Grounds for Sculpture

'Top Chef' Kevin Sbraga highlights this year's Epicurean Palate

Every year I look forward to the annual Epicurean Palate event held at Grounds for Sculpture (GFS) in Hamilton, N.J, during which chefs and caterers from area businesses come together to offer samples of their restaurant's food and beverages for local foodies. The event is GFS's major fundraising event, traditionally raising over $50,000 for the world-famous sculpture park. This year, I was lucky enough to get invited to the exclusive VIP event, which included a meet and greet with Rat's Restaurant (on the grounds of GFS) chef and "Top Chef" season seven winner, Kevin Sbraga, a private tour of GFS founder Seward Johnson's private studio and a cocktail reception sponsored by Pernod Ricard.

Our VIP ticket included early entrance to the park, so we arrived early and were escorted to the event with Sbraga. The chef talked to guests about his "Top Chef" experience, the long days, his relationship with the other competitors and the food he made during the competition, while also posing for pictures like a celebrity. Sbraga also created an "amuse bouche," exclusively for VIPs: "Green eggs and ham," custard with caviar and ham foam cooked inside an egg shell. It was delicious, creative and a great start to the day's tasting.

GFS founder Seward Johnson arrived during the meet-and-greet and led guests through a maze of doors into his private studio. Once there, Seward talked about his career and showed guests his first piece, a naked torso in plaster, while briefly describing his career and the roots of his desire to build the park. He then posed for pictures in the studio's small bedroom, a whimsical recreation of Van Gogh's "Bedroom at Arles."

Next up was a quick tour of the park and a private lounge set up for the VIPs, then on to the serious task of eating and drinking. First up as we walked through the park was Salt Creek Grill's Jason Hensle, who had prepared a wild boar chili with cornbread that was wonderful, especially for the fall weather that day.

After that, a rose champagne tasting by Sheerbroke Cellers of Scarsdale, N.Y. and Max Hanson of Max and Me Caterers presenting a seasonal butternut squash soup with sage oil and fried sage -- another wonderful treat. Marsha Brown of New Hope handed out "Po' Boys" made with slow cooked roast beef, pickles, mayonnaise and lettuce next to Philadelphia's El Vez with samples of their signature guacamole and hand-fried chips.

I was off to a great start; after the reception and meet-and-greet, I was getting into the groove and understanding why this event sells out every year. It is a foodie dream to be able to taste the best of the area all in one afternoon and all in the name of charity.

MerriMakers caterers of Edison, N.J., offered large tender shrimp with wasabi aioli to guests, and handmade tender butternut squash ravioli were offered from Café Mulino of Ewing. Bill Mooney from The Brothers Moon in Hopewell prepared a chicken and pork terrine that he sliced for guests. Mooney also offered cardamom-infused pot-au-crème as a dessert.

Walking around the park seeing art, both in food and in the works on exhibit in the park, is the making of a perfect day. One53 restaurant of Rocky Hill gave samples of their Carolina-style pulled pork with a vinegar pepper sauce on brioche bread, and Hopewell's Blue Bottle Café followed with pepper-crusted, local grass-fed beef tenderloin with heirloom tomato, chili and micro-fennel which was amazing.

By now, we were approaching Rat's, the park's centerpiece restaurant and homage to Monet and his Giverny home. Rat's chef, Kevin Sbraga, was cooking lamb in a Cuban-style La Caja China barbeque box. The lamb was pulled from the bones, pressed and served with a lamb demi-glace, black garlic puree, confit tomato, eggplant puree and Thai basil, one of the day's highlights. Sbraga also served his Singapore Sling, a dessert that helped him win the "Top Chef 7" title. The dessert, a combination of coconut panna-cotta with passion fruit was a hit with guests, drawing a long line at his station. Rat's also offered guests a selection of house-made charcuterie served with breads from New York City's Eli Zabar.

Next to the Rat's table was the Yardley Inn's Eben Copple with smoked pork belly and seasonal succotash, another highlight of the day. The pork was smoky tender and delicious, with the corn, lima beans and tomato of the succotash its perfect partner. Desserts were offered by Catherine's Vegan Sweets and coffee was presented by Cupa Cabana.

I sat in the restaurant at Rat's with both Copple's and Sbraga's dishes, thinking how lucky I am to be able to sample such great food cooked by two local chefs working side-by-side, showcasing their work for an appreciative audience. I reflected upon my VIP tour and realized that I was less than 10 miles from my house -- wow!

I will be back next year, but Rat's Chef Sbraga will not: This year's event was his last day, as he is opening his own place in Philadelphia or South Jersey. I know the management at Rat's is looking for a big name to replace him, and they will be big shoes to fill. But next year, if not before, I will sample that chef's work and rejoice that we have Grounds for Sculpture and Rat's in our neighborhood.