Four delectable dishes, eight carefully selected glasses of wine, four star chefs out to win, and one Wine Spectator senior editor taking them all on—add those all together, and that’s the New York Wine Experience Chefs’ Challenge, a favorite event for wine lovers for over 20 years.
For a fourth year in a row, senior editor Bruce Sanderson was joined onstage by four culinary titans: José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen and executive chairman of José Andrés Group restaurants; Eric Ripert, chef and partner of Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Le Bernardin in New York City; New Orleans legend Emeril Lagasse, television star and owner of Grand Award–winning Emeril’s and Delmonico Steakhouse; and mega-restaurateur Danny Meyer, executive chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group, whose New York restaurants include Grand Award winner the Modern.
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For the game, each chef prepares a dish—served to the crowd and the panel—for which another chef and Sanderson have to pick wine pairings. After tasting each dish with the two wines, the audience votes on which pairing works best.
“It’s these four guys up here on stage that really make this segment so special,” explained Sanderson. “They’re talented, creative and extremely generous for taking the time to be with us here today. Plus, they’re all eager to kick my butt again.”
The first dish up was prepared by Andrés: a “mosaic” of braised leeks, held together with nori before being doused in a tart piparra pepper escabeche and topped with a generous heap of osetra caviar. Going for gold, Lagasse brought Krug Brut Champagne Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition NV (96 points, $250).
“How could you not?” expressed Lagasse. He had replicated the dish himself at home and decided that Champagne would be an ideal match. What better than to bring one of his favorite labels?
Sanderson also brought a Champagne—the Philipponnat Extra Brut Blanc des Blancs 2018 (94, $135). His thought was to contrast the sweetness of the braised leeks with a wine with precision and acidity.
Andrés—while loving both the wines individually—thought that Champagne wasn’t the perfect match for his dish. “The leeks are very subtle, very delicate. When you put them on your lips, the leeks are kissing you,” he said. “Sometimes with certain dishes, bubbles can make you think: What’s going on? So yeah, I’m bitching about the bubbles.”
When the vote was taken, the crowd was split down the middle between the Champagnes, with Andrés calling it a tie.
Next dish up was Ripert’s ode to the great chef Nobu Matsuhisa, the creator of Nobu restaurants: Miso-glazed black cod, served alongside a peeled and marinated cherry tomato (“Hats off to whoever peeled the thousands of cherry tomatoes,” remarked Meyer) and a fragrant citrus-olive oil emulsion. To pair, Meyer served the Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu 2023 (92, $36).
“We had this dish a month ago at Le Bernardin,” said Meyer. “For the first time, I knew exactly which flavors I was going after for my pairing in all of my years at the Chef’s Challenge.”
“I’ve been saying for years that these guys cheat,” chided Sanderson, jokingly.
Meyer chose the dry Chenin Blanc because he wanted a white wine that had compelling fruit, with plenty of citrus notes to complement the fish. Sanderson opted for a Meursault from Domaine Clos de la Chapelle for his pairing, wanting a white, such as a Burgundy, with a bit more richness and creaminess. Although he thought Meyer’s pick would be too dry, the crowd chose the Vouvray as the preferred pairing.
Next up, Lagasse’s dish reminded Sanderson of New Year’s Day and Hoppin’ John; a black-eyed pea salad, it was tossed with tuna conserva and served over a bed of puréed white sweet potato and drizzled with fragrant Portuguese olive oil. “It’s a very typical dish in Portugal with the black-eyed pea and white sweet potato,” said Lagasse. “It’s not like typical American sweet potato. It’s not sweet, it’s very lean.”
Ripert and Sanderson both selected white wines, but very different styles. Ripert chose an Austrian Grüner Veltliner from Bründlmayer with more richness than typical of those wines. “It’s not as light or floral as the ones that I’ve tasted before,” said Ripert. “I thought it would go very well with the dish with its richness and the bit of sweetness from the potatoes.”
“I learned a couple years ago that I should always prepare a Portuguese wine with an Emeril dish,” remarked Sanderson, who poured the Wine & Soul Douro White Manoella 2023 (90, $28). “It’s a blend of native Portuguese grape varieties,” he explained. “I think these Portuguese whites that are being made today offer personality and a lot of freshness. They’re really good expressions of where they come from.”
Andrés preferred the Grüner Veltliner, because it offered more structure alongside the dish. While voting was tight, Sanderson ultimately took the round. “I mean, obviously you're talented and highly valued,” quipped Andrés, turning to Sanderson. “Whatever you say, Bruce … I want to be on the cover of Wine Spectator one day.”
The last round of pairing would offer little confusion, according to Sanderson, with two completely opposing wines. A riff on beef carpaccio, the dish was brought by Danny Meyer and prepared by Marjorie Meek-Bradley, the executive chef of the View—Meyer’s restaurant that opened atop the Marriott Marquis earlier this year. The carpaccio was served like sheets of paper wrapping a bouquet of peppery arugula and accompanied by artichokes and a dusting of horseradish. Andrés chose a dry, salty and nutty Pedro Ximénez from Spain, aged under flor like Sherry but not fortified. Sanderson, on the other hand, chose the sleek and vibrant Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico 2022 (93, $30).
“I'm gonna beat you so bad, Bruce,” teased Andrés. “Who doesn’t love Sangiovese? But I think Bruce—and you, people of Wine Spectator!—when you think about wine pairings, you have to stop thinking about regionality. It’s not the best way to think about pairing. Italy and Italy? No way José.”
“I think Bruce is going really easy with this dish,” commented Lagasse.
“[My wine] is not a traditional Sherry in the way we’ve always understood Sherry,” explained Andrés. “It’s the new wine that many people in the south of Spain are pushing for with the same grapes. It’s a way forward.”
In the end, the audience voted for Sanderson’s wine two to one. “For the first time ever, the people of Wine Spectator disagreed with me,” Andrés said, throwing his hands in the air.
“This is what makes wine pairing interesting,” says Sanderson, grinning broadly at finally winning a Chef’s Challenge. “As a taster and a critic, I like when winemakers swing for the fences. Sometimes you strike out, but you’re always going for the home run.”
José’s Dish
Leek mosaic with smoked caviar escabeche
Emeril’s wine: Krug Brut Champagne Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition NV (96, $250)
Bruce’s wine: Philipponnat Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne 2018 (94, $135)
Eric’s Dish
Miso-glazed black cod with marinated cherry tomato and citrus-olive oil dressing
Danny’s wine: Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu 2023 (92, $36)
Bruce’s wine: Domaine Clos de la Chapelle Meursault Les Vignes Blanches 2023 (92, $95)
Emeril’s Dish
Black eyed pea salad with tuna and white sweet potato
Eric’s wine: Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Kamptal Langenloiser Alte Reben 2023 (90, $61)
Bruce’s wine: Wine & Soul Douro White Manoella 2023 (90, $28)
Danny’s Dish/Marjorie Meek-Bradley, executive chef of the View
Snake River Farms beef carpaccio with arugula, parmesan and baby artichokes, finished with fresh horseradish
José’s wine: Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles 3 Miradas Cerro Macho 2021 (NR)
Bruce’s wine: Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico 2022 (93, $30)
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