Tanglewood Wine & Food Classic Features Trend-Setting Chefs

By Judith LernerSpecial to iBerkshires
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The Grand Tasting takes place under the tent on the Tanglewood lawn.

LENOX, Mass. — This year's 11th Tanglewood Wine & Food Classic again began with a bow to the Berkshires.

Four Berkshire trend-setting chefs presented the Best of the Berkshires Wine Dinner, a sold-out cocktail reception and wine pairing dinner at the Hawthorne Tent, located between Ozawa Hall and Highwood Manorhouse on Thursday night.

The dinner kicks off three more days of the best dining and samples the Berkshires can offer, with an educational "Charcuterie Throw Down" on Friday night, the "grand tasting" and a summer wine tasting on Saturday, and a Sunday brunch and, suitably, a chocolate and wine event to cap the weekend.

Building on their strong relationships with local farmers and food artisans, Brian Alberg, executive chef and director of food and beverage at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge and Eat on North in Pittsfield; Kyle Nottingham, chef de cuisine at Canyon Ranch in Lenox; Daire Rooney, chef at Allium Restaurant in Great Barrington; and Jeremy Stanton, owner of Fire Roasted Catering and The Meat Market, both in Great Barrington created Thursday evening's menu by featuring Berkshire raised or crafted components.

This menu is simple but the flavors of the carefully grown, fresh ingredients are rich in themselves.

For example, the beets for the first course "tartare" were sourced from Markristo Farm in Hillsdale, N.Y. The cheese is from Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, greens are grown on Mill River Farm.

Howard Imber, Frog's Leap Winery Northeast sales manager, will present the Napa Valley wines for the three-course meal.

Wine has always been the impetus for this weekend so, there is wine with everything.

Early evening on Friday, griller, butcher and charcuterie-maker Stanton; chef Jim Corcoran of Mezze Catering in Williamstown; Dean Corbett, chef and owner of Corbett's: An American Place in Louisville, Ky.; and Paul Callahan, executive chef of No. 8 Kitchen & Spirits in Amesbury, will offer a lighthearted seminar at what they are calling a wine pairing and "throw down" about charcuterie.

Berkshire area chefs, restaurateurs, food creators and wine sellers, a baker, a beer maker, a distiller and a tea importer will be part of the Grand Tasting afternoon in the Hawthorne Tent on Saturday. This is always a carnival of nibbling and drinking, with well over two-dozen wineries and other wine suppliers bringing multiple varieties. Tickets for this lavish event are available by reservation or as you enter the tent at the time of the tasting.

A listing of all the weekend's dinners and programs, with descriptions, prices and online ticket purchase, can be found here.

Berkshire area participants at the Tanglewood 11th Wine & Food Classic

Daire Rooney of Allium Restaurant + Bar, Great Barrington

Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Great Barrington and Pittsfield

Berkshire Mountain Distillers, Sheffield

Kyle Nottingham of Canyon Ranch, Lenox

Chocolate Springs, Lenox

Cranwell Resort, Lenox



Jeremy Stanton of Fire Roasted Catering and The Meat Market, Great Barrington

Firefly Restaurant, Lenox

Flavours of Malaysia, Pittsfield

Furnace Brook Winery, Richmond

Harney & Sons Fine Teas, Millerton, NY

Jim Corcoran of Mezze Bistro + Bar, Williamstown

Nejaime's Wine Cellars, Lenox and Stockbridge

Brian Alberg of Red Lion Inn and Eat on North, Stockbridge and Pittsfield

SoCo Creamery, Great Barrington

Spirited Wines, Lenox

Taft Farms, Great Barrington

The Chef's Shop, Great Barrington and Pittsfield

The Scoop, Lenox

Wandering Star Craft Brewery, Pittsfield

 





 


Tags: dining event,   Tanglewood,   

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Ventfort Hall's 2024 Season: Reviving the Spirit of Festival House

LENOX, Mass. — Ventfort Hall is preparing for its 2024 season with a theme inspired by the 1950s Festival House era. 
 
The 2024 season at Ventfort Hall takes inspiration from the work of Bruno and Claire Aron and their daughters Madeline and Judy during the 1950s. A Jewish family, the Arons transformed Ventfort Hall into an inclusive resort, welcoming individuals from all walks of life and making it a hub for cultural expression. 
 
The Aron family embarked on this venture after experiencing a marked exclusion from Berkshire society as Jews.
 
"I'm thrilled Ventfort Hall is honoring my family's vision and the era of Festival House," Madeline Aron, daughter of Bruno and Claire said. "It was clear there was a vacuum in the area for places that were welcoming to anyone and everyone. Festival House became a magnet for diverse community and cultural expression. It was such an enriching time and its impact planted a seed for expanded accessibility to the beauty of the Berkshires and its cultural gems like Tanglewood.”
 
Season Highlights Include:
  • An exhibit titled "Breaking Glass & Breaking Barriers: An Obscured History of Baseball in the Berkshires," curated by Larry Moore, running from June 1 to September 20. This exhibit focuses on the stories of women and people of color in Berkshire baseball history. 
  • The Ventfort Hall Artist in Residence 2024 program, in partnership with the Berkshire Art Center, will provide a residency for a local Berkshire Artist, giving access and resources to an artist from a marginalized community within the Berkshires.
Public Events Schedule for 2024:
  • May 12: Mother's Day Tea
  • May 18-19: Community Weekend (Free Days!)
  • June 11: Tea & Talk with Louise Levy on "Mary Todd Lincoln- Hostess & Housewife" (2023 Encore and part I of II) 
  • June 18: Tea & Talk with Victoria Ross on "The Lenox Bachelors: The Misses Kate Carey, Heloise Meyer, and Mary Depeyster Cary"
  • June 25: Tea & Talk with Kathy Sheehan on "The Fox Sisters"
  • June 27: Concert: Piano Extravaganza by Prima Music Foundation
  • July 2: Tea & Talk on the History of Festival House
  • July 3, 4 & 5: Events to be announced
  • July 9: Tea & Talk with Elizabeth Winthrop on "Daughter of Spies, Wartime Secrets, Family Lies"
  • July 13: Paranormal Investigation with David Raby
  • July 16: Tea & Talk with Larry Moore on "Baseball in the Berkshires"
  • July 23: Tea & Talk: Claire Shomphe & Chelsea Gaia on "Beautiful But Deadly"
  • July 30: Tea & Talk: Victoria Christopher Murray presents "The Personal Librarian"
  • August 1: Concert: Prima Music Foundation's Jazz of the Gilded Age
  • August 6: Tea & Talk: Eleanor Martinez Proctor on "Untold Lives: Recovering the Histories of Eustis Estate Workers"
  • August 13: Tea & Talk: Chelsea Gaia on "Floriography, The Language of Flowers"
  • August 15: Concert: Prima Music Foundation's Chamber Music Soiree
  • August 20: Tea & Talk: Kate Baisley on "Hair and Makeup Through the Eras of Ventfort Hall.”
  • August 24: Special Event: Michelle LaRue in "Someone Must Wash The Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire"
  • August 27: Tea & Talk: Louise Levy on “The Haunting of Mary Lincoln” (Mary Todd Lincoln Part II) 
  • August 29: Concert: Opera Meets Hollywood by Prima Music Foundation (Fundraiser & Season Closer)
 
Tickets, Memberships & More:
 
To purchase tickets and memberships, or to learn about Volunteer opportunities and upcoming events, visit GildedAge.org.
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