Major Garden State chefs Eric LeVine and Christopher Albrecht will each host a dinner this spring at the James Beard House in New York’s Greenwich Village—known as the Carnegie Hall of the culinary world. The multicourse dinners will benefit the James Beard Foundation’s culinary scholarship program.
Beard, widely considered “the dean of American cookery,” lived in the townhouse at 167 W. 12th Street for many years until his death in 1985. After the foundation was created the following year, the house became the site of dinners—currently about 200 a year—showcasing the talents of American chefs.
On Thursday, April 20 at 7 pm, LeVine, chef-owner of Morris Tap & Grill in Randolph and Paragon Tap & Table in Clark, will present a Beard House dinner whose theme is “Threesomes.” LeVine, a 2011 Chopped champion, will create three different preparations of each major ingredient, including tuna, scallops, quail, beef and chocolate.
On Monday, April 24, also at 7, Albrecht, who last fall became executive chef of the venerable Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station, will present an “Elegant Country Getaway” dinner. Albrecht, a protege of celebrity chef and multiple Beard-Award winner Tom Colicchio, earned a spot on NJM’s annual Top 25 when he was executive chef of Eno Terra in Kingston.
Before moving to the Ryland, Albrecht reopened Park & Orchard in East Rutherford. His Beard House menu will include tuna tartare with charred lemon, spring onions and hazelnut puree; grilled mackerel with asparagus, roasted heirloom garlic and brown butter dashi; and Jamison Farm spring lamb trio with spring pea-ricotta tortelli, morels and parsnips.
The cost of each dinner, tax and tip included, is $135 per person for Beard Foundation members and $175 for non-members. Reservations are required. 212-627-2308. jamesbeard.org.
LeVine and Albrecht are not the first Jersey chefs to earn the honor of cooking at Beard House, and they surely won’t be the last.
The Culinary equivalent of the Oscars is the annual James Beard Awards. Tickets for the 2017 awards go on sale Wednesday, March 22. The Media Awards will be presented on Tuesday, April 25 at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York. The James Beard Chef and Restaurant Awards Gala will be held Monday, May 1 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.