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he Hamptons is not short on outposts for a good meal. But once a year,
there is a feast here that is beyond extraordinarybecause of its culi-
nary extravagance and the credo behind it. The 10th Annual Chefs
Dinner at Hayground School on August 3 will gather some of the countrys
most notable chefs to benefit arts education.
Hayground was established in 1996 by a small group of local parents, edu-
cators, and community leaders who believed the East End needed an arts
school that represented the diverse ethnic and socioeconomic community.
When we first founded the school and had those initial meetings, food was
an integral part, recalls cofounder and Chefs Dinner cochair Toni Ross, of
the restaurant Nick & Tonis. Wed be in the kitchen or living room, all of our
kids there with us, and it was very familial. Even back then, my husband, Jeff
Salaway, was thinking about connecting people to gardens, cooking, poli-
tics, and the culture of food. He believed there was a different way of learning,
one of them being through the kitchen.
Though Salaway, one of the Hamptons best-known restaurateurs, died in
2001 as the kitchen-classroom was being planned, his sister, Lizz, started the
dinner two years later, calling upon culinary friends and volunteers to help
turn her brothers vision into a reality. Today Jeffs Kitchen stands on the
Hayground campus, and extends beyond its Viking appliances to include a
science lab, garden, and Farmtek greenhouse that was built with assistance
from Slow Food. According to Ross, students set food budgets, plan menus,
and make their own lunches four days a week. Founding faculty member
Jonathan Snow documented the benefits of students working in the kitchen,
Plates with
Purpose
NINE CHEFS BRING THEIR SHARPEST KNIVES FOR
A COLLABORATIVE ONENIGHTONLY EVENT
BENEFITING HAYGROUND SCHOOL.
BY MATTHEW WEXLER
HOTTEST TICKET
and a coalition of neighboring schools has been established to implement
further programming.
This years dinner promises to deliver a whos who of culinary A-listers,
including cochair Eric Ripert and participating chefs April Bloomfield,
Christian Mir, Alfred Portale, and Kyle Koening. Proceeds benefit the
kitchen and help to fund tuition assistance. (More than 70 percent of students
receive financial aid.)
Hayground is an amazingly progressive and diverse place, and the Chefs
Dinner plays a huge part in making that possible, says participating chef
Jason Weiner. The fact that we are honoring Tom Colicchio and Lori
Silverbush and what theyve done to raise awareness of hunger issues is
beyond important. Colicchio ohost is a member of the Food Bank for New
York Citys Culinary Council and has supported charities such as City
Harvest and Children of Bellevue. Silverbush is a film director and pro-
ducer, and she created with Colicchio A Place at the Table, a documentary
about hunger in America (directed by Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson) that
proposes solutions to end the problem.
Guests will also witness the students culinary chops firsthand as a select
few prepare hors doeuvres alongside Hayground Schools director of culi-
nary arts, Arjun Achuthan. A five-course dinner follows, with different chefs
spearheading each course as attendees observe, all the while enjoying wine
selections from sommelier Julie Berger of Nick & Tonis, Rosss popular res-
taurant. For those with an even heartier appetite, a live auction will offer
exclusive food and travel experiences. One of the really wonderful things
about the dinner is that chefs love having the chance to work together, Ross
says. Its fun to watch their enthusiasm and joy. The 10th Annual Chefs
Dinner at Hayground School takes place on Sunday, August 3, at 5:30 PM at 151
Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton, 537-7068, ext.113; haygroundchefsdinner.org. H
Eric and Sandra Ripert
with Tom Colicchio and
Lori Silverbush at last
years event.
Jeffs Kitchen at
Hayground School.
Cold corn soup
with basil oil by
chef Jason Weiner
of Almond.
72 HAMPTONS-MAGAZINE.COM
Culture
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