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SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Le Dîner en Blanc Boston

8/24/2016

In 1988, after spending a few years abroad, François Pasquier organized a picnic to reconnect with old friends. The concept was simple: "Bring a meal, and bring a new friend." Since his garden was too small to host all the guests, he told them to convene at the Parc de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne and to dress in white, so they could easily find each other. The dinner was such a success that the friends decided the next year, each person would invite some other friends, and the event grew organically over the years into a spectacular pop-up gathering.

The first editions in Paris were not easy to pull off. Though the venue remained the same until 1991, the numbers quickly escalated from an initial 200 to 1,200, making it necessary to conceal the location of the dinner and the current process of using point-people to coordinate a batch of tables and provide transportation before the event began.

Nearly 30 years later, François Pasquier still organizes the Parisian Dîner en Blanc with those same friends which now assembles over 10,000 guests every year- a record of 15,000 people attended the 25th anniversary in 2013. The police no longer try to break up the Dîner en Blanc in Paris—authorities know that the event is well-organized and that guests are always respectful of public property. But it’s also reflective of the progressive view the Parisian government has on the use of venerated architecture, continuing to allow this large, unauthorized party to happen in prestigious locations around the city.

On a beautiful warm summer night in late July, 2,000 guests donned head-to- toe in white arrived at the recently unveiled Dîner en Blanc secret location, Boston Children’s Museum’s Waterfront Terrace, and took in the spectacular views of Boston’s picturesque skyline.

Interest exploded after New York hosted its first event in 2009. Since then, some 400 cities have requested Dîner en Blanc to come to them. Today, Le Dîner en Blanc takes place in over 70 cities in more than 25 countries spanning 5 continents.

In an effort to create a magical evening where guests are in good company in an environment that's both unusual and extraordinary, there is no political or ideological agenda and minimal branding are part of the event in order to uphold Le Dîner en Blanc's high standards of elegance, a night of haute cuisine, and utter refinement (rules prohibit organizers from using the event to raise funds for any organization and sponsorship opportunities are limited). Brought together from diverse backgrounds by good taste and a love of beauty, Le Dîner en Blanc recalls the sophistication and glamor of high French society. Guests engage one another, knowing that they are taking part in a truly phenomenal event.

At this year's Le Diner en Blanc - Boston, I spoke to a few attendees to find out why they come, what makes it truly memorable for them, and of course, what they brought for dinner.

Meet a few of Le Dîner en Blanc Boston’s 2016 revelers.

Hyacinth, Aisha, and Fijoy are architects. Jennifer is a professional dancer. Hyacinth attended in 2015 and invited Jennifer and Fijoy to join them this year.

How did you hear about the event?
Aisha: I saw it a few years ago, and thought, “This is fantastic! I’m always about things that are fantastic.” I got on the waiting list, it took a few years, and then I was finally able to go in 2015. We went last year with two other friends.

Hyacinth: I’m always willing to try new things with new people.

What attracts you most to Le Dîner en Blanc?
Aisha: Everyone being beautiful, you can feel the love and happiness. I appreciate the effort everyone puts into it. There’s so much drama and negativity in the world lately, it’s just so nice to see something so positive.

Hyacinth: There’s a sense of unity. The creativity of participants is amazing.

What is the inspiration for your tablescape?
Aisha: Architecture, modernism, simplicity and minimalism. I made this! (Photo of origami centerpiece)

What’s for dinner?
Hyacinth: We divvied up the responsibility. We have a little bit of everything; roast chicken, ribs, salad, mac and cheese.

Aisha: Italian sodas and of course pastries for dessert.

Natasha is an accountant and Michael is a retail manager. This is the second time the couple has attended Dîner en Blanc.

How did you hear about the event?
Natasha: We lived in NYC for a couple of years. There you need to know someone who goes to get invited. Then we moved to Boston. We got on the waiting list last year, and the rest is history!

What do you enjoy most about Le Dîner en Blanc?
Natasha: It’s exciting getting ready for the event, especially planning the menu. The preparation is the fun part, but getting here on time is stressful.

Michael: I think that the pressure of getting there on time and the element of surprise are really fun.

What is the inspiration for your tablescape?
Natasha: We try to keep it simple. As long as there is good food, we’re good.

What’s for dinner?
Michael: Tonight we’re eating grilled salmon with asparagus and a fruit tart for dessert.

