Red Gables festival returns with top chefs, open-fire cooking
It was fall of 2021, more than a year into a pandemic that rocked the restaurant industry, and Chef Chris Calabrese wanted to have some fun.
The owner of Nettie's House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, along with friend and organic gardener Jonas Forssell, invited their chef friends to gather and cook over an open fire on the grounds of Red Gables, a private estate on the Navesink River in Red Bank.
They invited musicians to play and artists to display their work, sold tickets, and then did it again the following year.
The third Red Gables open-fire dinner returns to the property Saturday, Sept. 23, to Monday, Sept. 25, with nearly three dozen chefs from the tri-state area cooking during the three-day event. Among them are restaurateur Marilyn Schlossbach, Casey Pesce of d'jeet? in Shrewsbury, Sergio Casal of Capitoline and Bond Street in Asbury Park, Claude Lewis of Freetown Road Project in Jersey City, and the teams of The Grand Tavern in Neptune City, R Bar in Asbury Park and La Lupa in Manalapan.
"It's a day away from work for them," Calabrese said. "There's no pressure, we're just together, and people always seem to have a great time."
Calabrese created the event's menus with Chef Nicholas Wilkins, culinary director of the Eatontown-based Eat Clean Bro. A different menu will be served each day, starting with Middle Eastern cuisine on Saturday: roasted whole lamb, woodfired mushrooms with muhammara, harissa-spiced salmon, and olive oil gelato with fresh peaches, among other dishes.
Sunday will feature Italian dishes — minestrone with vegetables from the Red Gables garden, Caprese salad with goat milk ricotta, and roasted clams with gremolata — and Monday is the food of Mexico, including pork posole, al pastor pork ribs with roasted pineapple salsa, and scallop ceviche.
"We came up with this menu and brought in all the chefs who want to participate," Calabrese said.
Red Gables takes place from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, and Monday, Sept. 25, and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Tickets cost $175 per person and include food, a welcome cocktail, live music, an art gallery and fire pits.
A cash bar will be available. A portion of the event's proceeds will be donated to Oasis TLC, a vocational farm in Red Bank that serves adults with autism.
Go: 600 Navesink River Road, Red Bank; redgablesnj.com.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.