VIP Cocktail Hour Partners NYC Restaurants with Local Fisheries at Let Us Eat Local on September 17th

New York, NY: On September 17, 2014, Just Food, a non-profit organization that works with community leaders to increase access to fresh, local food in underserved NYC neighborhoods, will host its seventh annual Let Us Eat Local Tasting Benefit. This year’s festivities will include tastings from many of New York City’s most celebrated chefs, food artisans, brewers, and wineries.

This year’s event will kick off with a VIP Cocktail Hour and Raw Bar, highlighting partnerships between chefs and sustainable seafood purveyors that have helped to bring seafood to the forefront of the farm-to-table movement. Participating VIP Hour restaurants include abc cocina, Blue Hill, and L&W Oyster Co.; chefs from each restaurant will create a unique cocktail and tasting pairing that will highlight a fresh seafood selection from their partnering purveyors.

“Just Food is about connecting growers with the communities that surround them, and so are we,” says David Belknap, Executive Chef at L&W Oyster Co. on the restaurant’s participation in Let Us Eat Local.

“At L&W, we strive to utilize our local fishermen, farmers, and growers like Montauk Shellfish, by supporting them year-round. Not only to help our neighbors, but to educate our clientele that eating local is not about consistency, it’s about variety. Using what you can when it’s available and trying new things outside of your comfort zone.”

Montauk fishery Dock to Dish, which supplies Blue Hill with fresh fish, is “dedicated to making The Third Plate come true one fish at a time, and delighted to help Just Food unite NYC residents with sustainable seafood fresh from Montauk,” says Sean Barrett, lifelong fisherman and co-founder of Dock to Dish.

“We were so inspired by the vision and mission of Blue Hill that we took a leap to really follow in their footsteps by launching Dock to Dish. Dan and his team gave us a huge hug right out of the gates - providing us with guidance, enthusiasm and critical support from our earliest days. Without their help, we could not have succeeded the way we have,” says Sean on the strong, supportive relationship Dock to Dish and Blue Hill have built.

Here’s what VIP ticket holders will get to taste at Let Us Eat Local: Chef Ian Coogan of abc cocina will be preparing a raw shaved fluke from Georges Bank; Chef David Belknap, of L&W Oyster Co., will offer multiple preparations of oysters from Montauk Shellfish Company, exclusive growers of the Montauk Pearls. Blue Hill’s tasting will highlight the fresh catch of the day from Dock to Dish; Long Island’s first Community-Supported Fishery and the first Restaurant-Supported Fishery to be established in North America.

Where: The Altman Building, 135 W. 18th Street, Manhattan
When: Wednesday, September 17th 6:30-10pm
For tickets: luel2014.eventbrite.com