Meeting Mario

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. 

A few months ago I had interviewed Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, for the Audio Tour, and he was so eloquent in his discussion about growing and preparing food and the local food movement.

A highlight in the planning of The Edible Garden certainly was asking Dan and Mario to share their recipes and thoughts about the edible plants mentioned on the Audio Tour. This prompted an idea to extend this capability to our visitors. And so a new component we are introducing with this Audio Tour is the opportunity for you, after listening to an audio stop at a particular plant, to record by cell phone your traditions and recipes using that plant. You can also listen to what other visitors have shared. I can’t wait to hear about your food customs and celebrations.

It has been such a thrill to work on this event. Of course, it has been and continues to be a lot of hard work. On the opening weekend alone, June 27 and 28, we will present 19 chefs and gardening experts! And there will be food demonstrations (we’ve constructed an outdoor kitchen especially for these) as well every Thursday night and on the final weekend, September 12 and 13, which is shaping up to be as eventful as the opening weekend. Of course, there is plenty of programming on the days and weekends in between, including demos at our Farmers Market each Wednesday and Saturday and cooking demonstrations at the Conservatory Kitchen every Saturday with local chefs. We’ve also created a number of display gardens to teach about planting edible gardens. Everything is just about in place. You won’t want to miss this extraordinary happening.