Random Cravings

In just four days, New York City will be abuzz with unique culinary experiences, extraordinarily talented chefs, and festivalgoers united by an all-consuming passion for food and wine during the Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival. Last week, I published a quick Q&A with Chef Alain Allegretti, who will be satisfying the most discriminate palates during the Cocktails and Caviar event.  This week, I am featuring Chef Angelo Sosa, a chef who loves to test boundaries by reinterpreting classic dishes with his avant-garde usage of flavor and technique:

Chef Angelo Sosa (photo courtesy NYCWFF)

Q: What are you most looking forward to during NYCWFF?

A: Working on this level at any Food and Wine event with these chefs is totally inspiring. 

Q: According to the Festival website, you are participating in The Best Thing I Ever Ate Between Bread and Rock & Roll with Morimoto & Friends…Could you please give us a sneak peek into what you will be serving?

A: Kung Pao Chicken Sandwich for the Best Thing I Ever Ate & you’ll just have to wait and see for Rock & Roll, that one’s a surprise. 

Q: Sandwiches are such an everyday part of our lives…what do you think takes a sandwich from “everyday” to “ultimate”?

A: I think sandwiches can be sexy. I think sandwiches can be dimensional. Having the trinity of flavors brings life to sandwiches (e.g. sweet sour salty). 

Q: Can we look forward to hearing your karaoke skills during Rock & Roll with Morimoto & Friends?  If so, what is your favorite song to belt out?

A: I’m pretty sure people would walk away…

Whether Chef Sosa can sing or not, I’m sure his innovative food will rock the NYCWFF events!  As of the time this post was published, tickets are still available for both The Best Thing I Ever Ate Between Bread and Rock & Roll with Morimoto & Friends – be sure to scoop up your tickets before it’s too late!

One of my favorite aspects of the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival is the opportunity to meet and chat with so many amazing chefs.  Whether they are Food Network personalities I see every day on television, or local chefs at the top of their craft, it is awe-inspiring to spend the weekend rubbing shoulders with these beacons of culinary greatness!  To give you a little taste of the inspiration that can come from chatting with these talented chefs, I recently asked a few quick questions of a couple of New York City chefs who are getting ready to get their culinary swagger on during NYCWFF.  This week, I am featuring Chef Alain Allegretti, a French chef who truly knows how to define luxury through food…

Chef Alain Allegretti (photo courtesy NYCWFF)

Q: What are you most looking forward to during NYCWFF?

A: The energy at these events is always exciting to be around.  Being out there with fellow chefs is always a thrill but even more so being able to interact personally with the consumers is the main reason why I sign on to things like the NYCWFF.  Stepping out of the kitchen and into an event like Cocktails & Caviar really allows me to engage with current or potential clients in a different way than in my own dining room. Plus with our new restaurant La Promenade des Anglais just opening right beforehand, it’s perfect timing for this type of exposure.

 Q: The event you are participating in, Cocktails and Caviar, is being described as “a lesson in luxury.”  What do you consider to be the most luxurious dish you have ever created?

A: My most luxourious dish is probably my Soupe de Poisson or Provencal Fish Soup, as it’s also known. It is a very traditional dish from Nice, and recreating it here in America has been a challenge. I’m lucky enough to have received many accolades for this dish and I believe it is because I have been able to recreate the feeling of home. Every bite you take, reminds you of something comforting. For me, that is the most luxurious quality anything can possess. 

 Q: What do you think makes an ingredient or a dish luxurious?

A: The quality of the ingredients used is definitely important to adding that touch of luxury but then again the quality of ingredients in every dish luxurious or not is vital.  I think most people think to be luxurious they have to spend that extra bit of money but if you find the right restaurant with the best ingredients, every dish should be luxurious.

 Q: Could you please give us a sneak peek into what you will be serving during Cocktails and Caviar?

A: I will be serving Red Shrimp Tartare with Espelette Piment, Lemongrass Oil, Purple Potato Chips, and Black Lump Caviar.  These bite size beauties will offer both a taste of fresh, luscious shrimp but also a bit of spice from the espelette piment and saltiness from both the chips and the caviar.  It should hit all the taste buds and is most definitely a bite of luxury.

Chef Allegretti’s dish for Cocktails and Caviar sounds like a decadent dream!  As of this morning, there are still tickets available to Cocktails and Caviar…but if you want to attend this event, be sure to buy your tickets soon – events are selling out fast and furious, and this event promises to be an elegant, sumptuous evening that is not to be missed!