The New England Culinary Group had its start as a networking group and has since evolved into a purveyor of a pro-culinary mentality for events.
This past week, The New England Culinary Group launched its first restaurant week-styled program.
“As a group we are made up of people who provide services to the restaurant industry,” said Linda Kavanagh, co-founder of The New England Culinary Group and president of MaxEx Public Relations, a promotional company that works exclusively with the restaurant industry.
The growing Stamford-based group has more than 40 members, but none of which are restaurant owners.
“We have one professional from each trade, from specific types of purveyors and distributors to restaurant insurance and real estate providers,” said Kavanagh. The group even has a member who invents kitchen products for the restaurant industry.
The New England Culinary Group was officially founded this spring as a registered 501(c) nonprofit. “Our back-end is we are a business networking group ”“ the front-end is to act as (a) support arm for the culinary industry,” said Kavanagh.
The first of the planned “Eating” series of restaurant week-inspired events took place Oct. 16-21 and instead of focusing on a single area paired two linked culinary scenes for “Eating Greenwich and Port Chester” and featured 23 restaurants from both towns.
“Restaurant weeks in general were made to promote the restaurant scene in a particular town,” said Kavanagh. “As our members were talking with their restaurant customers we realized there was such a straddle of the border between Greenwich and Port Chester and the restaurant owners had a real sense that one pulls from the other. There”™s been some real growth of the synergy between the two areas.”
Jennifer Scaglione Morris, owner of My Favorite Place in Greenwich, said being able to recognize subcurrents in how culinary scenes relate rather than being a general publicist attracted her to the new event program.
In addition to prix fixe menus, the event includes special offers like family-style dining, lunch buffets, early-bird dining, a la carte and wine-pairing. The prix fixe entrees are either $10.11 or $18.11 for lunch or $20.11 or $30.11 for dinner, depending on which level the restaurant selected.
“It”™s great that it doesn”™t simply focus on one type of restaurant or even one meal,” said Morris. “Having an array opens the door to more types of diners.”
Jean-Louis Gerin of Restaurant Jean-Louis in Greenwich said Port Chester has an exotic allure with its Latin restaurants while Greenwich has always been on the more traditional side. He said the addition of destination spots like Lolita, Mario Batali”™s co-owned Tarry Lodge, and Bar Taco in Port Chester has increased its appeal to Greenwich diners.
“Today these two worlds that were once separate have become more connected,” said Gerin.
“The new generation of diners is also very adventurous. They are much more sophisticated in terms of cuisine. They don”™t come to restaurants for special occasions, or to dress up and demonstrate a social status; they come because they know food and are interested.”
Gerin said these young diners are also more willing to cross the state line in search of cuisine.
Port Chester”™s Il Sogno owner Jimmy Resulbegu said he has participated in restaurant weeks, but “Eating” stands out because it offers follow-up business. As part of the program, diners receive coupons for 20 percent off at any of the participating restaurants that are valid for one month after “Eating Greenwich and Port Chester” has ended.
“That”™s a strong distinction. It allows for you to create a report with the customer, rather than simply be a one-time stop for the deal,” Resulbegu said.
The New England Culinary Group will begin its second restaurant week called “Eating Fairfield” followed by “eatings” in Branford, West Hartford, Norwalk and Stamford.
