About 200 people got the chance to sample dishes from six of Bentonville’s best-known chefs at the Friends of James Beard Benefits Dinner at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville on Nov. 8.
The dinner, one of many held throughout the year nationwide, aims to foster the next generation of American chef. Proceeds — tickets were $95 for foundation members and $125 for the public — go toward scholarships for culinary students and support the James Beard Foundation’s educational programs.
Tony Brooks, a student at the Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute in Little Rock, received the 2015 Friends of James Beard Benefits Scholarship, provided locally as the Bentonville High South Culinary Scholarship.
Following the dinner, in a discussion with Crystal Bridges Culinary Director Case Dighero, Brooks discussed why he left the nursing field, where he worked for more than 25 years, to follow his passion for cooking. Brooks said his love of food stemmed from his mother, who owned a restaurant, and his father, who was a commercial fisherman.
(left to right) Luke Wetzel, Matthew McClure, Michael Robertshaw, Rob Nelson, Kristopher Moon of the James Beard Foundation, Matthew Cooper and Bill Lyle (Photo courtesy of Kalene Griffith)
The six chefs featured in the dinner included Bill Lyle of Eleven at Crystal Bridges, Michael Robertshaw of Pressroom, Matthew Cooper of Rope Swing, Matthew McClure of The Hive at 21c Museum Hotel, Rob Nelson of Tusk and Trotter, and Luke Wetzel of Oven and Tap.
Each shared his vision for “High South” cuisine with Dighero in a question-answer session following the dinner, as well as his perspective of the Bentonville food scene.
Dinner was served via each chef’s serving station and diners made the rounds to pick up plated dishes. Tables at the dinner were arranged family style and featured bottles of wine to share. Pink House Alchemy, which creates craft syrups, shrubs and bitters, served sparkling wine with sugared cranberries and rosemary, and black-walnut Manhattans before dinner.
Many of the dishes featured local ingredients. Here’s what was on the menu:
- Duck carnitas with KYYA chocolate-pumpkin seed mole, black apple-butternut salsa, duck skin chicharrón, and Arkansas rice flour crêpe (Lyle)
- Coffee and balsamic-glazed and applewood-smoked Mason Creek Farm pork belly with pickled vegetables, High South granola, and scorpion pepper-black apple hot sauce (Nelson)
- Roasted turkey roulade with braised greens, cornbread purée, turkey jus, cranberry and apple (Robertshaw)
- Pork merguez with autumn squash, fermented apples and yogurt (McClure)
- Sourdough bread pudding with A&A Orchard apples, leeks, dates and sage (Wetzel)
- Elderberry and hibiscus-cured Alaskan King Salmon with fennel salad, Calabrian chiles, yuzu and mostarda (Cooper)
- Apple galette with toasted salted caramel marshmallow, created by Northwest Arkansas Community College’s teaching chef Anna Bock
Also at the event, Glenn Mack, executive director of NWACC’s newly expanded Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program, announced that the program’s new name would be Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food.
“We will provide expert chefs for the community,” Mack said. “It’s where bright minds meet.”
The culinary school expansion was announced in August 2015, thanks to more than $15 million in grants from the Walton Family Foundation, and the school is expected to open in fall 2016.
Below is a slideshow of photos from the event:
