A gaggle of chefs who had all worked in Michael Mina’s (and George Morrone’s) kitchens over the years, starting at Aqua twenty years back, gathered last night with an army of sous chefs and helpers — we hear there were about 60 people in the kitchen, give or take — to fete chef Mina and his two decades in the business. Many of Mina’s friends, fans, and fellow chefs were in the dining room, and though Mina didn’t give any direction to the chefs cooking the seven-course meal, the majority of the dishes created for the occasion were sweetly nostalgic, pointing back at trends from the 80s and 90s when Mina was first coming up in the culinary world.
The dishes were all modern in some respects, but between Chris L’Hommedieu’s colorful presentation of an uni-avocado-caviar parfait, and Ron Siegel’s rack of lamb with Genovese pesto and confit tomato, we couldn’t help but feel like this was a menu that pointed backwards with a certain playfulness, and affection. We’re not trying to say the whole thing felt dated, by any means, just that diners were treated to a procession of plates that shared a collective respect for flavors and presentations from days gone by, back when everything was still stacked vertically on the plate, and pesto was still a novelty.
Proceeds from the dinner went to All Stars Helping Kids.
Earlier: Alums of Michael Mina’s Kitchens Return to Fête Him at October 9 Dinner