As his appearance on Bravo’s “Top Chef” approached last fall, Connecticut chef and restaurateur Tyler Anderson said he left the show with “14 new friends.”
On Sunday night, nine of his fellow castmates from Season 15 showed up in Hartford to support their buddy, and a cause dear to him. The “cheftestants” traveled to Connecticut from all over the country (including chef Laura Cole, who’s based in Alaska) to appear at the Taste of the Nation dining event at the Goodwin Hotel, which raises funds for No Kid Hungry’s campaign to end childhood hunger in the United States.
Anderson, who’s been involved with Taste of the Nation Hartford as its chef chair for five years, said the 400-person event raised $107,000, a figure that “destroys all other years.”
“It’s a great event. To be able to come out here with all these guys is really special to me,” said Joe Flamm, season 15’s winner and executive chef at Chicago’s Michelin-starred Spiaggia and Café Spiaggia.
It was Flamm’s first visit to Hartford, he said. “It’s always cool to go to a different food community and seeing what’s going on, what the scene is. Everybody’s been so unbelievably warm and embracing here; it’s really awesome.”
Flamm, Anderson and castmate Bruce Kalman, who dubbed themselves the “Three Bears” during the show’s season, offered their talents for an auction prize: a 20-person private dinner that ultimately sold for $12,000. Kalman and Anderson are partnering in two upcoming projects: West, a Los Angeles restaurant focusing on wood-fired cooking, and a Glastonbury pizzeria with arcade games.
The chefs served small bites and mingled with guests, chatting and posing for photos. “Top Chef” contestant Joe Sasto, who made an impression during the season with his unique mustache, earned raves for his “creamsicle oysters,” featuring a foam made with saffron, wild fennel, Sambuca, orange juice, Meyer lemon juice and espelette chili.
The California-based Sasto said the lasting friendships with his fellow castmates have been among the most rewarding outcomes of his experience. “It keeps us all busy, it keeps us all connected, and we all support each other.” He’ll join Anderson, Kalman, Flamm and other alums from his season at the Newport Beach Food & Wine Festival starting Oct. 4.
The event also spotlighted top Connecticut chefs and restaurants, including Billy Grant (Grant’s/Bricco Trattoria/Restaurant Bricco); Scott Miller (DORO Restaurant Group); Jesse Powers (ON20 in Hartford); Chris Sheehan (Max Downtown in Hartford); Joel Gargano (Grano Arso in Chester); James Wayman (Oyster Club, Engine Room in Mystic); Frederic Kieffer (Artisan in Southport and West Hartford); Jamie McDonald (Bear’s Restaurant Group); Xavier Santiago (Trattoria Toscana, Manchester); Kevin Cottle (Fire at the Ridge, Middlefield); Dan Magill (Arethusa al Tavolo, Bantam); Prasad Chirnomula (INDIA, West Hartford); Joel Viehland (Swyft, Kent); Matt Wick (Osa, Middletown); and Jeff Lizotte (Present Company, Tariffville.) Internationally-recognized chef and Connecticut resident Jacques Pepin signed copies of his books.
A dessert table showcased sweets from Arethusa a mano, Hen & Heifer Bakery, Millwright’s, Mozzicato Italian Bakery, NoRA Cupcake Company, Taste By Spellbound and Popover Bistro & Bakery.
McDonald, whose smoked vegetarian meatloaf offering was a departure from his restaurants’ focus on beef and pork, is looking ahead to the opening of his New Haven project, Bear’s Smokehouse at the Stack. The restaurant at the DISTRICT innovation campus on James Street is projected to open in about a month, he said.
The project will also feature an outdoor beer garden and an in-house brewery by the owners of Black Hog Brewing, which will open in a few months, said Black Hog’s Jason Sobocinski.
“In addition to the Bear’s line up of amazing smoked BBQ meats we’ll have locally made pretzels with beer cheese, sausages…and some rotating specials that we’ll be rolling out as we get things going,” Sobocinski said in an email.
In 2017, the event raised enough to connect hungry kids in need with approximately 450,000 healthy meals, according to a news release. Local beneficiaries include Foodshare, Inc., End Hunger Connecticut!, Community Health Network of CT Foundation and FoodCorps.
Shannon Yearwood, the executive director of End Hunger Connecticut!, says her organization directs its funding to its work with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and its child nutrition programs, which help improve families’ access to healthy food and increase knowledge of healthy food choices and available programs.
“We’re able to really make this funding go far when we receive it,” she says.
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