melancholy,” but he is looking forward to a new venture—a food truck set to hit the streets in the upcoming months.The four-wheeled foodery, to be called The Heart Truck, is set to cover the farmers market circuit from the Main Line to Malvern, with hopes of heading toward the city in the near future.
Naturally, Center City was well represented at the Taste America event, and in particular, Scott Shroeder of South Philly Tap Room and Noord’s Johncarl Lachman delighted with innovative plates. Chef Shroeder presented a shaved Creekstone beef, which was served with a crunchy piece of beef fat toast and topped with ramen broth jelly and tangy pickled and steamed egg custard. Chef Lachman served his signature pork Bitterballen—a deep-fried pork mixture that is braised in Coca-Cola and flavored with nutmeg and white pepper.
And while the Liberty Bell is closed to tourists at the moment, JBF Taste America attendees in Philadelphia were treated to a sweet replica of the famous landmark thanks to the gang at Chestnut Hill’s Night Kitchen Bakery [pictured above]. Owner Amy Edelmen and her talented team spent ten hours creating the confection, which stood as a centerpiece at the event before being sliced up and handed out to guests to take home—the perfect ending to a delicious night.
- All other photos: Laura Hibbs
- Patrick Feury/Carla Hall photo: Taste of America
