Photos: Caroline Voagen Nelson

Last night, many of New York’s best chefs and food-world heavyweights headed over to the French Culinary Institute to mark the cooking school’s 25th anniversary. The event started with a panel discussion about the past, present and future of French cooking, led by FCI founder Dorothy Cann Hamilton, and featuring Jacques Pepin, Andre Soltner, Drew Nieporent, Michael Batterberry and Eric Ripert. When asked what French food is, Pepin remarked that it continues to be misunderstood by Americans as a type of cooking specific to fancy restaurants, and not the rustic, regional dishes he grew up with. Batterberry expanded on that idea, adding bistro cooking to the stateside concept of French food, and noted that the evolution of French cooking in France is ongoing, but often overlooked here. Ripert added that for him it’s largely a philosophy and set of techniques that he applies to more global flavors.

The talk then moved to how the cuisine has changed and where it’s headed: All seemed to agree that the formality of haute French restaurants is on the decline (Ripert discussed the relaxation of service at Le Bernardin, where they used to—but no longer—force the waiters to align their ankles when standing), and Soltner said that in France he never hears the term haute cuisine, and thinks that its use here is connected to expensive and snobbish places that are no longer popular. Nieporent argued that an increased exposure to Asian and other foods in recent years had changed the public’s tastes, lessening the French hold on fine dining, but Ripert insisted that many French restaurants, including Daniel and his own, continue to be extremely successful.

Once the clock struck 8pm, the panel dispersed and the party began. L’École—the restaurant of the French Culinary Insitute—and the fourth floor of International Culinary Center were the sites of the celebration, which included such rowdy activities as skål shooting and the making of frosty liquid-nitrogen-infused apple margaritas by FCI vice president Nils Noren. Some of the other gourmands in attendance: Corton’s Paul Liebrandt, sporting a newly grown beard and trying to convince us that his Chihuahua is actually more like a Jack Russell (nice try, Paul); chef Neil Ferguson of Soho House (loved him at Allen & Delancey, and still waiting for him to cook for the masses again); dean of pastry arts Jacques Torres and his lovely wife, Madam Chocolat (a.k.a. Hasty Torres), on the eve of a flight to Ibiza; panelist Drew Nieporent, anticipating a trip to Paris and a meal at Pierre Gagnaire; Craig Koketsu of Park Avenue Autumn, who told the Feed that Jacques Pepin was the reason the onetime prelaw student went into cooking.

Speaking of the Wilt Chamberlain of the food world, the Feed asked the chef how he misunderstood the infamous hookup question: “My wife speaks English and she didn’t know what it meant!” Aw, shucks. Thankfully, the FCI doesn’t have tween-style American slang on the curriculum. Some other folks in attendance: Head of the Italian cooking program Cesare Casella, who is celebrating the one-year anniversary of his restaurant, Salumeria Rosi, tomorrow; the winningest food critic in James Beard Award history and the FCI’s dean of food journalism, Alan Richman; Dana Cowin of Food & Wine magazine; and more, more, more! The quality of the passed hors d’oeuvres, prepared by FCI students—crystal clear consommé shooters, savory choucroute, oysters and caviar—and the incredible baguette handed out at the end of the evening (possibly the city’s best) indicated that the school is in good hands for the next 25 years. Congrats, FCI.