American Beard House Goes International for the Holidays

Editor’s Note: We are so pleased to welcome chef Mari Tuttle to our website to share her experience at the Beard Foundation this year.  She captured the behind-the-scenes wonder that we were also honored to be a part of with Chef Toribio Prado of Cava and Cha Cha Cha many years ago.

(Mari Tuttle) Cooking Thanksgiving dinner at the James Beard House in New York City was the highlight of my year. Four Art Institute chefs from Los Angeles created the the holiday menu for the event. I was one of six culinary students selected to help prepare this seven-course meal under the direction of Program Chair Mauro Rossi. So exciting!

The day before the dinner, we went to the James Beard House to prep. Stepping through the doorway and into the house were minutes I’ll never forget. I went to a design school just a block away from the James Beard House and used to live in many apartments in that neighborhood. I would often walk by and look up at the window, seeing guests dining and drinking in merriment, wishing I could be one of them. Now, standing by the table I would see from the street, it felt unreal. I am here, I thought. I am inside and I’m going to be cooking. I took a deep breath, looked around the empty room that tomorrow would be filled with people dining on the food that I helped prepare, went back downstairs to the kitchen, took off my jacket, and put on my apron. It was time to cook.

Our team was truly international. Chef Lee Van On is from Suriname, Chef Rossi is from Italy, Chef Castro is from the Philippines, culinary student Lena Le is from Vietnam, Rebekah Suarez is from Mexico, and my parents moved here from Japan. It was the United Nations cooking the most significant American meal of the year.

Both Chef Hendricksen and Chef Lee have cooked at the James Beard House multiple times, so they knew the quirks and limitations of the kitchen. We had a group meeting to review the different dishes, their components, and what needed to get done. Diagrams of the dishes with each element called out. These diagrams were later taped to the wall.   As at an event, food must be plated for everyone to eat at the same time. My first task was putting 190 quail egg yolks in little cups, so they would be ready to go on the Yuzu–Gochujang Eland Antelope Tartare hors d’oeuvre. A fun Asian twist on an otherwise classic French dish. Rebekah Suarez, the Tourné Queen, made 90 turnip tournés. Nine. Zero. If you’ve attempted to tourné before, you’ll know why it’s an impressive feat.

On the second day of prep, we had to plate the salad course. The dimension of the James Beard House kitchen is quite small and to plate 84 salads would require a lot of space. So where did we work? Outside. Oh, did I mention that Thanksgiving 2018 was the coldest New York had experienced in over 100 years with a whopping high temperature of 19 degrees? We stacked the salads in a refrigerator – to warm them up!

My entire family came for dinner to support me. It was definitely a very different Thanksgiving dinner than what they’re used to – a lot less Japanese but definitely more exotic and decadent. Candied Mangalitsa bacon that was painted with edible gold and silver! Pheasant mousseline! Smoked guinea fowl and porcini quenelle! Spherified orange juice! Turkey chicharrón! Foie gras dressing! Actual truffle truffles! It was an absolute feast.

At the end of the meal, we met all the guests. Looking at all the guests glowing with happiness, made cooking at the James Beard House an experience I’ll never ever forget. I was glowing on the inside.