At this year’s New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs Resort in Sussex County, top local farmers will join renowned chefs and winemakers as guests of honor.
On Friday, April 1, the eighth annual festival kicks off with a five-course Top Chefs & Top Wines dinner prepared by two winners of Bravo’s Top Chef—Season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga (formerly of Rat’s in Hamilton) and Season 11 winner Nicholas Elmi (chef/owner of Laurel in Philadelphia, rated in 2015 the 8th best restaurant in America by GQ’s Alan Richman)—along with Top Chef alum Dale Talde (chef/owner of Talde/Jersey City), Marc Aumont (pastry chef of the Michelin one-star restaurant, Gabriel Kreuther, in New York) and Martyna Krowicka (the hugely talented chef de cuisine of Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs, one of NJM’s Top 25 restaurants in the state).
Each course will be paired with highly-rated boutique wines from Husic Vineyards (Napa and Sonoma Counties, California), Laurenz Five Wines (Austria), Franciscan Estates (Napa) and Castello di Gabbiano (Chianti, Italy). The cost of the feast, including wines, is $225 per person.
Also on Friday evening, an exclusive Wine Cellar Dinner will be held in the world-class wine cellar of the Grand Cascades Lodge at Crystal Springs. The dinner, in the 26-seat cellar dining room will be prepared by Anthony Bucco, executive chef of Restaurant Latour, and special guest Mark Ladner, executive chef of the four-star New York Times-rated Del Posto in New York. The six-course Italian feast will be paired with wines from Tuscany’s Sassicaia & Biserno vineyards, each introduced by its celebrated winemaker, Sebastiano Rosa, the festival’s keynote speaker. The cost of the evening, limited to 26 participants, is $375.
Anthony Bucco, executive chef of Restaurant Latour and the Crystal Springs Resort in Sussex County
On Saturday, April 2, local farmers will start things off with a Pancakes and Prosecco breakfast ($35). This event, a first for the festival, will feature flapjacks made with grains from Black Dirt Bread farm, just across the border in Pine Island, New York, and corn fritters made with stone-ground corn from Oak Grove Plantation in Pittstown.
“We can’t do much without our local farms,” says Bucco, “and we are so blessed to be in this area, where there are so many great producers.”
A Taste of Italy lunch ($35) “will highlight one of the things New Jersey does best, Italian-American foods,” Bucco says, citing charcuterie and olive oils, served with Calandra’s Bread and wines from Chianti’s Castello di Gabbiano.
Another new Saturday event, the Chef & Farmer Culinary Showcase ($50), will feature products from local artisans such as Bobolink Dairy of Milford, Happy Harvest Hydroponics in Denville and Vernon’s Restoration Agriculture, prepared by top New Jersey chefs, including Francesco Palmieri of the Orange Squirrel in Bloomfield and Bryan Gregg of Escape Montclair.
The centerpiece of the weekend is Saturday night’s Grand Tasting ($135), a walk-around held in the Grand Cascades ballroom featuring what Bucco calls “a Who’s Who of area restaurants. There will be at least 40 different items to taste under one roof.” More than 30 different wineries will pour samples of their best vintages, and distilleries will offer cocktail tastings.
Afterwards until late, at the pool in the resort’s tropical biosphere, guests will rock at the Meet The Chefs & Winemakers After Party ($150). The theme is Rio de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The party will feature live Brazilian performances, a DJ, dancing, open bar, small bites from the Resort’s chefs and some wild surprises.
The 2016 Festival culminates with a Champagne Brunch ($50) on Sunday.
All programs will benefit the James Beard Foundation and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.