Chefs for the Marcellus

… about our  benefit, Taste of the Marcellus, held on July 26 at Brooklyn Winery.  Read the excellent post by Daniel Raichel in Switchboard, the National Resources Defense Council’s staff blog. And if you haven’t  done so yet, please write to Governor Cuomo  telling him not to frack New York’s farms,  wineries and breweries. VIEW PHOTO ALBUM

“Taste of the Marcellus” Benefit at Brooklyn Winery Thursday July 26, 2012. Photo by Autumn Stein.

Our benefit, “Taste of the Marcellus,” Thursday July 26, at Brooklyn Winery and Brooklyn Bowl was packed with food pros, fracktivists, and food lovers: all people who treasure our locally sourced food, wine, beer, hard cider and spirits, and who were there to help protect our regional foodshed from fracking.

“Taste of the Marcellus” raised funds for our Chefs for the Marcellus campaign and for New Yorkers Against Fracking, a state-wide coalition of organizations and businesses working for a ban against fracking in New York.

Thank you to everyone who did so much to make “Taste of the Marcellus” such a delicious and meaningful event!

A special shout-out to the staff of Brooklyn Winery, and to all the chefs and their crews for creating such truly inspired dishes using ingredients sourced from the Marcellus Shale region of New York, and for their generous donations to our raffle.

Chef Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern

Chef Heather Carlucci, PRINT Restaurant

Chef Mary Cleaver, Cleaver Co. & The Green Table

Chef David Colston, Brooklyn Winery 

Chef Elizabeth Falkner, Krescendo

Chef Peter Hoffman, Back Forty & Back Forty West

Chef Daniel Holzman, The Meatball Shop

Chef Zak Pelaccio, Fatty ‘Cue & The Fatty Crew

Chef Chris Santos, The Stanton Social

Chef Bill Telepan, Telepan

Mixologist Richard Knapp, Mother’s Ruin

Kudos to Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy’s No. 43) for pairing dishes with Ommegang brews and to Brooklyn Winery’s Conor McCormack and Jenesy Claire for pairing dishes with their own wines.

Thank you to our honored guests, especially fellow anti-fracking activists: Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, Larry Bennett of upstate New York’s Brewery Ommegang, and Josh Fox, Oscar-nominated director of Gasland and the upcoming Gasland Two.

In appreciation to all our partners and sponsors:

Brewery Ommegang, Brooklyn Winery, Edible Manhattan, Eve’s Cidery, Star Chefs, Tuthilltown Spirits and Verterra.

And a special thanks to Brooklyn Bowl and Brewery Ommegang for the rocking after-party.

The dishes on offer at the Taste of the Marcellus benefit will be paired with unlimited pours of Brooklyn Winery’s own New York wines, Brewery Ommegang beers, Eve’s Cidery hard ciders, and Tuthilltown cocktails… get your tickets now!

Chef Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern

Okra Stuffed with Eggplant Puree, Sherry Vinegar, Parsley and Mint – paired with – Ommegang Rare Vos

Chef Elizabeth Falkner, Krescendo

Summer Squash and Peach Salad with Ricotta and Almonds – paired with - Rosé of Merlot (North Fork of Long Island, NY)

Chef Peter Hoffman, Back Forty & Back Forty West

Romano Bean Salad with Basil, Black Olives and Salvatore Ricotta Cheese – paired with – Ommegang Witte

Chef David Colston, Brooklyn Winery 

Sungold Tomato Gazpacho with Smoked Trout, Burrata Cream, and Toasted Millet – paired with – Barrel Aged Chardonnay (Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY)

Chef Daniel Holzman, The Meatball Shop

Chicken Meat Balls with Pesto and Corn Salad – paired with – Ommegang BPA (Belgian-style Pale Ale)

Chef Zak Pelaccio, Fatty ‘Cue & Fatty Crew

Smoked Lamb Belly with Fermented Tofu, and Summer Bean Salad – paired with – Stainless Steel Aged Chardonnay (Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY)

Chef Bill Telepan, Telepan

Carolina Gold and Black Forbidden “Fried Rice” with Oxtail and Seasonal Vegetables – paired with – Barrel Aged Riesling (Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY)

Chef Chris Santos, The Stanton Social

Whipped Ricotta Jewel on Toast with Grilled Peaches, Chili Basil and Honey – paired with – Stainless Steel Aged Riesling (Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY)

Chef Heather Carlucci, PRINT. Restaurant

Butterscotch Parfait with Roasted Strawberries – paired with – Ommegang Three Philosophers

Chef Mary Cleaver, The Green Table & Cleaver Co.

