iSi Creative Whip

A Night at the Museum
(of Food and Drink)

by Guest Contributor Rick Agresta, President & CEO of iSi North America, Inc.

Chefs strike a pose outside The Foundry
From left to right: Nils Norén (Marcus Samuelsson Group), Brooks Headley (Del Posto), Wylie Dufresne (wd~50, Alder), Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern), Sean Gray (Momofuku Ko), Amanda Cohen (Dirt Candy), Franklin Becker (The Little Beet)
Photo credit: Daniel Krieger, and the MOFAD FacebookPage

 

A Quick Introduction

Our President & CEO, Rick Agresta (shown below) was one of few influential  invitees to the MOFAD (Museum of Food & Drink) Spring Dinner Benefit just a few weeks ago in Long Island City, and was kind enough to share his recount of the inspirational evening created by Dave Arnold and Peter Kim of MOFAD — along with top-notch respected chefs including Wylie Dufresne, Michael Anthony, Marcus Samuelsson, plus many more of New York’s “Best of the Best” committed to the advancement, exploration, discovery and documentation of the science of food.

MOFAD was founded years ago by the culinary wizard and long-time iSi friend  Dave Arnold, and is working to build  a first-of-its-kind food museum in New York City – with exhibits you can actually eat. It reminds us a bit of Jennifer Rubell’s edible exhibits, but on a more permanent scale. Dave’s vision is expansive, long-term, and of course – unique. Dave’s constant dedication and exploration of the “way things work” and how he can make  them more useful, productive, or creative continues to set him apart from the “norm” in every way.

We hope you enjoy the descriptive storytelling though the eyes of iSi’s own CEO, who attended the event and clearly enjoyed the entire evening of surprise, delight, and culinary wonder.

A Night at the Museum
(of Food and Drink)

by Guest Contributor  Rick Agresta, President & CEO of iSi North America, Inc.

(shown above)

I had the pleasure of attending the Museum of Food and Drink Spring Benefit Dinner at the very cool Foundry event space underneath the 59th Street Bridge. In Long Island City, Queens. As in the Simon and Garfunkel song about the bridge, several hundred guests and I were “feeling groovy” as we were served innovative dishes from the imagination of a star studded group of chefs. This was all in service of a great cause, the creation of the first museum devoted exclusively to food and drink and the culinary arts, science and engineering that help bring these essentials of life to us, ranging from mass production to local supply, from our supermarkets to the finest restaurants.

Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger, and MOFAD Facebook Page

The Challenge

Each chef was challenged to create an entirely new recipe in response to a theme thought up by Peter Kim, executive Director, and Dave Arnold, founder and lead enthusiast. To give you a taste for the challenge, consider Wylie Dufrense’ (WD-50) chicken liver spaetzle, radish, Cocoa nibs and pine conglomeration. This was in response to the Four Humors – Blood, yellow bile, black bile and Phlegm, an ancient world concept with the humors corresponding to the elements of air, fire, earth and water – all of which must be in balance for a healthy constitution. Wylie served a very balanced and tasty portion.

A challenge from the less distant past was given to Brooks Headley of Del Posto who created a Bomb Shelter Sandwich for the category of Food of Future Past. Franklin Becker (Little Beet) had a yummy take on what the native Americans might have really brought to the first Thanksgiving, a garden, forest and sea to table mix.

Chef Franklin Becker’s “What Massasoit Brought to Thanksgiving”
Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger, and the MOFAD Facebook Page

My personal favorite was the Rastafarian Ital Diet response from Nils Noren of the Marcus Samuelsson Group and Dave’s partner in culinary crime for years at the FCI. Nils made a Callaloo Soup with Dumplings and Coconut served with Tamarind Ginger Soup. He labored with actual coconuts instead of buying pre-processed ingredients. As he wrote in the program ” Because the body is viewed as sacred, Rastafarians value fresh, unadulterated food.”

My opinion: fresh and delicious! Just the way food should taste as the fresh seasonal foods of Spring transition into early Summer in early May.

Evoking Creativity in Food

The final two dishes brought us closer to the present. Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern made a TV dinner of Salisbury steak, Mac and cheese and a mix of carrots and peas. This was served in the traditional Swanson style TV food tray with a compartmentalized base and a cardboard cover held in place by crimped aluminum. Dominique Ansel, chef of his self named Bakery, was asked to create a dessert for Food on the Battlefield. His “rations” for us culinary soldiers was an Apple pie care package where the ingredients were delivered to our table in specially sealed containers we had to peal back, tear and unscrew. We were amply rewarded for finishing that battle.

Chef Michael Anthony’s take on the TV Dinner: Salisbury steak with maitake mushrooms, plus the obligatory sides
(Meat generously donated by Heritage Foods)
Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger & MOFAD Facebook page

The crowd was a great mix of the many kinds of people and functions in the culinary culture of Greater New York. The media was also there in force and my table alone included a creative bunch from Food & Wine, Popular Science and Grub Street.

MOFAD Executive Director Peter Kim, event host Ben Leventhal, Sarah Abell, and Marcus Samuelsson
Photo credit: Daniel Krieger, and MOFAD Facebook Page

As if the meal was not enough, the take home goody bag was full of gourmet treats and topped off by a personal bag of puffed rice from the Puffing Gun demo Dave conducted in front of the building during the cocktail hour. Sign me up for the Fall Benefit Dinner!

BOOM! Dave Arnold fires the puffing gun’s first shot of the evening
Photo credit: Daniel Krieger and MOFAD Facebook page

So, What’s Next?

If you would like to see some great photos of  the event and learn more about MOFAD, check them out on Facebook or at http://www.mofad.org.

Many thanks to Daniel Kreiger for the terrific photos, and the MOFAD Facebook page. And, a huge thanks to Dave Arnold for the invitation to such an inspiring culinary journey- one of many more to come!