Chef's Table 500...

chilled duck breast sous vide
compressed rhubarb, oranges, lovage, hazelnuts, English pea ice cream,
chive blossoms, crispy salsify



I wanted to just take a moment and say thank you to all of you who have helped me throughout the years since we started the chef’s table program back in February 2001. I realize that many of you reading this have never or will never experience it, but to those that have, this is mainly for you. With only 3 tables under our belt by the end of the month, we started out quite slow and only and strictly by word of mouth. It was not mass marketed,… not publicized in the newsletter,… not auctioned off for all to expose themselves to,… and certainly not done without passion and team work. By the end of that year, we had only reached a total of 29. Well, the passion has not stopped and the team has changed, however, we have expanded our marketing efforts a bit. We have publicized the venue, albeit not too much other than my foodies data base and we do auction it off to various organizations. That is how we grow, both as a team and as an organization. The chef’s table is not any different. What was once just an idea has now grown to the remarkable milestone of 500 with tonight’s gathering of passionate diners! It was quite special really. I wanted to share this with you as the chef’s table has been a major source of proud importance and significance to me, the kitchen team, the service team and the club as a whole. We must never lose sight of the fact that we have created and developed something so unique for our members and their guests in this community. It is like one more notch in the club’s belt for being that special place in the city for them. Here’s to looking ahead to the next 500! Thank you.




This was actually an email I sent to our team thanking them for all of their hard efforts and work to create such a great thing. By some standards, 500 in that amount of time would be chump change, but I have always felt it is not the sheer numbers, but the extreme quality that exudes from it. If you can do 10 covers great and only 10, then that is what you focus on. Granted, one might go hungry and broke, but you know that 10 customers went away feeling great about what they experienced. At any rate, it was a special chef's table gathering, a special accomplishment and damn tasty food. Here are a couple shots from it...
muscovy duck two ways
seared foie gras, honey bunches of oats, cacao nibs, hazelnuts, pears
duck breast salad

chilled duck breast sous vide- alternate angle