FOODIE

Great Chefs And Restaurateurs At Charity Event

Family Service League’s Great Chefs of Long Island fundraiser is often imitated, but never duplicated. Now in its 19th year, Great Chefs brings together Long Island’s top restaurants, each offering a taste of their signature dishes. The event – a fundraiser benefiting Family Service League – is not the only charity event of its kind, but it’s the one that sets the bar for all others.

This year’s Great Chefs event, held Sunday at Crest Hollow Country Club, indeed set the standard. In all, 49 eateries participated and the list included the top names of the Long Island hospitality industry.

The set up at Great Chefs is this: Long Island’s leading restaurateurs get a call from Richard Jay Scholem, a former New York Times food critic and member of the Family Service League Board of Directors. So they come. And they come in person; no sending the sous chef and calling it a day. For Great Chefs, restaurant owners and executive chefs fill the room at Crest Hollow, and since the big guns are in the room, it gets pretty competitive. The promised top dishes are in fact just that – top dishes. In addition to the 49 restaurants in the room, 20 wineries and distributors dished and poured samples of their finest offerings.

Huntington being the dining capital of Long Island, the town was well represented at Great Chefs. At the top of the list was John Tunney III, owner of Honu and Besito restaurants and the Family Service League’s honoree as Restaurateur of the Year. Tom Schaudel of Coolfish and a soon-to-open 10,000-square-foot restaurant in Melville, was there to spoon out cupfuls of his spicy gumbo. One table over, Jonathan’s Ristorante owner Roberto Oronato and chef Tito Onofre doled out tuna tartare while keeping guard over a healthy supply of Tito’s signature “Death By Chocolate” cookies. Prime chef Gregg Lauletta’s pan-seared gnocchi with creamy parmesan sauce drew a crowd – or perhaps it was the proximity of other Bohlsen Restaurant Group eateries Tellers, Verace, H2O and Beachtree.

Diners enjoyed other offerings from the Town of Huntington, including Piccolo, Porto Vivo, Red, Osteria da Nino, Bistro Citron, Martoni’s, Four Food Studio, Nisen Sushi, Ruvo Restaurant, Grasso’s and Bistro Citron. There were other stars as well. Mirabelle Tavern (Stony Brook), Nonnina’s (West Islip), Cipillini (Manhasset) and others proved one could dazzle even if they’re not from Huntington Township.

If this event sets the standard, the bar is already raised for next year’s event 20th anniversary edition.