Gabe Kennedy likes to party. Not party-until-dawn-at-a-nightclub party. But, invite a bunch of friends over, cook a boatload of vegetables, and make-some-music party. The kind of party that fosters deep personal connections. “It’s not just about what we eat, but who we eat with,” the 25-year-old chef says, “and the conversation and energy that surrounds those experiences.”
Kennedy grew up in Boulder, CO, where his parents, who worked in alternative medicine, turned him onto eating his vegetables at a young age with annual solstice celebrations. And he brought the tradition with him to Brooklyn, where he regularly throws dinner parties at Banyan Studios, a communal art gallery and music studio.
This summer, Kennedy kicked off the season with an all-night feast and jam session with his closest friends, who were greeted at the door with a plate of local and eclectic cheeses. The cheese course was followed by a celebration of summer vegetables: garden carrots with grilled ramp yogurt and pistachios, heirloom tomato carpaccio, herb-perfumed asparagus with turmeric yogurt, and a green salad accentuated with bright shocks of radish, pomegranate, and avocado.
Centerpieces of fresh basil and mint doubled as accoutrements for the vegetables; Kennedy passed out scissors and encouraged his guests to snip the fresh herbs and sprinkle them on the seasonal haul. “The menu is designed to encourage interaction and conversation around the food,” he says. For the main course, Kennedy taught each guest how to de-bone their own whole bass, which was roasted with citrus and harissa and paired with foraged mushrooms, farro and perfumed asparagus.
After dinner, Kennedy dished out iced tea granitas—made with unsweetened iced tea, honey and citrus with macerated strawberries and mint—as a palate cleanser. “It’s cooling, refreshing, rejuvenating, with just the right amount of sweet,” he says. “Plus nothing speaks summer like iced tea.”
Whether it’s a hearty pot of soup in the winter or an abundance of vegetables come summer, Kennedy likes the sense of home the dinner table offers in a place as crowded and anonymous as New York City. “Ultimately, I want to inspire people to have a connection with their food,” he says. “These dinners are a way of doing that.”
Written by Earl Marcel
Learn Gabe’s technique for storing fresh herbs ____ and more summer home entertaining tips from from Gold Peak® Tea__.__