Guest Chefs Dinner Series Coming To 317 Main Street On Long Island

FARMINGDALE, NY — Guest chefs are set to visit chef Eric LeVine and 317 Main Street in Farmingdale this spring for a three-part series.

LeVine, two-time Long Island Chef of the Year, will be visited by Bravo Nader on April 29; Chris Perrotta and Michael Vigliotti on May 6; and Francis Derby on June 3.

Tickets for Nader start at $120, while tickets for Perrotta and Vigliotti, as well as Derby, start at $100.

LeVine said he brought chefs together when he owned a restaurant in New Jersey and wanted to bring a similar concept to Long Island. He hopes the events will help cultivate the Long Island culinary scene by sharing chefs and clientele.

"It exposes my customers to them and them to my customers," LeVine told Patch. "And it becomes a community thing. The more we do that, the more relevance Long Island has. We’re all built from the same mold. We care about local, we care about our customers, we care about the community of chefs."

"Dine & Cater With LeVine & Nader" will feature a live cooking class and dinner demonstration starting at 6 p.m. Four dishes will be paired with wine, and then a "dessert duo" will be served.

Bravo! Nader closed in Huntington in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. LeVine said the event will give Nader Gebrin the opportunity to reunite with his old customers while meeting LeVine's base.

"This one also has a cooking demonstration component to it. [Nader] is a great personality, great fun and energy," LeVine said.

"Elevated Street Foods" with Perrotta, executive chef of Black Bird, Uncle Frank's and Rustic Roots, and Vigliotti, executive chef of 1653 Pizza Company, will feature hors d'oeuvres, a five-course dinner and dessert. The event is slated for 6 p.m.

LeVine said this event is "kind of fun."

"Things that are outside of all of our boxes," he said. "It creates a great environment for us to share something different than maybe what we would do on a daily basis in our restaurants."

"Local Long Island Dinner" with Derby, executive chef of The State Room, will also feature hors d'oeuvres, a five-course dinner and dessert. The event is slated for 6:30 p.m. It focuses on Long Island produce, farms and fish.

"We’re going to have some of the farmers here to talk about their farms and what they do, so that’s going to be a cool element," LeVine said.

He said all the chefs joining him for these events are really cool, knowledgeable and fun to be around.

"They really wanted to do this to make something cool on Long Island," LeVine said. "This is probably the first time something like this is going on. I’m glad we’re at the forefront."

LeVine said working with fellow chefs leads to knowledge and the creation of relationships, as well as more involvement in summer festivals and community events.

"I think it’s always a great time when chefs get together. It could be a barn burner as well. It’s important for me, at this stage of my career, to continue to develop, expand, help the other chefs, and be a part of the community. Exposing them to each other, sharing them with each other."

Other chefs have since asked LeVine if they could collaborate on future events, he said. LeVine said he one day hopes to build up to a "Long Island food festival" that is chef-driven.

"We can create more of a community and environment where chefs can share not just a tray of X, but the experience of their restaurant," he said. "The people who I want to work with are the people who I feel are like myself in the area, that they bring something to the table."

317 Main Street hosts many different events, but LeVine said he is especially looking forward to joining forces with other chefs.

"I usually have the lead in my businesses, but for this, it’s a community of ideas. With my staff and my teams, I try to help them constantly evolve."