First-ever Slow Food East End Carlo Petrini Award to North Fork Table & Inn; Plus Fundraising Event for Chef Gerry Hayden

North Fork Table & Inn partners accept Slow Food East End Carlo Petrini Award, L-R: Chef Claudia Fleming, Mary Mraz, Mike Mraz, Chef Gerry Hayden

No need to wait or hold out for the Academy Awards and Oscar®

The votes are in.

And the winner is the acclaimed East End restaurant, The North Fork Table & Inn and its James Beard award-winning chefs and co-owners, husband and wife culinary team: Gerry Hayden and Claudia Fleming, along with their managing partners, Mike Mraz and his wife, Mary. 

The Inn was presented with the first-ever Slow Food East End Carlo Petrini Award for its exceptional embodiment of the Slow Food principles of universal access to good, clean and fair food.

At the same time, the sold-out event was a “double feature.”

East End foodies gathered to raise funds to help combat the devastating ALS disease, while saluting and celebrating Chef Gerry Hayden and his fight against ALS.

Chef Gerry is also James Beard nominee this year for Best Chef, Northeast.

All the really big stars -- in the culinary constellation, that is -- were in attendance at Sunday’s very big night at The North Fork Table & Inn.

In fact, there were 50 chefs, staff and volunteers and nearly 20 chefs who participated in the evening’s star-studded night.  

The event was a sell-out with more than 220 tickets purchased and even more donations were tallied online, garnering a total of approximately $40,000. 

Chef Gerry was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. The money raised helps provide for his quality of care.  

Donations can still be made at:http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Your-Invitation-to-a-Special-Event.html?soid=1102409732378&aid=JzL3I54d_bg

The evening’s menu was extraordinary – with local, homegrown ingredients dazzling the Out East plates and palates. (Check out Rosa Ross' Vegetable Rolls!)

The best ingredient of the night?  Love.

Hat’s in the air to all the effort and community that helped make the night a success, especially, event planner Maria McBride of Peconic Productions, Kontokosta Winery and Anne Howard, Slow Food East End.

 

Slow Food East End Membership Chair & event hero, Anne Howard, Center

Chefs Gerry Hayden and Claudia Fleming are featured chefs in this Examiner’s book, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook, as are many of the chefs who turned out to support the fundraising event.

Of course they did. That’s what Homegrown Chefs do…

Special mention goes to Chef Kevin Penner, Bryan Futerman, Robby Beaver, Frisky Oyster, Rosa Ross, Scrimshaw, Gretchen Menser, Fresno, James Carpenter, Citta Nuova, and Jason Weiner, Almond, NYC/L&W Oyster Co.   

Chef Bryan Futerman, Left

Exuberant & beautiful: Chef Claudia

I wrote about Chef Gerry and Claudia’s vision and culinary leadership for the North Fork Table & Inn’s profile in the Homegrown Cookbook,

“The couple is dedicated to fulfilling the North Fork’s potential as a food lover’s paradise. They opened the restaurant here because they believe it offers the best of the culinary world’s future, with the highest-quality ingredients steps away from their door.  And because of their philosophy, The North Fork Table & Inn has become a food-lover’s destination.”

And inspiration, it should be added.

Photos Courtesy of Slow Food East End, photographer: Brittany Calderale