09 May Deborah Main: Exclusive Evening with Miele & Chef Cedric Vongerichten

Miele NYC showroom. Photography by, with permission from, Miele.

We’re back at the gorgeous Miele showroom. #BlogTourNYC is presented by Modenus, and if you haven’t checked out this design source by now, please do.  Modenus is an invaluable online international resource to homeowners wanting the best of the best products – from kitchens to art & accessories, it’s a one stop shop. We at Deborah Main Designs are proud to have a profile on Modenus as well as countless other designers and brands worldwide. You will also find this Miele steam oven below and more. I appreciate the fabulous Veronika Miller, CEO of Modenus and founder of BlogTours so much. What a gift of a lifetime she gave me by inviting me on #BlogTourNYC. Thank you Veronika!!

(Note: My trip to New York City for #BlogTourNYC, presented by Modenus, was paid for by our generous sponsors. Many thanks to DXV, Miele, BLANCO, Rutt Cabinetry, West Edge Design Fair and Prizer Hoods. Photography, other than my own, for this post is courtesy of Miele press kit and Maureen Coates of Modecor. All opinions expressed are my own, unless quoted.)

Now on to the fabulous evening that awaited us after the photography workshop I wrote about yesterday HERE with Susan and Will Brinson. With out further ado, please meet the renowned Chef Cedric Vongerichten.  A doll to be sure, so calm, so kind and the most amazing chef!

Chef Cedric Vongerichten. Photograph from Chef’s Roll.

In the middle of the photography workshop I just HAD to take a peek around the corner to see what was cooking…..and WOW, here was this gorgeous dining room all laid out for us.  They had been serving a few hor d’oeuvres, one with a nice spicy kick to it, but I had no idea what was in store for us for dinner.

You must remember that I have never been to a cooking class (I’m blessed to have a husband of 30 years as my personal chef), let alone a gourmet meal by a famous chef, so my jaw dropped the minute I saw the whole set up!

Below I caught Cedric prepping the appetizer of the evening “Crispy Egg Caviar” in Miele’s gorgeous kitchen featuring all of their finest appliances.

A little bit about Chef Cedric:

Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, Cedric Vongerichten moved to New York when he was two years old. His father, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a renowned chef himself, taught Cedric as a child. The love of cooking running through his veins, he began his career as a chef in the Bahamas at the age of 17. Cedric then traveled and worked at London’s Berkeley Hotel, Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental and El Bulli in Barcelona, where he learned new skills and refined his personal style. Cedric went on to graduate at the notable Culinary Institute of America where he worked his way up at several of Jean-Georges restaurants. Cedric is now the Chef de Cuisine at Perry St Restaurant and has been recognized by Zagat as one of the “top 30 up and coming chefs under 30.”

Beautiful floral centerpieces of calla lillies. The #DesignForLife menu by Chef Cedri Vongerichten of Perry St, graciously sponsored and hosted by Miele, was as follows:

• Crispy Egg Caviar
  Vodka Cream, Market Mixed Herbs
• Steamed Black Sea Bass
  Roasted Maitake Mushroom,
  Aromatic Basil Broth
• Lamb Chops
  Crispy and Silky Artichokes, Black Olives
• Chocolate Pudding
  Crystalized Violets

I asked our hostess Julie McCrary what the #DesignForLife theme of this special dinner was all about.

“It’s part of the messaging Miele is using for the launch of its Generation 6000 Series. It’s a philosophy/principle that design encompasses the outward appearance of an object, as well as the experience of using it. It results in products that perfectly complement one another within each family in terms of form, function and materials. It also is in line with the Miele company mantra, Immer Besser, which translated means Forever Better. Miele is constantly improving its appliances to better the lives of their consumers. Products are designed to last. That’s one of the reasons why every Miele appliances is tested to last 20 years. “

And indeed they do! In the background of this photo above you can see the Miele Combi-Steam Oven that Cedric and his team used to prepare our delicious meal. He also is working on Miele’s Induction Cooktop with five burners. (Great for multi-tasking!) Cedric also used the Masterchef Convection Oven…very fitting for a master chef such as he.  It was so cool that Miele had a working kitchen that demonstrated all their incredible products in action.

