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Is there a certain dish you still dream about? One that you wish would come back to the menu of your favorite restaurant? Yes, us too. Luckily, Chef Driven Hospitality is indulging in our nostalgia by reviving the dishes of yesteryear.
This month, the hospitality group is launching its inaugural Forgotten Foods Festival. From March 28 to April 6, all 16 restaurants within the hospitality group’s portfolio will revive dishes that time almost forgot. Each restaurant has interpreted the definition of “forgotten” differently, with some chefs channeling treasured family recipes and techniques mastered in the early days of their culinary careers while others looked back to dishes that defined history.
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“Our chefs and their teams have reached into their memories for dishes from their past that truly spoke to them, each infused with the spirit of the restaurant’s cuisine,” said Leir Oren, partner of Chef Driven Hospitality in a press release. “We are excited for our guests to experience this nostalgic journey through food and drink.”
Diving into the history books, quite literally, executive chef Loi Benitez of French Roast is recreating a menu inspired by the court of Louis XIV. Using history books as a guide, as well as leaning on the cooking techniques of Auguste Escoffier, chef Benitez is serving a menu sure to please the royals with Croquettes D'Oreilles de Porc (golden battered pig ear croquettes) Vol-Au-Vent à la Financière (puff pastry shells stuffed with sweetbreads, champignons and blanc du poulet) and Cuisses de Lapin Braisées (braised rabbit legs, lentils du puy, spinach and crème fraîche).
Hell's Kitchen Nizza is going back, too. Exploring the city of Nice, Italy and its historic ties to Genoa, the restaurant will be cooking up recipes from the cookbook of Apicius, one of the oldest collections of Roman recipes compiled in the 4th century. Recipes from the Old Country include a crisp fried dough filled with Ligurian cheese known as Focaccette, slow braised chicken thighs in white wine and Portofino’s famous gelato dessert, Pacciugo, topped with amarena cherries.
For something a bit more modern, executive chef Andy D’Amico of Hell's Kitchen's 5 Napkin Burger is looking back to the ‘50s and ‘60s in America. Sparing us the savory Jell-O salads (thank goodness), chef D’Amico is serving up Tuna Casserole, Salisbury Steak and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
Meanwhile, executive chef and partner Ari Bokovza of Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant Acadia is looking to the ‘80s and our obsession with everything rotisserie, cooking up Rotisserie Roasted Sweetbreads, Rotisserie Roasted Leg Of Lamb and Rôtisserie Duck à L’Orange.
The drinks are getting nostalgic, too. Chef Driven Hospitality’s beverage director Aviram Turgeman has crafted a cocktail menu available at each restaurant that goes back in time. You can find the the ‘90s classic that is the Apple Martini to the absinthe rinsed Sazerac.
Here's the full list of participating restaurants below:
- 5 Napkin Burger
- Acadia
- Barbounia
- Cafe D'Alsace
- Dagon
- French Roast
- L'Express
- Le Monde
- Marseille
- Monterey
- Nice Matin
- Nizza
- Playa Betty's
To check out the full list of menus, check out the website here.