Chef Hugh Acheson of "Top Chef Masters" and "Top Chef" judge fame is a droll, creative sort, with a sweet side he sometimes seems at pains to hide.
That made him pretty much the perfect candidate to host a mysterious “private tasting” billed as “Endangered Eats,” where the motto was, “Save Endangered Species: Eat Them.”
The bunch of brave souls gathered in the heat outside Acheson's Midtown Atlanta restaurant, Empire State South , at high noon on Wednesday signed up online and were asked to state why they should be there.
After a wait of some 45 minutes, while being served a drink called a “Whisker Shooter” and an appetizer called “Dangerous Curds," they were ushered inside to assigned tables and promised a free three-course lunch.
Acheson bounded out to introduce the meal, both challenging and reassuring the crowd. “I’m not going to tell you what you’re eating, but it’s nothing unethical or illegal,” he said.
There was nervous laughter, hearty gustation and serious and silly discussion as everyone was served the progression of heavy-on-the-protein, cleverly named dishes, “Thump In The Night,” “Fowl Play,” and “Running Scarce,” while a camera crew recorded the reactions.
When lunch was over, Acheson returned for the big reveal, which as a some suspected, turned out to be trick.
“I told you I wasn’t going to kill you,” he said, smiling mischievously and dramatically raising his trademark unibrow.
As it turned out, the “thump” was beef heart. The “fowl” was guinea hen. The “running” thing was pork tenderloin. And the endangered species was (drum roll) the Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato, which was featured as an ingredient in every dish.
“Basically there was only one endangered species,” Acheson said. “And it was a tomato. We are at a really important place in the history of food, which is that we have a choice to watch as a zillion things go away and never come back for future generations. Or we can save the flavors.”
The organization behind Endangered Eats is Seeds of Change , a company that makes organically grown seeds available to gardeners and farmers. It has been preserving rare heirloom and traditional seed varieties and promoting sustainable organic agricultural practices since it was founded in 1989.
Currently, Seeds of Change is offering a line of “ready to heat” organic rice and grain mixes and simmer sauces. And from June until the end of July the packages will have a code to redeem free Cherokee Purple seed packets.
“Seeds of Change is a company that I’ve followed for years as a sustainable seed producer, and now they are producing food,” Acheson said after the event. “It’s amazing how in the food supply system people are very concerned about animals but they don’t think about the diversity of the agrarian bounty. I think it needs to be dramatically illustrated. It’s a good cause.”
Asked about the some of angry online responses he’d gotten to Endangered Eats, Acheson appeared a tad annoyed but resigned.
“Most people know me. I’m coy and fun and interesting, hopefully,” he said. “But people thought I was about to serve grilled baby or something. It was pretty wild. The anger and vitriol that was directed at me very briefly was by people who really don’t understand me and never will. Oh well.”
Later, Acheson tweeted out, “Some say serving endangered species is tasteless. They didn’t taste the Cherokee Purple Tomato.”
Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
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