Natasha: We look for things that don’t have to be served heated.

Angel is a medical procedure coordinator and Steve is a VP of marketing. This is their third time attending Le Dîner en Blanc Boston.

How did you hear about the event?
Angel: We found out about it first from dining in the dark. They posted about it. We invited our friends!

What do you enjoy most about Le Dîner en Blanc?
Steve: It’s about dressing up and having a special night. As an adult those times come so few and far between. We like to break up our routine.

Angel: Meeting everybody and seeing people from all colors and races and groups, from old to young. It’s really awesome.

What is the inspiration for your tablescape?
Angel: I was behind it. We built it together but I designed it. It’s an ode to the original dinner.

Steve: We didn’t have it last year. We had arches last year. This year we thought, “What can we do to step it up?”

What’s for dinner?
Steve: We did not bring our own meals tonight. We had BBQ from one of the baskets offered for sale as part of the event. It’s very good.

Jennifer Garrett is a freelance project manager and event producer focused on partnership development in the local food space. She specializes in engaging audiences with unique and thoughtful food related programming and educational events. Jenifer's clients have included the Nantucket Wine Festival, Massachusetts Cheese Guild, and Let’s Talk About Food among others. A former picky eater, her “deserted island foods” now include asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and any kind of red meat. Her hobbies include traveling, visiting art museums, and eating charcuterie.

SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Community Through Cooking

8/17/2016

Betty is our fourth guest chef at the Mattapan Teen Center. She is 65 and from Barbados. She is radiant ̶ a silky complexion and a wide smile. She sports a canary yellow shirt, bright pink pants and a straw hat. We are making buljol, a dish made with breadfruit, green bananas, and salt cod. As we shop, she tells me about growing up in Barbados, how her mother abandoned her as an infant, and how she was brought up by her grandmother. She confides that she has had more than her share of depression and mental illness, yet she is warm and bubbly, and I share that I too have had my struggles with depression. She has bore four children, now adults, all of them college educated and professional. We walk through America’s Food Basket in Mattapan center and she takes her time sorting through vegetables to find the ones she deems most fit for her dish. There are five kinds of bananas, not counting the plantains. I’m taken with one variety ̶ it looks prehistoric; the skin is a solid forest-green, maybe an inch thick, but instead of choosing those, she picks from a hill of more conventional green bananas. She is surprised that I haven’t tried boiled green bananas let alone breadfruit. As we continue shopping for ingredients, I couldn't help but feel slightly under-cultured because I have been teaching cooking classes in a neighborhood that is mostly populated with Bajan-speaking Caribbeans, yet I am still discovering new and unfamiliar produce common in their cuisine.

I'm currently managing a new weekly summer cooking series at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston's Mattapan Teen Center where elders teach local teens their favorite recipes. The Mattapan Teen Center, which used to be Mattapan’s library, is outfitted with a spacious kitchen as well as a theatre, a computer room, and an exercise room, all air-conditioned. It has become a positive place for teens to hang out under the guidance of Ron Carroll and his staff. We’ve had 80-year-old Lessie from Georgia teach us how to make collards and cornbread; Leonide, a 74-year-old Haitian woman, make lip-smacking lime chicken, rice and peas; and then 75-year-old Ellie from Cape Verde who prepared a Chinese chicken dish with fermented black beans (she can cook Cape Verdean dishes but has had a 20-year love affair with Chinese food). Some of the food is familiar to the teens, as many of them have a parent from these places, but none of this is food they’ve made before. Most of the teens ̶ all from Mattapan ̶ haven’t cooked at all.

Brookwood Community Farm has combined forces with the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC) in securing a grant to run this series. The goals are simple ̶ to interest teens in cooking, connect them to elders in the community, to help celebrate and preserve traditions, and to nudge them towards a diet less racked with processed foods.

One of the most pivotal women who designed these classes is Vivien Morris, MS, RD, MPH, LDN, a nutritionist residing in Mattapan who is also the Founder and Chairperson of MFFC, a non-profit organization that engages this community to live healthier lives. Vivien points out “One hundred years ago, most African American families grew their own vegetables. A plant-based diet was central to their diet, beans were eaten multiple times a week and processed foods weren’t available. But things have changed. More and more people have moved into the city where there isn’t the space to grow. And it’s hard to find the time to tend a garden. Now there are fewer gardeners and vegetables at the supermarket are expensive. So people cook less and are choosing pre-packaged food instead that’s high in salt, saturated fat, and sugar. If you had limited funds would you buy a 59 cent bag of chips containing 150 calories or an apple for a dollar that had only 60 calories?” Vivien queries.

