I won the De Gustibus + What Should We Do?! Contest and learned a ton! (The post I am linking you to is a sponsored post, that is the contest I entered.)
While I have a ton of events I literally HAVE to recap, I am being naughty and sharing an experience I won access to today. I couldn't resist, this is #FoodieFriday on the interwebs, how could I NOT put up something foodie fabulous? Especially when that something is being paired with WINE!
My mom has been taking me to Macy's Flagship Store in New York City since I was a child and I literally had no idea that there was a cooking school inside the store!
The Peruvian Demo and Dinner with Chef Erik Ramirez of LLAMA INN in Brooklyn, New York included Exotic Food Destinations: Persia, Argentina and Peru with wine pairings provided by Vias Imports and water provided by Acqua Panna S. Pelligrino (a butterfly has gotta stay hydrated!).
THE MENU:
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Above: Menu Starter: Gooseberry Leche - this was such a delicious, refreshing starter paired with the Camps D'Estels Cava Brut Rosé - off to a GREAT start in my opinion!
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Above: Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, Muña, Gooseberry, Cancha - just in case you are wondering, yes that is the same salad, in the bottom photo it was plated on custom plates for Chef Erik's Restaurant. I can't begin to describe how delicious this salad was. One of the ingredients used Muña, is good for folks with arthritis, aches and pains as it has anti-inflammatory properties. Cancha is a peruvian corn nut - I had never tried either one before and it had been ages since I last had beets. I live for salads in the summer and this one is definitely going into rotation on my summer menu planning. The flavors literally burst in my mouth! The creaminess of the cheese and the crunch of the corn nut were such a pleasant contrast!
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Above: Fluke Ceviche, Dashi, Banana, Aji Dulce paired with a glass of Finca La Emperatriz Viura Cepas Viejas 2012 (RIOJA) White Wine
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Above: Duck Sausage, Cilantro, Jasmine Rice, Beer, Spinach paired with a glass of Fince La Emperatriz Terruño 2010 (RIOJA) red wine. I wish I had moved the Spinach a bit so you could actually see the rice and duck a bit better. I did like this one, and I am a cilantro lover, but I would personally dial the cilantro back just slightly on this one when I prepare it, just personal preference, and the Chef did mention that because he uses the stem instead of the leaf in his dishes the Cilantro flavor comes through a bit bolder. I would also remove any raisins in the duck rice. I love raisins but for some reason, just raw, not as ingredients in my cooking. For example I am Puerto Rican and many Puerto Ricans use raisins in their pasteles, and I do not like mine with raisins. So this recipe would get a few changes to make it my own but I would definitely re-make it as I love rice and sausage and the duck sausage was a nice surprise.
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Above: Dessert: Black Carob, Banana, Peanut, Chocolate - I have to apologize here, at this point I was not cleaning the silverware with my napkin and the placemat was looking 'lived in' by this point, but that's a good sign right?
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THE WINES:
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Middle: Camps D'Estels Cava Brut Rosé (SPAIN) Suggested Retail $19 (ALL the folks at my table all wanted seconds on this one, including me! And for good reason! I love my sparkling stuff and I have a dry palate and this really knocked it out the park on both fronts for me!) - and see what I tell you all the time about wine, it doesn't have to cost a million to taste like a million! The grapes are 100% Pinot Noir, harvested by hand, with hints of ripe berries and strawberry jam. Alcohol: 11.9%
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Far Right: Finca La Emperatriz Viura Cepas Viejas 2012 (RIOJA) Suggested Retail: $45 This white wine is from a 70 year old vineyard produced in Spain that gives you a bit of white fruit, honeysuckle flowers, bananas and pastry notes and was paired with the Fluke Ceviche during our meal. This is a young wine, No Aging with Alcohol coming in at 12.8%
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Far Left: Finca La Emperatriz Terruño 2010 (RIOJA) Suggested Retail: $39 This 100% Tempranillo from Spain was paired with our Duck Sausage dish during the meal. 100% Tempranillo Grapes aged for 16 months in 80% French and 20% American Oak Barrels coming in with the highest Alcohol content of the wines featured at 14.7%
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His bio on starchefs is so good I am actually linking you there! You can find Chef Erik at Llama Inn which is located at 50 Withers Street in Brooklyn, New York - after this tasting I definitely want to try out the restaurant!
Above: Chef Erik was nice enough to take time to talk to attendees who wanted to thank him or had additional questions and I couldn't resist this candid shot!
Above: One thing I needed to point out is that this was NOT a press event, I was seated in the back and instructed expressly not to use Flash, now I don't have one of those huge paparazzi type of lenses and I didn't bring the tripod, which was for the best there would have been no way to set that up and really be able to enjoy the class and not have the equipment in someone's way, so I have to say I was quite proud of my DSLR camera. I think I'm getting better and it's definitely time to upgrade my Camera and my lenses! Chef Erik was nice enough to let me take this shot at a much closer range than I had the opportunity to take all night which was great!
About DeGustibus Cooking School:
De Gustibus Cooking School by Miele was founded in 1980 and is currently owned by Salvatore Rizzo and was founded by Arlene Sailhac.
Above: Owner and class emcee, Salvatore Rizzo is in the middle of both shots above. I couldn't resist nabbing a shot of him nabbing a shot of the team! I love shots better when folks aren't looking directly at my camera!
There is literally only three things to remember about De Gustibus:
You will:
- Meet and Learn From World-Class Chefs
- Eat Delicious Food
- Taste Exquisite Wines
MY TAKE:
Retail therapy as the school is located within Macy's Herald Square and a great dinner paired with great wines, SCORE!!!
YES and YAS to that!
As a single gal in the city I highly recommend this for a date night for so many reasons. It's not a dark movie theater, there is no pressure of 'am I ordering something too expensive from the menu', it is more of a demo where you watch the chef and not hands on, so no worries about getting some strange stain on your favorite outfit either. It's fun and pressure free - literally the making of a perfect first date. Works just as well for a girlfriends night out, a gift to a friend for their birthday (there was a birthday girl who attended the class in fact!) an anniversary gift, literally you name it, and it works!
Chef Erik's demo was well paced, his food was flavorful and bold, the wine pairings were great and I will definitely be re-creating these dishes at home, with my own spin of course! It was great to attend a Cooking School experience where I just got to enjoy as well. Most of the Cooking School Experiences I have had so far, many of which I have shared here, were totally hands on - which has it's merits as well don't get me wrong, but sometimes a tired butterfly just wants the meal to be prepared for her by someone else! It was nice having the courses and wine pairings selected for me so all I had to do was enjoy.
And I would definitely throw it out there that they might want to consider a Press Only Event/Class. Only other Editors and Food Influencers get each other when we stop to take a ton of photos, help each other with staging, shine our cellphone flashlights on a fellow Editor's plate to give them better light, having to clean the cutlery ourselves between each course, stuff that I can see how easily it would distract someone who doesn't get it. And you guys know I love my 'pour shots', but that is one thing I couldn't quite capture because that took place before the glasses were brought out.
School is out for summer but classes pick back up in the Fall - hopefully I can pair up with De Gustibus to do something special for my butterflies when classes resume in the Fall!
Let's use this as a fun focus group, butterflies what would your dream dinner be and who would the chef be? What master class chef would be YOUR choice for an upcoming cooking class? Would you add a favorite wine or go with spirits/cocktails? I personally would love to see a class that paired a good bourbon with the meal as I have been obsessed with Bourbon's lately.
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FTC Disclosure: I won my seat at this event, this is neither sponsored nor is it compensated and all opinions are 100% my own! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.