David Rockwell is the Busby Berkeley of culinary choreography!   The design guru reinterpreted traditional kitchenware with a dynamic, multi-dimensional installation for New York Taste.  Who knew paper plates could be so cool?

Put in the hands of Rockwell and his team you get an 8-foot suspended, double-sided projection screen made of faceted paper plates featuring a continuous montage of images representing the five taste categories (salty, savory, sweet, sour and bitter), and projections of the 40+ participating chefs and tantalizing dishes.  In addition to this ginormous installation, there was a gallery wall with cutting boards laser cut with each participating chef’s name and a ¼ cup silver container of their favorite spice or herb.  The partition separating the VIPs from the plain ol’ foodies was created from four different patterns of laser cut white paper plates connected by silver rings.  Finally, there was the actual New York Taste sign which was crafted from silver knives, forks, and spoons cleverly combined on round, brown foam-board to spell TASTE.  Mr. Rockwell has taken design in the service of food to a whole new level

But enough about the set design – on to the smorgasbord of culinary creations!  My tasting spree started off on a really, really bad note.  Word to the wise – Blueprint Cleanse should stick to cleanses not desserts.  I had the most horrid chocolate banana mouse.  It was so bad I had a momentary lapse in social graces and spit it in my napkin.  This is indeed a rarity in my world and should give you an indication of the level of disgust.  Thank goodness the Godiva table was nearby and I was revived by the Grand Truffle 1986 (Legacy Collection).   Francois Payard ensured my ultimate recovery with his delicious candy bar truffle.   Some of the highlights from the evening were:

• Clover Club’s harvest punch with Hennessy VSOP Cognac, mulled apple cider, vanilla liqueur with dark rum
• 901 Silver Tequila’s 901 Tostanga with apricot, tangerine tea and roasted agave served with an orchid
• Corton’s bitter chocolate and grapefruit financier with Campari meringue and jalepeno oil
• Bobo’s chocolate pudding with cocoa nibs and salted pumpkin seeds served in a hollowed out pumpkin
• Allegretti’s trouchia with mushroom ragout
• Il Laboratorio del Gelato’s apple cinnamon gelato

And for the meatlovers:

• Bia’s crispy pork belly with daikon rice cake and pickled vegetables
• Rouge Tomate’s Long Island duck with faro pomegranate alongside pumpkin seed fall squash s’mores
• Le Cirque’s squab tortellini with ricotta and black mission figs
• Eighty One’s crispy trotters (a meal just wouldn’t be complete without pigs feet)
• Locanda Verde’s lamb meatball sliders with caprino and cucumber

There is a reason New York Taste continues to sell-out year after year.  It is a stellar culinary performance piece by the city’s top restaurants ending with the audience satiated and slightly tipsy.  What’s not to like?

Check out our photo gallery here!