SoBeWFF: Charlie Trotter Tribute Dinner

Photo by Riki Altman

Hey, Trotter! No peeking!

​Five hundred dollars per ticket was too much for our budget to allow, but we still wanted to experience last night's South Beach Wine & Food Festival Tribute Dinner honoring Charlie Trotter and Piero Antinori so we snuck into the kitchen for a behind-the-scenes peek.

What we found was not only a super-calm, super-controlled, expertly choreographed assembly of professionals ranging from some of America's top chefs to our local stars, but also a slew of servers, photographers and others dancing the ballet that makes a 600-plate dinner at the Loews more than just an average meal.

Trotter, who handpicked the chefs who would be preparing his meal that night, couldn't resist stopping into the kitchen before the evening's emcee, the ever-entertaining Anthony Bourdain, took the stage.

His list of participating chefs included Loews' own Frederic Delaire, molecular gastronomy expert Wylie Dufresne, talented pastry chef Michelle Gayer, Chef Bam! (Emeril Lagasse), The Inn at Little Washington's Patrick O'Connell, and Norman Van Aken. Nathan Myhrvolld from Modernist Cuisine wasn't there, but he sent over co-author Maxime Bilet and other top talents to get the job done.

Here are some shots of what we saw.

Photo by Riki Altman

​The staff was shown precisely when each course should be served and how the plates should appear.

Photo by Riki Altman

​Jean-Paul Veziano from Le Pain JPV was imported to contribute and this gorgeous bread plate he created spells out why.

Photo by Riki Altman

​The first course was O'Connell's "Tin of Sin."

"There's peekytoe crab mousse and cucumber under the caviar," he explained.

Photo by Riki Altman

​Here's the finished product with a brioche accompaniment.