Welcome to
Consumed, in which Matt Duckor devours the food world, documenting the people, places, and plates that keep him hungry.
(Credit: Matt Duckor)
Last night,
Empellon Cocina chef-owner
Alex Stupak hosted a one-night-only dinner with
Enrique Olvera of Mexico City's
Pujol, one of the most talked about fine dining restaurants in the world and certainly the most noted in Mexico. Among many accolades, Pujol has made the prestigious The World's 50 Best Restaurants list for the past two years, coming in at 36 last year.
New York has no shortage of pop-up or guest chef dinners, but some evenings attract so many bold-faced names that a roll call is appropriate. Last night was one of those nights. Spotted:
Michael Laiskonis (ICE, formerly of Le Bernardin),
Paul Liebrandt (Corton),
Dan Kluger (ABC Kitchen), J
ohnny Iuzzini (Top Chef: Just Desserts),
Jeffrey Steingarten of Vogue,
Will Guidara (Eleven Madison Park),
Gael Greene, Jordana Rothman of Time Out New York, Grub Street's Alan Sytsma, Emma Hearst (Sorella), Sam Mason (Empire Mayo) and Bloomberg critic Ryan Sutton (anonymous, of course). And, last but not least, BA's very own Foodist Andrew Knowlton and Features Editor Carla Lalli Music.
How does Olvera feel about all the attention he and Pujol have received in the past two years? "I have no clue, man," says Olvera. After pausing--he often seems to stop and evaluate what's happening around him in the kitchen--Olvera reconsidered. "Well, I know for a fact that after our tenth anniversary we decided to do our own thing." This, essentially, is what Stupak has done since leaving his post as pastry chef at wd~50 for the world of savory Mexican cooking. "We decided to focus on how we should cook and not how we must cook. That's why I think Pujol is getting so much attention," Olvera added.
The dinner also marked the start of Stupak's The Push Project, a series of guest chef dinners the chef aims to host four times a year. "The idea is to break the monotony of the kitchen," explains Stupak. "I want to bring in people I admire. Everyone in my kitchen can learn something from [Enrique]--the level of acidity that he uses, the way he handles chiles."
Click through our slideshow for a look at the kitchen action and to see some of the dishes featured on last night's menu.