SPAC presenting Chef’s Table Harvest Dinner
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Saratoga Performing Arts Center is presenting a Chef’s Table Harvest Dinner as part of its new CulinaryArts@ SPAC initiative.
This intimate yet socially distant dining event is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the new Pines Pavilion onthe SPAC grounds in Saratoga Spa State Park.
Curated by Kim Klopstock of Lily and the Rose, the dinner will be headlined by local chefs Michael Blake, head chef of Yaddo and Saratoga Supper Club, and Michele Hunter, executive chef of Hamlet & Ghost and 2020 winner of the Food Network’s “Chopped.”
The harvest dinners will feature a modern Frenchthemed menu complete with five courses, wine pairings, and locally sourced ingredients.
This new effort is held in support of the region’s farmers and food purveyors. “We recognize how important our dedicated local culinary talent is to our region. And unfortunately, these farmers and chefs have been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic,” SPAC President and CEOElizabeth Sobol said in a press release. “Our new CulinaryArts@SPAC, kicking-off with these special Harvest dinners, will not only provide a platform and income for these chefs and food providers, but will also offer opportunities for safe, communal gathering in a time when the community most needs it.”
Klopstock, the series curator, shared how COVID-19 has taken a financial and emotional toll on those in the industry, causing many to be without work and incur debt, while forcing them to reimagine their lives.
“SPAC’s response to this hardship was to help create the new CulinaryArts@ SPAC initiative, which will give these young professionals a unique place to be showcased,” she said in the release. “For this inaugural dinner, two of Saratoga’s most progressive chefs, Michael Blake and Michele Hunter, will work together to present a beautifully delicious Modern French five-course dinner using locally sourced ingredients — all with the mission of sustaining our farmers and local culinary community. I’m hopeful that it will become the first of many such events.”
The upcoming Chef’s Table Harvest Dinner also serves as the kick-off to Culinary Arts@SPAC, a new initiative that will feature educational classes, food demonstrations, workshops, and more to support the participating chefs, farmers, and the local culinary community adversely affected by COVID-19.
In addition to Klopstock, Blake and Hunter, the CulinaryArts@SPAC collective includes top regional chefs Kevin London, owner and founder of Farmhouse Foods; DanSpitz, executive chef and owner of Fatnhappy LLC; Sondra Galvin, executive sous chef of Max London’s; Emily Petersen, educator and whole animal butcher; Kim Feeney London of Farmhouse Foods, and Pam Abrams, writer and editor.
More information about CulinaryArts@SPAC is expected to be announced in the future.
Seating for each night of the Chef’s Table Harvest Dinner, a rain or shine event, is limited to 50 guests, accommodating parties of four, six, and eight.
Reservations are $175 per person and are available by contacting Philip Scibilia at philip@spac.org.
Due to strict seating protocols, cancellations will only be accepted up to 48 hours prior to the start of each reservation.
Anyone with questions about the Chef’s Table Harvest Dinner can call 518-5849330.