Italian Chefapalooza in NYC This Weekend
Mario Batali in action at Identita New York. All photos courtesy of Identità Golose.
ROME – How's this for irony? I have to come home from living in Italy to host the fourth annual Identità New York 2013, an incredible festival with Italian chefs at NYC's Eataly.
The international chef's forum Identità Golose produces this fantastic three-day event, where Italy's best chefs cook and collaborate with New York's best chefs. There are demos, tastings, and two big, multi-course dinners cooked by all the chefs involved. The talent roster is insane.
I'll be moderating the event. This means I'll do a lot of translating of chef terms like "farm-fresh" and "it's a reinterpretion of a classic carbonara recipe" and audience questions like "why doesn't my seared tuna look like that when I make it?"
You, the audience, ask questions, eat what you've watched them cook, and drink great Italian wines. There's no better way to spend a few hours in the afternoon.
The schedule of demo and tastings:
Friday, October 4
12 p.m.: Mario Batali & Cesare Battisti
4 p.m.: Dave Pasternack & Morena Cedroni
Saturday, October 5th
12 p.m.: Daniel Boulud & Massimo Bottura
4 p.m.: Sara Jenkins & Mauro Uliassi
Sunday, October 6th
12 p.m.: Matthew Lightner & Carlo Cracco
4 p.m.: Jeremy Bearman & Viviana Varese
And if you want a giant, crazy, extravagant meal cooked by all the participating chefs, there are two five-course dinners under the stars at Birreria on Friday, October 4th, and Saturday, October 5th.
Tickets are available at Eataly.com.