Blueberry Brown Butter Cakes with Black Raspberry Compote – paired with – Ommegang Hennepin

Did we mention a great cause, saving our food and water from fracking… get your tickets now!

…and hey,  that’s where we’re having our Taste of the Marcellus After-Party, Thursday, July 26! According to the newspaper of record, Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg is the place to be. So be there when Brooklyn Bowl, at No. 61, hosts our After-Party. Your ticket — a mere $25 — is the key to complimentary Ommegang beer and music, too. And it’s all to support our efforts to ban fracking in New York State. BUY TICKETS NOW! 

The article quotes Will Blunt of StarChefs, one of the sponsors of Taste of the Marcellus, our July 26 benefit at Brooklyn Winery: “Chefs are not just lifestyle figures,” he told  Huff Post’s Regina Varolli, “they’re small business owners and job creators critical to a healthy New York State economy. As Governor Cuomo weighs his decision [on fracking], we want to make it abundantly clear to him that the restaurant community and its leaders stand against legalizing this dangerous practice in New York State. Farms, distilleries, breweries, wineries and their products are lifeblood for restaurants — and chefs recognize the potentially catastrophic effect that this dangerous practice could have on their businesses.” READ FULL ARTICLE

Mary Cleaver will be one of the star chefs cooking for guests at our July 26 fundraiser at Brooklyn Winery.  Mary’s celebrated restaurant, The Green Table, and Cleaver and Co., her catering business, both rely on the finest locally sourced food. In fact Mary has been called the “most passionate pioneer” of the sustainable food movement. Of fracking she says: “New York State must follow the example of its eastern neighbor, Vermont, and ban fracking altogether because it will destroy the health of our regional farms, food and watershed. New York State must remain a leader in developing and providing clean and renewable energy sources.” Join Mary. Fight fracking! BUY TICKETS NOW!

Mixologist Richard Knapp of Mother’s Ruin in Nolita will be shaking it up (and stirring, too) at Taste of the Marcellus, Thursday, July 26. Richard’s two cocktails, created for the event, will feature rum  donated by Tuthilltown Spirits. BUY TICKETS NOW! 

Some of NYC’s most celebrated chefs will be cooking up a storm at the Brooklyn Winery on Thursday evening, July 26, for A Taste of the Marcellus, a benefit to protect New York State’s water, air and soil from industrialized drilling (fracking) for natural gas. If you purchase tickets by July 16, you can sample their fare — paired with wines and beersfrom the Marcellus region of upstate New York —  at bargain prices, while supporting a good cause. The evening will benefit New Yorkers Against Fracking and Chefs for the Marcellus, organizations working to protect the food and water of the Marcellus Shale region of New York State from the threat of shale gas drilling and fracking.  BUY EARLY BIRD TICKETS TODAY. 

Superstar chef and restaurateur Elizabeth Falkner will be cooking alongside a bevy of other leading chefs at our benefit, Taste of the Marcellus, on Thursday, July 26, at Brooklyn Winery. Elizabeth — known nationally for her numerous TV appearances, most notably on Top Chef and Iron Chef — was long based in San Francisco, but has now relocated to Brooklyn to open Krescendo, a Neapolitan pizzeria. Cooking alongside Elizabeth on July 26 will be Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern; Heather Carlucci, PRINT; Mary Cleaver, The Green Table & Cleaver & Co.; David Colston, Brooklyn Winery; Peter Hoffman, Back Forty & Back Forty West; Daniel Holzman, The Meatball Shop; Zak Pelaccio, Fatty ‘Cue & Fatty Crew; Bill Telepan, Telepan; and others to be named later. BUY TICKETS TODAY!

There’s an article in today’s New York Times reporting on the growth of small, local farms as a new business model.  New York State is rich in such farms,  but many of them will be driven out of business or polluted if Governor Cuomo allows fracking in our state.  Please sign on to our campaign or write to the governor today to tell him you want farms, not fracking, in New York’s future.