Inside The New York Botanical Garden
food
Posted in The Edible Garden on October 12 2010, by Plant Talk
| Ann Rafalko is Director of Online Content. |
Mario Batali loves food. I know. I once, quite by mistake, was fortunate enough to follow him and his wife around the Union Square Greenmarket here in New York City. My husband and I were shopping for dinner and were quite focused on the task at hand, but we kept bumping into the chef and his wife. His love of the market, the farmers and the community surrounding it was obvious. Here was a man who truly loves food.
I see this same love, dare I say gusto, in Mario’s selections for his raised garden bed in the Home Gardening Center here at The New York Botanical Garden. The inevitable waning of the growing season has naturally dwindled the selection remaining in the garden, but everything that is still in there is beautiful, fragrant, delicious and just begging to be cooked. When I go to visit the Home Gardening Center (it’s quite near the Cafe, and a lovely place to stroll around for a few minutes after lunch) I love playing a game with the Celebrity Chef gardens planted in conjunction with the Edible Garden: If so-and-so were to come to my house tonight to cook me dinner, what out of this garden would I ask them to cook?
Head below the jump for an exciting chance to win front-row seats to Mario Batali's cooking demo at The New York Botanical Garden Saturday, October 16!
Posted in Programs and Events on June 18 2009, by Plant Talk
Excitement Builds Working with Star Chefs for The Edible Garden
Jennifer Rothman is Associate Vice President of Children’s and Public Education.
When the idea for The Edible Garden—our summer-long celebration of growing great food that begins June 27—began floating around, to say I was excited about the prospect of planning such an event is an understatement. You see, I am a bit of a foodie. When I’m not at work, I spend a lot of time thinking about food, cooking food, talking about food, reading about food…you get the picture. Now, after months of organizing this spectacular show, when I stand back and look at the lineup of celebrity chefs and gardeners who are featured, I keep thinking that if I didn’t work here, I would be the first person on line for tickets.
I mean, the chefs that are participating are “first-name famous”—Mario, Lidia, Martha—and at the top in their field. My Food Network favorites such as Daisy Martinez and Aida Mollenkamp are coming, too, as are the preeminent chefs of the local food movement like Dan Barber, who was just named James Beard Chef of the Year, and Peter Hoffman, a founding father of the movement.
Just last week I had the pleasure of being in the recording studio with Mario Batali while he recorded the narrations for our Edible Audio Tour. He was such a pro, finishing in less than an hour, and he couldn’t have been nicer. He told me that he and his family were big fans of The New York Botanical Garden and that they were excited to come visit this summer.
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