Category: Potato Dinner

  • Parmentier Would Have Approved

    On March 1, 2024, a four-course gourmet potato dinner (Kartupelis Gardēdim / Potato for Gourmets) was held at Michelin-star restaurant H.E. Vanadziņš Ziemeļu restorāns as part of the United By Potato Power events in Cēsis, Latvia.

    Sigita Kletniece welcoming diners and introducing Jeffrey Allen Price

    I can unequivocally state that this was one of the greatest meals of my life so far, and I am grateful to chef Edgars Rubenis for living up to the challenge of creating a potato-themed haute cuisine dining experience. The chef came out after every course and explained how he had used potatoes in his delectable creations (at least eight local varieties). I believe the diners in attendance were quite impressed and satiated, but I was beyond satisfied—rather in awe and ecstasy!

    First Course: Potato / meadow cranberry (Vegetarian adaptation).
    Photo by Jeffrey Allen Price
    Main Course: Potato / broad beans.(Vegetarian Adaptation).
    Photo by Jeffrey Allen Price.
    Dessert: Potato / yogurt / chocolate cake. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Allen Price.

    When I was invited to participate in the potato conference and related events, I suggested the idea of this dinner, and I am grateful to everyone who enthusiastically embraced the concept and made it a reality. Before the first course was served, I had the honor of welcoming the approximately forty guests in attendance and offering a brief introduction to the evening. I spoke about Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the eighteenth-century chemist and agronomist whose famous potato dinners inspired the event, and reflected on the remarkable journey of the potato from humble staple crop to the centerpiece of a Michelin-level dining experience.

    1938 Gutermann Trading Card #19 Antione Parmentier (1737-1813).
    Think Potato Institute Permanent Collection. Photo by Jeffrey Allen Price

    I installed a small 1938 trading card featuring Parmentier next to our table throughout the evening, ensuring that the evening’s honorary guest was present in spirit.

    Ilze Dimante speaking at Kartupelis Gardēdim. Photo courtesy of Cesis inside.

    Between courses, Ilze Dimante spoke about potato cultivation and research, while potato plants decorated every table in the restaurant. The evening beautifully connected science, agriculture, gastronomy, history, and culture through the humble potato.

    Potato Artist Jeffrey Allen Price interviewed by RETV. Photo courtesy of Sigita Kletniece

    After the dessert course, I had the opportunity to speak with chef Edgars Rubenis and ask a few questions about his remarkable creations. RETV was also present throughout the evening, interviewing participants and documenting what became one of the most memorable potato events I have ever attended.

    Michelin-star restaurant H.E. Vanadziņš Ziemeļu restorāns. Photo courtesy of Sigita Kletniece

    This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime potato experience. Congratulations to everyone who helped create it and to everyone fortunate enough to attend.

    Related Documentation:

    → Institute Chronicle: From Parmentier to Latvia: Potato for Gourmets on RETV

    Related Projects:

    → Kartupelis Gardēdim (Potato for Gourmets) (2024)

    → The Potato Ball (2016)

    → Open Feast: Potato Potluck (2012)

  • From Parmentier to Latvia: Potato for Gourmets on RETV

    A 2024 RETV news segment documented Kartupelis Gardēdim (Potato for Gourmets), a Michelin-level potato dinner conceived by Jeffrey Allen Price and realized with chef Edgars Rubenis in Cēsis, Latvia.

    Master Chef Edgars Rubenis on RETV, 2024

    There is a really great news story (in Latvian) by RETV about the “Potato for Gourmet” dinner that took place at Michelin Star restaurant H.E. Vanadziņš Ziemeļu restorāns on March 1, 2024. They interviewed the brilliant chef Edgars Rubenis and showed some excellent footage of the meal preparations and some of his finished Potato masterpieces. Includes a lot of images of the Potato plant decorations/accents provided by Ilze Dimante and an interview with Cesis inside director Sigita Kletniece, who enabled the Potato dinner event as liaison and moderator. They even interviewed Potato Artist, Džefrijs Alens Praiss (Jeffrey Allen Price), whose idea for the dinner was the seed that grew into this historic feast — a dining experience that even Parmentier would have been impressed and delighted by.

    Potato Artist, Džefrijs Alens Praiss (Jeffrey Allen Price) on RETV, 2024

    Related Projects:

    → Kartupelis Gardēdim (Potato for Gourmets) (2024)

    → The Potato Ball (2016)

    → Open Feast: Potato Potluck (2012)

  • Reflections on Open Feast: Potato Potluck

    Many thanks to Irina Zadov and Abraham Epton for making Long Island the final stop on their remarkable cross-country Open Feast journey. It was a pleasure to share stories, potatoes, and conversation with such generous travelers and new friends.

    Special thanks as well to Viviane Le Courtois for helping connect our potato worlds and inspiring another communal potato gathering.

    As Irina taught us, the potato is known in Belarus as бульба (bul’ba), a word that seems particularly fitting after an evening spent celebrating food, friendship, and cultural exchange around a shared table.

    Wishing Irina and Abraham safe travels on their next adventures in Belarus and beyond. Grateful that Open Feast inspired another memorable Occupy Potato event and many new connections.

    Peace, love, and potatoes.

    Explore More:

    → Open Feast: Potato Potluck (2012)

    → Institute Chronicle: Potato Potluck with Open Feast

  • Potato Potluck with Open Feast

    You are invited to join us for Open Feast: Potato Potluck at the Second Avenue Fire House Gallery in Bayshore on Monday, June 18 at 6:30pm. Artists Irina Zadov and Abraham Epton have driven coast to coast, sharing dinner and stories along the way as part of their Open Feast project. Ryan Seslow and myself are happy to host the final dinner of the tour at our exhibition CO-ACTIVATE at the Gallery. Please RSVP if you are coming. Bring something potato!

    Explore More:

    → Open Feast: Potato Potluck (2012)

    → Institute Chronicle: Reflections on Open Feast: Potato Potluck