The Combi-Steam Oven, Chef Cedric used. Photo courtesy of Miele.

“The Combi-Steam Oven is the perfect partnering of Miele oven technology,” said Kathrin Pfeifer, Product Manager for Miele. “We’ve combined true European convection technology which offers the best cooking environment for roasting and baking with our unique external steam generator to create an all-in-one-oven that provides the consummate cooking fusion.”

Here are some of its features and benefits that consumers love about the Miele Combi-Steam Oven:

• All-In-One Oven: Combines the power of steam and convection.  This combination allows you to control the cooking method, temperature, and the moisture level.
• Ease of Use: It has over 100 automated programs for meats, veggies, and grains in its high-tech food-driven menu system and its easy to clean.
• Intelligent Design: One of the unique design elements is the award-winning lift-up control panel with hidden water and condensate containers. With a simple touch of a button the placement of the water reservoir increases the oven’s interior capacity by 40%, providing enough space for multiple dishes.

You’ll see more photos of Miele in my next post at The Architectural Digest Home Design Show, but to learn more about Miele products now, please visit www.mieleusa.com, www.facebook.com/mielus, and watch videos at www.youtube.com/mieleus. Also follow them on Twitter: @MieleUSA.

Are you hungry yet?  All the food the Chef Cedric prepared looked magnificent and I know first hand it tasted magnificent! As most chefs do, Cedric used the finest and most technically advanced Miele kitchen products and only the freshest ingredients and you could taste it in every bite.

Above is the finished presentation of the “Crispy Egg Caviar”. Special thanks to fellow tour mate Maureen Coates for sharing her photos.  I am not a food photographer and I still need a bit more practice to perfect a photo as great as this.

Above is another tour mate, the beautiful  Alison Habermehl of HD Style Studio who sat at my table along with (below) Marc Abelman, and his lovely wife Jill Abelman, Food photographer, Paola Thomas, and the gals from Franklin Eighth, Tina Ramchandani and Sarah Sarna, whom you’ll learn more about when I finally get to the last day of the tour.

Here’s our entire blog team above watching Cedric in action.

Chef Cedric Vongerichten and I standing over my absolute favorite two servings on the menu, the lamb chops and the chocolate pudding, which does not even begin to describe them.  I can’t remember exactly what the lamb chops were coated with (but Cedric promised me the recipe so I can WOW my husband some evening with this meal) but they were divine. I did everything I could to restrain myself from asking for two more lamb chops.  I’m a big lamb chop critique and these were THE best I have ever tasted. And the dessert was anything but chocolate pudding.  Get ready…..your spoon dived into this delicious creme fraiche and crystalized violets on top into what tasted like chocolate mousse but a little less rich, and then voila, hidden deep inside was a tiny chocolate brownie.

With Chef Cedric Vongerichten at the helm, I died and went to heaven! Divine is all I can say of this gastronomical gourmet dining experience!

The incredible crusted lamb chops that I couldn’t get enough of with gorgeous photo courtesy of Maureen Coates,

Here’s a wonderful video you can enjoy about Cedric Vongerichten:

Above, the crew that was responsible for this incredible evening at Miele. From left to right: Veronika Miller, our fearless BlogTour leader of Modenus, Julie McCrary, of White Good, Monique Robinson, of Miele, Sherry Qualls, of White Good, Jeanne Ladias, of Miele and Katherine Boyle, Miele

We at Deborah Main Designs thank you all for the most memorable evening of the #BlogTourNYC!!

And to finish out this lovely day and evening hosted and sponsored by Miele, fellow tour mate Maureen Coates of Modecor (in Canada!) graciously posed with our brand new chef aprons that Miele had provided for us as gifts. They also gave us a little teaser of a box of chocolates so we could start guessing and Tweeting what brand new color they were debuting at The Architectural Digest Home Design Show.  Stay tuned for that adventure coming soon. Till then, I hope I’ve inspired you to start cooking another fabulous meal for family and friends and do a little entertaining this spring.  XOPG

Note: All photography and opinions my own, except where noted.

Can you guess what Miele’s new color is? Find out in my next blog post at The Architectural Digest Home Design Show.