A Culinary Collaborative
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Better yet, what if it was a potluck? Most chefs love to cook for each other; it’s an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and ideas to their peers, made better by the sounds of said peers smacking their lips.
Sam and Helen of Ming Café generously offered their quaint and lovely restaurant for the evening, closing the doors to their loyal customer base (though we did have a few diehards sneaking in for some last minute takeout). Our guests arrived, plates, food and bottles in hand. It was only a few minutes before this group, largely comprised of strangers, fell into step with one another, talking about the current state of Buffalo’s restaurant scene.
In addition to Zhen Qiu Lam (aka Sam) from Ming Café and his wife Helen, guests included Kevin O’Connell of O’Connell’s Hourglass, Mike Pijanowski of Bistro Europa, Louis Zanghi and Ted Collins of DiGiulio’s, and Trudy Stern of Tru-teas with husband Michael Morgulis.
Newell Nussbaumer, Publisher and Co-founder of Buffalo Rising; and Elena Cala Buscarino, Managing Editor, and I also attended.
Five and a half hours of stimulating conversation between eleven people is difficult to sum up. The wine, the food, the business, the city and its residents- all were focuses in our conversation, amongst bursts of laughter, commiseration, lots of cussing and the hatching of a plan to build a culinary network.
The full story, complete with dialog and details about the delicious dishes provided by our chefs, can be found in the YUM! section of April’s Buffalo Rising Magazine.
Here, in order to extend your online experience, you’ll find a slideshow of the event, along with commentary from Elena and myself. We hope that you enjoy it, and that it provides you with a sense of how the event looked and felt.
Buffalo Rising intends to assist with the formation of a culinary collaborative. We’ll keep you posted as plans are made and opportunities to become involved present themselves.
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ChristaSeychew
I would like to offer my apologies to Mike from Europa. I incorrectly stated that he prefers to serve his pierogi at room temperature. That is not the case, he simply told me that their temperature was not fundamentally important. They were sooo good!!!
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