Katie Button’s meteoric rise through the restaurant ranks may have been quick, but nothing feels rushed about the way she runs a kitchen. The chef-owner of tapas bar Cúrate and The Nightbell, both in Asheville, North Carolina, quality-controls each dish as it makes its way through the assembly line, while her husband and front-of-house captain Felix Meana expedites finished plates to service.
Such was the scene at last night’s installment of #SaveurSuppers, where Button presented recipes from the Cúrate cookbook to an intimate group of 25 journalists, PR professionals, TV personalities, and industry insiders. The evening started with a cocktail hour featuring wines from Lustau and the American Dry gin from Brooklyn’s own Greenhook Ginsmiths, complemented by tonic from Fever Tree and paired with delightfully briny olive-and-anchovy banderillas and a creamy salt cod-and-potato spread. Mains moved from creamy mushroom soup with Idiazábal cheese to a hearty salad of wilted spinach with pine nuts and apple to canelones: beef, pork, and chicken liver encased in pasta rolls, smothered in béchamel, and browned in Manchego cheese—sliced and served tableside. Dessert came in the form of Spanish-style flan with oranges and polvorones, a traditional Marcona almond-based holiday cookie. Now that we have your attention, snag your copy of the Cúrate cookbook today to start making these spectacular Spanish recipes at home.
SAVEUR Editor-in-Chief Adam Sachs, My Last Supper photographer Melanie Dunea, and Chef Scott Conant pose for a photo during cocktail hour. Matt Taylor-Gross Guests were treated to wines from Lustau and gin-and-tonics made with Greenhook Ginsmiths gin and Fever Tree tonic. Matt Taylor-Gross Felix Meana of Cúrate and The Nightbell inspects the wines from Lustau. Matt Taylor-Gross From left, SAVEUR Test Kitchen Director Stacy Adimando, SAVEUR Contributing Editor Shane Mitchell, and writer Kathleen Squires enjoy a drink before dinner. Matt Taylor-Gross Writer Priya Krishna and literary agent David Black catch up with a glass of wine. Matt Taylor-Gross From left, Bonnier Corporation’s Molly Battles, Wine Spectator’s Jordan McDowell, and NPR’s Rose Friedman sip on cocktails and wine before the seated dinner at the SAVEUR Test Kitchen. Matt Taylor-Gross Television personality Eden Grinshpan and Becca PR’s Liz Pierson are all smiles during cocktail hour. Matt Taylor-Gross Writer Kathryn Maier, influencer Jean Lee, and SAVEUR Deputy Digital Editor Dan Q. Dao raise a glass to Chef Katie Button. Matt Taylor-Gross SAVEUR Editor-in-Chief Adam Sachs chats with photographer William Hereford. Matt Taylor-Gross Chef Katie Button takes a break from cooking to strike a pose with Fathom Away’s Pavia Rosati. Matt Taylor-Gross Cocktail hour started off with Chef Katie Button’s delicious olive-and-anchovy skewers and salt cod-and-potato dip. Matt Taylor-Gross Guests dig into Chef Katie Button’s espinacas a la Catalana, a wilted spinach salad with pine nuts, raisins, and apples. Matt Taylor-Gross Fresh out of the oven: piping hot canelones de carne, meat-filled pasta rolls with béchamel sauce and Manchego cheese. Matt Taylor-Gross Katie Button flips an egg flan for dessert. Matt Taylor-Gross Christophe and Nefissa Attard of Air France share a laugh with SAVEUR Test Kitchen Director Stacy Adimando. Matt Taylor-Gross A beautiful spread. Matt Taylor-Gross The Cúrate cookbook came out last month. Matt Taylor-Gross Editor-in-Chief Adam Sachs addresses the crowd to introduce Chef Katie Button and Felix Meana of Cúrate and The Nightbell. Matt Taylor-Gross
