It is not a Picasso or Ellsworth Kelly, but the Turkish orange eggplant is likely to fetch a good price when it goes on the auction block this fall at Sotheby’s.
That was the buzz the other night at a cocktail party at Apartment 2E, in the just-opened boutique hotel Andaz 5th Avenue. The innovative event space is like a loft apartment, designed around a large, open kitchen, which, according to its general manager, Jonathan Frolich, serves seasonal produce and “food with integrity.” It was in the kitchen, where the counters were filled with local cheeses, hot-out-of-the-oven pizzas, and bowls of roasted vegetables, that an agri-cultured crowd gathered to discuss plans for the auction.
Jamie Niven and Amy Todd Middleton of Sotheby's; the spread in the kitchen of Andaz 5th Avenue's Apartment 2E
Fourth-generation farmer Erich McEnroe, for example, is currently tending to those Turkish orange eggplant (provenance: Asia and Africa), on the 800-acre McEnroe Organic Farm in Millerton, New York.
“It’s like a bright orange egg,” said the artist and farming educator Suko Presseau, who picked out the heirloom seed.
If there was ever a moment to state that heirloom vegetables have arrived, this may be it: On September 23, Sotheby’s will host an auction of heirloom vegetables grown by 40 organic farmers in the tri-state area. The auction’s title: “The Art of Farming.” Still life paintings of fruits and vegetables not included.
Clockwise from top left: Sally Parham, Great Performances, and Stephen Munshin, Edible Communities; Marcel Van Ooyen, Executive Director of GrowNYC, and Anna Hammond, Executive Director of the Sylvia Center; Erich McEnroe of McEnroe Organic Farm and his girlfriend, Kelly Houlihan; Helena Durst of the Durst Organization and Liz Neumark, Great Performances CEO.
“What could be sexier,” said Sotheby’s chairman of North and South America, Lisa Dennison.
“The point is to raise awareness of heirloom vegetables,” said Brent Ridge, a former Martha Stewart Living health expert who, true to his newfound farmer’s lifestyle in Sharon Springs, New York — which is being chronicled on the reality television show The Fabulous Beekman Boys — was wearing rubber farmer’s boots. Ridge is a de facto spokesman for heirlooms — non-hybrid, generally old cultivars that are known for their flavor. “There aren’t only heirloom tomatoes, there are also heirloom peas, carrots, cucumbers. Most chefs don't realize that. We want to increase market opportunity for small farms,” he added.
Catherine Johns, Jonathan Frolich, and Courtenay Dundy of Andaz 5th Avenue; Lisa and Chris Goode of Rooftop Farms.
The event, whose chairmen include Blue Hill Farm’s Dan Barber, Bette Midler, Maria Rodale, and Martha Stewart, among others, grew out of a conversation Ridge had at a party with the world marketing director of Sotheby’s, Amy Todd Middleton. Their topic: vegetables, of course.
“It’s a personal passion of mine,” Ms. Middleton said. She grows cucumbers, zucchini, beets, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, carrots, four different kinds of beans, and 12 different kinds of tomatoes in her garden in the Hudson Valley.
Stephen Orr, author of the forthcoming book "Tomorrow's Garden," a nationwide report about community and urban farming, with Stephen Cunningham, who left the renewable energy industry to launch his own organic farm in the Berkshires, inspired by a farm in Uganda.
As to what kind of money these fresh, edible objects can fetch: “We’ll see what the market will bear,” Ridge said.
“You never know until the gavel goes down,” said star Sotheby’s auctioneer Jamie Niven.
Sidra Durst, a writer, and Suko Presseau, an artist and educator; guests taking advantage of the Andaz's eat-in kitchen.
None of the bidders will need to figure out how to conserve a tomato: the produce will go to soup kitchens. The proceeds, meanwhile, will benefit two non-profit organizations. The Sylvia Center, founded by Great Performances CEO Liz Neumark, educates children about how to grow and prepare healthy foods. It offers programs at Katchkie Farm, the Great Performances farm in Kinderhook, New York; and in New York City, where it recently launched 8-to-10-week programs for children in public housing.
The other recipient is the GrowNYC New Farmers Development Project, which educates and provides capital to immigrants to establish their own farms. These farmers, in turn, sell their produce at farmer’s markets in neighborhoods with high immigrant populations. Many have introduced specialty produce from their countries of origin, such as the Mexican herb epazote and the Jamaican green callaloo.
Brent Ridge, reality TV star and natural promotor of the Art of Farming event, September 23 at Sotheby's.
September 23, the day heirloom vegetables join the list of illustrious objects Sotheby's auctions, will be busy. Sotheby's will first host a farmer’s market and several talks arranged by sustainable food expert Karen Karp. The auction in the evening will start with a cocktail reception featuring hors d’oeuvres by the restaurant Rouge Tomate. The auction will be followed by a dinner, emphasizing locally sourced ingredients, designed by Jeff Gimmel of Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson, New York; Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Chef of Jean Georges; Roberto Alicea, Executive Chef of Andaz 5th Avenue; and Myriam Eberhardt, Pastry Chef of DBGB Kitchen and Bar. Farmers will serve as hosts of each table.
Clockwise from top left: Lisa Dennison, chairman of Sotheby's North and South America, with her husband, Roderick Waywell; lemons at the bar;Chefs at Andaz 5th Avenue, Claude Moreau and Roberto Alicea; delectable asparagus.
All these festivities launch Eat Drink Local week, co-produced by Edible magazines and GrowNYC. For more information on The Art of Farming or to purchase tickets, visit www.artoffarming.org.
Clockwise from top left: Karen Karp, sustainable food expert; Libby Fitzgerald of Greyledge Farm in Roxbury, Conn., which raises black angus beef served at Monkey Bar and the Mayflower Inn, and Jim Brodsky, president of Sharp Communications; Michael Moore and Eliza Osborne of Sotheby's; P. Allen Smith (who recommends Bradley Pink tomatoes from Arkansas) and Lindsey Harper.
Photo credit: Amanda Gordon
Amanda Gordon, best known as the New York Sun's society columnist, is a freelance writer and photographer. She can be reached at amanda.gordon@rocketmail.com.