Over the years, I’ve walked by the unassuming door of Bouley Botanical, never wondering more about the space.

However, earlier this month when Bo and I had the opportunity to walk through the door of David Bouley’s private event space, we felt as if we’d walked into a greenhouse versus a restaurant.  Th space is elegant but open and filled with a floor-to-ceiling herb garden!

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When we were invited to join David Bouley’s lecture and dinner series, The Chef and the Doctor we quickly discovered that David Bouley’s passion is health and wellness. In fact, the chef recently retooled his restaurants and himself after recently becoming obsessed with health issues and taking nutrition classes at NYU and getting his executive MBA at Harvard. 

Based on his health adventures over the past year, this series seems like a natural fit for his brand. The series of collaborative health- focused lectures bring together world renowned doctors and experts with a multi-course dinner curated by Chef David Bouley. This clearly would not be your typical tasting menu or meal that would leave us in a food coma or feeling sick to our stomachs. Instead, we were intrigured to learn about the evening’s lecture topic, Linking Agriculture to Human Nutrition Through Cuisine, and see how David Bouley would weave health and wellness into the menu.

The lecture, led by Dr. Ray Glahn, an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell, shared his research related to how nutrients, taste and cooking time were related to the poulatrity of certain beans in Africa. They were trying to figure out, through the research, whether there was a way to optimize the nutrients relative to cooking time since a shorter cooking time is what makes beans popular. However, typically the beans with the lowest cooking time have the fewest nutrients.  It was so interesting yet so out of our typical consideration space.

Following the lecture, it was time to dine. The menu for The Chef and The Doctor with Dr. Ray Glahn is below. 

Malibu Sea Urchin with Green Apple, Meyer Lemon

Wild Coho Alaskan Salmon Fingerling Rosti Golden Oscietra Caviar, Salmon Trout Roe

Porcini Flan Golden Princess & Alaskan Dungeness Crab, Black Truffle Dashi

French Provence Jumbo White and Local Green Pencil Asparagus  Spirulina, Pumpkin Seed, Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Grass-Fed 100% Organic NY State Black Angus Steak Tartare

Harry’s Berries Mara des Bois Strawberry Parfait, Dairyless Almond Cloud

Valrhona Bitter Chocolate Soufflé (Traditional) Tahitian Vanilla

First of all, let me recommend to any pregnant readers, that you not participate in a tasting menu during your third trimester. Regardless how healthy the food was, it was too much food for my cramped stomach. But, Bo’s experience, on the other hand was very different. This was one of his favorite food experiences in recent memory and he is still talking about his favorites from the evening – the sea urchin, crab and the steak tartare.

If you are interested in attending one of the future Chef and the Doctor Dinner Series events at Bouley Botanical, you can find out more information on their special events site. There are seven events coming up in the next few months including topics such as Eating for Immunity and Inner Balance as well as Healing Arthritis through Food.

Thank you to the team at Bouley Events and Dining for inviting Bo and I to participate in this special evening of learning, food and community. As always, all opinions are my own.