By Kate Krader, of Food and Wine
Additional writing by Phyllis, HH Admin
October 12, 2007
On Wednesday, October 10th 2007, Kate Krader of Food & Wine attended the Fergus Henderson-at-the-Spotted-Pig bacchanalia. It took her the writer more than 24 hours to recover from the late-night party, but at least she learned a few things.
According to the menu, the event featured England's Henderson of St. John restaurant as chef de cuisine, and the Pig's own April Bloomfield as his sous-chef. They put together a menu that was part Spotted Pig's greatest hits—chix liver toast; those gnudi; that burger—and part offal extravaganza, including deep-fried tripe, ducks’ hearts on lettuce leaves and most importantly, pot-roast half pig's head.
Below are some of Ms. Krader's observations from the evening:
- That Pig co-owner Ken Friedman is the world's best host.
- That Top Chef's Season Three winner Hung Huynh is much sweeter than the series might lead you to believe.
- That Bette Midler is not afraid to grab a photographer's digital camera and erase unflattering pictures of herself.
- That April Bloomfield knows how to perfectly pot-roast pigs' heads.
- That no matter how good it is, there's no graceful way to eat a roasted pig's head when Heath Ledger is sitting at the next table watching.
- That Heath Ledger will politely decline when you offer him some pig's head, in an attempt to cover up your embarrassment.