Brown University Guests Have a Hopping Good Time at 8-Course Beer Dinner
With the innovative craft beer–making movement sweeping the United States, Bon Appétit Director of Culinary Operations Ty Paup thought the time was ripe for a special beer pairing dinner at Brown University in Providence, RI, featuring some of New England’s finest craft beers along with a couple of nonlocal ringers.
House-made rabbit sausage with spent grain pasta, dried sage-flower crème, smoked Clementine tomato, and duck egg “bottarga”
Offered as part of the monthly Chef’s Table dinner series that Ty began several months ago, the beer dinner was held at the Faculty Club, a full-service restaurant and catering operation on the campus. The eight-course dinner was open to the public for $65 per ticket, advertised via Brown’s website, Facebook, and Instagram — and all 35 seats sold out quickly!
The menu cooked up by Ty and Executive Chef Gerald Furtado was an inventive mix of regional tastes given innovative twists. It included butter cheese, a cheese made in-house that resembles Boursin, and leche de tigre (“tiger’s milk”), a traditional component in Peruvian ceviche with lots of lime juice, stock from whatever fish or seafood is being used, and aji, a spicy sauce. Ty and Gerald also made pasta from spent grains left over from brewing beer, dehydrated, and ground into flour.
Hamachi nigiri with Meyer lemon kosho on charred peachwood
“Kudos to you and your team for all the imaginative combinations and preparations. While the beer was the focus — and it was great — the food was truly the star attraction,” shared Brown University Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Barbara Chernow afterward.
The Chef’s Table series is a great creative outlet, says Ty, and he’s inviting other Bon Appétit and Brown Dining chefs across the campus to join in the fun.