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Updated: June 12, 2009, 12:27 am	Share    Print    Email

Wolfgang Puck, Susan Ungaro, and the participating chefs at Chefs & Champagne New York at Wolffer Estate. Photos by John Wegorzewski

Truly one of the finest culinary events on the East End is the James Beard Foundation annual Chefs & Champagne New York which brings together the greatest chefs from around the country for an incredible afternoon of tasting of their signature dishes. This year the event took place in a massive tent on the fields of Wolffer Estates in Sagaponack. Over 750 food and wine enthusiasts turned out for this gastronomic adventure and to toast multiple Beard Foundation award winner Wolfgang Puck, the king of California cuisine.

The physical set-up of the food stations made it easy to navigate, especially if you worked clockwise around the tent starting with the appetizers on to the big dishes and landed at the dessert end. Set in the center of the tent were two Champagne bars offering select vintages from Lanson, Henriot, and Nicholas Feuillatte. A bubbly lovers delight for sure. Noteworthy - as always were the extraordinary award-winning wines produced by winemaker Roman Roth at Wolffer Estates, in particular, a lovely Cassina and, of course a summertime fave, their delightful Rose.

Allan Wyse and Kim Cattrall.

While sipping our champagne, we perused the array of silent auction items that included fine dining experiences, rare wines and spirits, cookware and culinary travel packages. The auction alone raised over $42,000 to support the James Beard Foundation's mission and educational programs. With a long tradition of supporting culinary education, two of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program recipients were acknowledged at the event. Robert Hawk of Cohoes, NY received the Christian Wölffer Scholarship and Christina Cassel of Sagaponack, NY received the Peter Kump Memorial Scholarship. Established in 2006, the scholarship fund supports students in their study of food and wine.

Not that we're prejudiced but we all gave high ratings to the Lobster BLTs that Nick & Toni's was serving up: a toasted half brioche courtesy of pastry chef Molly Harding, sliced cotto ham that Joe Realmuto deftly sliced into paper thin strips, a slice of Heirloom tomato and a generous chunk of lobster with a fine drizzle of garlic aioli. Heaven. Also drawing raves were the Indian fried noodle cakes with vegetables from Devi that had some folks tearing up from the heat including major foodie and cookbook author Sylvia Lehrer. "Sex in the City"'s Kim Cattrall and beau Allan Wyse had no such problem and scarfed them up handily.

At the pastry end, we ran into Sarabeth Levine who some 30 years ago pioneered the food movement on New York's Upper West Side with her fabulous croissant, rolls, sweet breads, and pies. Sarabeth with her sister Lynn Huhn were serving up mini-peach pies with vanilla ice cream. Across the way, the phenomenal North Fork Table team of Claudia Fleming and Gerry Hayden were offering up the fruits of the season in two forms - a grape gazpacho and tiny berry mounds with homemade ice cream. Yummy!

Wolfgang Puck, Susan Ungaro, and Roman Roth

Over dessert we chatted with Hilton Hotels' representative Eric Ruthmann and his wife Bernadette both brightly attired - he in a zigzag print grape colored jacket and she in shocking pink satin. Festive indeed. Bernadette said they dressed to compliment the wines! Getting in touch with their inner gourmand were New York Times food writer and author Florence Fabricant, Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque fame, artist Julie Harvey resplendent in 1970s pop print dress, Diane Stefani and hubby Terry Peikin, Wolffer Estates' Sue Calden and Roman Roth, and Lanson's Tom Lawson and Amy Finno, and scores more.

Chefs & Champagne New York participating chefs included: Govind Armstrong, Table 8, Los Angeles and Miami Beach, FL, and Table 8 Cooper Square, NYC; JBF Award Winner Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, Las Vegas; Anne Burrell, Centro Vinoteca and Gusto, NYC; Cesare Casella, Salumeria Rosi, NYC; Harold Dieterle, Perilla, NYC; Gordon Finn, Alto and Convivio, NYC; Benjamin Ford, Ford's Filling Station, Culver City, CA; Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Butter Restaurant, NYC; Gerry Hayden and JBF Award Winner Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming, The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY; Kerry Heffernan, South Gate, NYC; Craig Hopson, One if by Land, Two if by Sea, NYC; Michael Kramer, Voice at Hotel Icon, Houston, TX; Pastry Chef Sarabeth Levine, Sarabeth's, NYC; Tony Liu, Morandi, NYC; Tim Love, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX; Michael Luboff, The Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT; George Mendes, Aldea, NYC; Gretchen Menser, Fresno, East Hampton, NY; Pastry Chef Nancy Olson, Gramercy Tavern, NYC; Rafael Palomino, Palomino, Old Greenwich, CT; Ben Pollinger and Pastry Chef Jansen Chan, Oceana, NYC; Chris Prosperi, Métro Bis, Simsbury, CT; Joseph Realmuto, Nick & Toni's, East Hampton, NY; Guy Reuge, Mirabelle, St. James, NY; Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, Dévi, NYC; John Schenk, Strip House, NYC; Kerry Simon and Kim Canteenwalla, Simon at Palms Place, Las Vegas; Bill Telepan, Telepan, NYC; JBF Award Winner Fabio Trabocchi, Fiamma, NYC; and Damon Wise and Shane McBride, Craftsteak, NYC.

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Chefs & Champagne