When Lesley Townsend, the director at Astor Center NYC, asked if I wanted to drop by yesterday afternoon and watch Chris Cosentino, the executive chef at the San Francisco restaurant Incanto, preparing some of the courses for tomorrow night’s “Head to Tail Dinner,” I jumped at the chance—not just for my foodie side, but because I was interested in how the Center was working with food writers. (Michael Ruhlman, for example, is the other featured star at the dinner.) “We want to be the place for all food artists,” Townsend told me as Cosentino and his crew worked on a batch of trotters. “I’m not a cook. I’m not a farmer. I’m not a chef. I’m not a sommelier. I’m just someone who loves to eat and drink and to talk about it. And because I get no vacation time,” she laughed, “my strategy is to bring the awesome chefs here and make them cook for me.”
Townsend says the Center has been talking with a number of chefs about using the space for their book launches, and cited an upcoming tribute to Jane Grigson as the sort of multifaceted event she likes to put on: a two-meal event with several chefs who have won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Grigson Award, as well as others who were influenced by her writing. And she’s set her sights just as high for future events: “I adore Michael Pollan and I can’t wait for him to come and so something for us,” she said.
Of course, I also took the time to chat with Cosentino about the motivation for Tuesday night’s dinner, featuring an all-offal menu from honeycomb tripe appetizers to candied coxcombs for dessert. And he told me about the cookbook he’s been working on for years now…
(The language in the video clip that follows gets a touch NSFW, just so you know.)
Cosentino is currently without representation, so if any agents think they can get his book sold, give him a whirl!