Snap Judgment: Cassoulet Festival at Savoy

Cookshop's Marc Meyer serving a Moroccan-style cassoulet

A couple things we learned at Savoy's first, possibly annual, Cassoulet Festival—a walk-around tasting held at Peter Hoffman's Soho restaurant on Saturday afternoon. Cassoulet, a hearty stew/casserole hybrid,  originates in Southwestern France and is traditionally served in a deep iron vessel. Cured meat and slow-cooked cannelloni beans are usually the two key components. There was nothing usual about the six versions served—partridge sausage, goat belly, tasso and kumquats were all integrated into some of the "twists." Crackling hearths, on both floors of the cozy townhouse, paired with the cuisine even better than the Languedoc wines being served. Lastly, Jimmy Carbone's bubbling pot was over two hours late to the party, taking the idea of "slow cooking" to a different level.

We were able to catch up with the five other participating chefs: Matt Weingarten (Inside Park), Marc Meyer (Cookshop), Galen Zamarra (Mas Farmhouse), Caroline Fidanza (Diner) and Hoffman, who all told us about their creations, the odd cassoulet in a can, and how the dish has "absolutely nothing to do with the recession," as Hoffman practically yelled at us. "You do not write anything about the recession!" —Matt Rodbard