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Health & Fitness

Peter Kelly Receives Farm-to-Table Award at Ceremony Conducted by Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

Restaurateur and chef Peter Xavier Kelly received the 2014 Farm-to-Table Award at a presentation conducted by the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week organization on Monday, February 24, 2014. 

Kelly was recognized for his dedication to sustainable agriculture and his procurement of ingredients raised by environment-conscious purveyors and local farmers long before the farm-to-table concept became popular. His ongoing involvement as a representative of the restaurant community with charity organizations was also acknowledged.

The ceremony took place at RiverMarket Bar & Kitchen, a new upscale restaurant in Tarrytown close to the Hudson River. 

Following the presentation, the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week launch party began at nearby "The Lodge at Hudson Harbor." At this gathering, produce, cheese, wine, beer, spirits and coffee suppliers were joined by Restaurant Week sponsors in displaying samples of their wares on tasting tables.   

The participants in the award program for Kelly included Kevin King, Director of Agriculture Development at the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. 

Also present were Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino who is expected to announce a New York State gubernatorial run this week and the proprietors of the RiverMarket Bar & Kitchen—John Crabtree and Glen Vogt. Crabtree and Vogt also own Crabtree's Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY.

In accepting the award, Kelly mentioned that Hudson Valley has commanded widespread acclaim as a culinary and travel destination. 

Kelly is the owner of the following contemporary American cuisine restaurants: Xaviar’s at Piermont, the Freelance Cafe and Wine Bar in Piermont, Restaurant X and the Bully Boy Bar in Congers, and X2O Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers. In 2007, he bested celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a Food Networks Iron Chef America competition.

Janet Crawshaw, the publisher of the 16-year-old magazine The Valley Table, presented the award. She and Jerry Novesky co-founded Hudson Valley Restaurant Week in 2006. The partners also own The Valley Table, headquartered in Newburgh, NY, www.valleytable.com.

The program marked a farewell appearance for popular chef Vincent Barcelona who is leaving his position as the corporate chef for the Fort Pond Bay restaurant group. In a week, he departs the group and the Harvest on Hudson restaurant in Hastings-on-Hudson after being its chef for ten years, to join the Supreme Oil Company—a food industry product and cooking oil supplier. (See the article "Meet the Chef: Vincent Barcelona of Harvest on Hudson," written by Jerry Eimbinder, Patch, April 19, 2011, 
rivertowns.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/meet-the-chef-vincent-barcelona-of-harvest-on-hudson).

For more information about Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, refer to the article entitled:
"Hudson Valley Restaurant Week's Spring 2014 Program Will have 180 Participating Restaurants," written by Jerry Eimbinder, Patch, appeared on February 14, 2014. 
tarrytown.patch.com/groups/diningentertainment/p/hudson-valley-restaurant-weeks-spring-2014-program-will-have-180-participating-restaurants_d72e00ec.

Also see the article "Hudson Valley Restaurant Week Will Run Its Spring 2014 Program From March 10 to March 23," by Jerry Eimbinder, Patch, January 25, 2014,
tarrytown.patch.com/groups/diningentertainment/p/hudson-valley-restaurant-week-will-run-its-spring-2014-program-from-march-10-through-23_3dc01af5

The spring 2014 program of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week will be held from March 10 through March 23; a second (fall) program will be conducted from November 3 through November 16, 2014.

For both programs, the cost to dine is the same as last year: $29.95 for a three-course, prix-fixe dinner (appetizer, main course, dessert) and $20.95 for a three-course lunch. Beverages from coffee to cocktails, tax and gratuity are additional.

Approximately 190 restaurants are participating in the spring 2014 program.

The Hudson Valley Restaurant Week website is: 
www.hudsonvalleyrestaurantweek.com

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