Ironically, when Lincoln was president, 90 out of 100 Americans were farmers. Now, only 1.6 percent of the population farms. Agri-business has removed millions of jobs and replaced skilled workers with machines. Now these corporations have inflicted the poor with another problem: They manufacture processed foods that have been known to increase the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease when consumed regularly.

Creating more and more community allotments such as garden plots is one way our city is trying to improve their diet; people can grow their own produce or provide labor in a community garden in exchange for a share of produce. In addition, SNAP dollars, formerly known as food stamps, can be traded in for bounty bucks, monetary benefits of the Boston Bounty Bucks program that allow SNAP recipients to double their purchasing power through a dollar-for-dollar matching incentive when buying produce from farmers' markets or CSA shares. This program has demonstrated so much success that the USDA is working to expand the program across other cities in Massachusetts.

A Bounty Bucks bill SNAP recipients can use at local farmers' markets and CSAs to purchase healthy, fresh produce at half the market price.

"We have been in the grips of advertisers and manufacturers and even government subsidies for a very, very long time. It’s not an easy problem to solve,” Vivien adds “but it's everyone’s responsibility, especially getting kids to cook.” Research has found that black Americans are more likely to live in households where cooking occurs less frequently than white Americans (Wolfson, J.A. et al). She adds “We should pressure the people in power to pass the $15 minimum wage so that people can pay their bills without working two jobs a week so that everyone will have time to cook, maybe perhaps even start a garden.”

I asked Vivien how so many elders in Mattapan seem to stay close to their families, often living with them, and how this must be good for them. “I can’t speak from data, but cultural cohesion is key for elders and it is alive and well in urban areas like Mattapan. There is a wealth of cultural activities in Mattapan and in their own homes ̶ a multi-generational home is common." But there are economic stressors like wage inequity that require elders to take care of their grandchildren rather than enjoy leisure time during their retirement years because either or both parents cannot make ends meet. It might allow elderly residents to spend more quality time with their family members, but it is out of necessity. Also, dietary issues for the elderly are more difficult to address than a child’s because they are less mobile, whereas children generally have their dietary needs met through school meal options. Vivien helps people take advantage of the Bounty Bucks program, using her influence at the Boston Public Health Commission in urging friends and neighbors to join local community gardens.

Meanwhile, Betty is cutting a cucumber like I’ve never seen. She has peeled it and is holding it upright. Then she hacks at it in her hand with a small knife until it's finely chopped, with little pieces falling into a bowl. All the teens are intrigued. She has also been boiling the green bananas and breadfruit for almost an hour. We eat these with a compote made from cucumber, tomatoes, onion, salt cod, parsley, peppers, olive oil, and lemon. The green bananas are to die for, and although the breadfruit may not be tops on my list, it is still excellent with the compote.

Betty and her students plating the buljol. Photo credit: Didi Emmons

Buljol made by students and senior chefs at the Mattapan Teen Center. Photo credit: Didi Emmons

Didi Emmons is a Personal Chef, Caterer, and Teacher. She began cooking omelets when she was ten and had her own catering business by the age of fourteen. After earning a BS in food service management at NYU, serving as a stagiaire (apprentice) to La Varenne (cooking school) in Paris and opening several restaurants in the Boston area, she opened Haley House Bakery Cafe, a non-profit cafe in Roxbury, whose staff are people transitioning from homelessness and incarceration. Her first book, Vegetarian Planet, was nominated for a James Beard Award. Her second book, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet, won the Best Book in the Healthy Category by the International Association of Cooking Professionals (formerly the Julia Child Award). She is also author of the critically acclaimed Wild Flavors: One Chef's Transformative Year Cooking From Eva's Farm.

SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Save Summer: Five Ways to Keep Summer Rolling Through the Year

8/10/2016

This is the moment we’ve been awaiting, the height of the most abundant season of the year. For a few weeks every summer, usually in the middle of August, the produce just won’t stop turning toward sweet or savory perfection. Instead of drowning in all those fresh herbs, greens, fruit, and vegetables, I’m saving summer in a bunch of ways. (If you’d like to be entered to win stuff to help you save summer’s harvest, be sure to enter my “Save Summer” giveaway on Eat Boutique, starting Thursday, August 11, 2016.)

Here are five effortless techniques or easy recipes to make the season last and last and last.

Photo credit: Heidi Murphy/White Loft Studio

1. Infuse sea salt with herbs and spices: Fresh herbs are a home cook’s best pal, but there are ways to make the flavors last a while, between six to twelve months past the moment they’re picked. You can preserve handfuls of herbs in a week or two of drying time. Just wash, dry, and hang them from draft- and dust-free spots around your kitchen. Once dry, pick off the leaves, chop, and mix them into different salts or seasonings—like this Lemon-Rosemary Sea Salt, which will make your next roast chicken or margarita (as a cocktail rim) shine.

2. Infuse sugars, too: Savory isn’t the only way to go with summer’s fresh herbs. Sugar is invaluable in a baker’s kitchen or a mixologist’s bar, especially when it has a special herby twist. Infuse sugar much the same way you do with salt, and don’t stop with herbs. Add dried organic rose petals, culinary lavender, and even citrus rind (remove using a zester being careful to avoid the white pith) to take a sugar to the next level. Whichever way you go, be sure to grind the sugary mix to the right consistency for the intended use. Grind a lime sugar that’s meant to go into a cookie batter, or leave the cane sugar as is if rimming sweet cocktails. To get started, try this Rose Sugar sprinkled over a cream-cheese frosted cake or as a floral rim to a gin cocktail.

Photo credit: Heidi Murphy/White Loft Studio

3. Make jam, jelly, chutneys, or preserves: One of my favorite ways to preserve the sweet fruits of summer is in a thickly set jelly or loose jam. Whether plums (like in this heavenly Plum-Vanilla-Thyme Jam), strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, or peaches, they’ll each be missed when the season changes so jam it now for your larder or holiday food gifts. Remember, jam isn’t just for spreading on toast; add a spoonful to your favorite ice cream or mix a tablespoon into your next cocktail.

4. Quick pickle all that produce: Pickling employs just a bit of vinegar, spices, herbs, and a great imagination to conjure up winning spice-vegetable combinations. Cucumber pickles are a staple, but try some new things, too, like these Pickled Radishes or snap peas for a tart crunch that tastes like early summer. They also make great gifts; make a huge batch of zucchini pickles and slide them into any lovely jar with a thoughtful note for those who need a bit of sunshine on a cloudy day. By the way, don’t stop at vegetables; pickling fruits is a trend that’s sticking around. Try these Pickled Cherries, for instance, and elevate a ho-hum salad all through the cooler months.

5. Steep spirits and infuse cordials: Long after the heat is gone, summer fruit can stick around in all sorts of stewed spirits. Simply mix together your favorite ripe fruit, a little sugar (honey or maple syrup work, too), and a choice spirit. Stir and then sit back and wait days, weeks, or months for it to infuse into something toast-worthy. My Rhubarb Cordial, for instance, only takes three ingredients to make something pretty and pretty special. Cherry Liqueur, on the other hand, requires a few more ingredients, with its bouquet of spices and two different spirits, but no more work, and it’s sure to have you raising a glass to the sweetness of summer all year long.

Photo credit: Heidi Murphy/White Loft Studio

Maggie Battista is the founder and director of Eat Boutique, an award-winning online boutique and story-driven recipe site that’s the go-to resource for food gifts. She's written for Style Me Pretty, Food52, Time Out New York, Spenser Magazine, Culture Magazine, Snippet & Ink, The Kitchn, and The Hip Paris Blog. She’s connected millions building online communities like TripAdvisor, Lycos, Matchmaker, Wired, and Nokia. Maggie’s first-ever cookbook, Food Gift Love, features more than 100 recipes to make, wrap and share and is available wherever cookbooks are sold. She’s currently working to open her first permanent Eat Boutique, a food retail concept space that provides a new way to food. She can be reached at maggie@eatboutique.com.

SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Le Dîner en Blanc Boston

SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Community Through Cooking

SUMMER FOOD BLOG SERIES: Save Summer: Five Ways to Keep Summer Rolling Through the Year

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