BRATTLEBORO, VT — For a second year in a row, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), in partnership with the Vermont Glass Guild, presents Dinner on Glass, a special event that brings together glass artists and noted chefs to create a spectacular multi-course dinner cooked entirely on hot glass.
Dinner on Glass
The one-of-a-kind culinary experience takes place on Nov. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Brattleboro studio of glass artist Randi Solin, Solinglass at Fire Arts Vermont. Dinner on Glass is produced by Glasstronomy—a collaboration of Townshend, Vermont-based glass artist Robert DuGrenier and chef Alex Sorenson of Blank Slate Kitchen.
“I love how all different types of performance art—glassblowing, music, culinary arts—come together,” Solin said. “People are so wowed by the material I’ve fallen in love with, and everyone has a great time. It’s not something you get to experience everyday. It’s really special.”
Solin, DuGrenier, and several other artists will prepare the sizzling glass for cooking, while their chef collaborators will use it to steam, sear, and caramelize the ingredients, many of which were grown, raised, and produced by DuGrenier himself.
DuGrenier said, “I love all the layers of creativity: helping to plan the menu, figuring out which techniques to use to cook the food, designing and making bespoke tableware for the various courses, and of course enjoying the end results.”
The process of cooking with molten dinner on glass requires careful timing and choreography. When glass first comes out of the fire, its temperature tops 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, but it begins to cool quickly, leaving a small window of time to cook. The result is a thrilling demonstration of artistic ingenuity and technical expertise.
In addition to Sorenson, the genre-defying meal will be prepared and cooked by chefs Neal Myers of the Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, Connecticut; John Gould of Fennel & Fig Catering in Westminster, Vermont; and Luis Sanchez and Iliana Nedoklanova of Amaru Gourmet, a Peruvian restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. DuGrenier noted that the menu will speak to the theme of Day of the Dead, a holiday widely observed in Mexico on the first or second day of November.
Saxtons Distillery of Brattleboro, Vermont, will mix up a special cocktail to offer to guests when they arrive, and each course of the meal will be accompanied by a wine tasting by Artisanal Cellars of White River Junction, Vermont. The intimate gathering of diners will enjoy live music by Project Platypus, a four-piece band from Shelburne Falls, Mass., performing original world music.
Last year, Solinglass was the setting for the first BMAC Dinner on Glass event, which Sorenson explained grew out of casual dinners where he and DuGrenier experimented with cooking on molten glass for their friends. Soon after the success of last year’s event, the pair launched Glasstronomy, which produces private dinners and larger events.
Sorenson said, “There are a number of aspects of Glasstronomy that I find compelling and exciting: the creativity spurred by working with artists in other fields, developing not just the food but collaborating on the design of the glass pieces on which the food will be presented, the exploration and discovery of entirely new ways of cooking and thinking about heat and food, and the delight and joy the experience brings to our guests.”
Tickets for Dinner on Glass are $350 ($315 for BMAC and Vermont Glass Guild members), and must be purchased in advance, as space is limited. Purchase tickets at brattleboromuseum.org. Proceeds benefit BMAC and the Vermont Glass Guild. The dinner takes place at Solinglass, located at Fire Arts Vermont, 485 West River Road, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Founded in 1972, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center presents rotating exhibits of contemporary art, complemented by lectures, artist talks, film screenings, and other public programs. BMAC is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10-4. Admission is “pay as you wish.” Located in historic Union Station in downtown Brattleboro, at the intersection of Main Street and Routes 119 and 142, the museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information and accessibility requests, visit brattleboromuseum.org, call 802-257-0124, or email office@brattleboromuseum.org.
BMAC is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters.
