Agenda: Sensual Dinners, Food on Film, and Japanese Essentials

FEATURED EVENT

The Five Senses Dinner Series
Blue Hill at Stone Barns (630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, New York) is presenting a unique series of dinners, each of which focuses on one of the five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. The events will be hosted by Executive Chef Dan Barber, along with special guests. Proceeds from the dinner series will benefit the non-profit The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. The first dinner will focus on the sense of smell and feature a "virtual meal" comprised entirely of scents, aromatic cocktails, and more. Special guests for the evening will be Rachel Herz, a leading expert on the psychology of smell, and Christopher Brosius, an award-winning designer of innovative perfumes. "Smell" will take place on Sunday, April 6th, 6:00 p.m. Seating is extremely limited; to RSVP, call 914.366.6200 ext. 110. $200/person.

EVENTS THIS WEEK (April 2 through April 8)

Spring for City Harvest
During the month of April, restaurants throughout the city will work in conjunction with City Harvest for the "Spring for City Harvest" campaign. The participating restaurants, including Dylan Prime, Ed’s Lobster Bar, Eleven Madison Park, Gotham Bar and Grill, Le Bernardin, Momofuko Ssam bar, The Red Cat, Strip House, and Telepan, have committed to donating 10% of their profits to the organization in a pledge to help feed New York city's hungry. As part of the event, many of the restaurants will offer special menu items and prix fixe options. For more information and a complete list of restaurants, visit the offical site.

Cheeses of the Northeast
The Artisanal Premium Cheese Center (500 West 37th Street) will present a class on regional cheeses: "Eat Local - Cheeses of the Northeast." Discussion will be led by cheese maker Mateo Kehler (Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont) and fromager Waldemar Albrecht, who will sample and lecture on world class cheeses from the local Northeast region. The class will take place on Friday, April 4th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. $75/person.

Hike, Wine, and Charcuterie Tasting
Enjoy a beautiful hike through the Hudson River Palisades followed by a private tasting and full charcuterie spead at one of the city's premier wine shops, NY Wine Company. The purpose of the outing is designed to show you how important your nose is when it comes to wine. 6 basic smells that are common in wine, ranging from minerals to tropical fruits, will be identified. The event takes place Saturday, April 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The departing location will be 73rd and Broadway with the end location of NY Wine Company (21 Warren Street). $98/person.

Food for Thought Film Festival
The purpose of this second annual Festival is to raise awareness of current food issues through the medium of film. The program will include three feature films: King Corn, Life and Debt and Black Gold. Attendees will also have the chance to view the trailer for Asparagus: Stalking the American Life, view an excerpt from the film Birdsong and Coffee, and other short films. The first of three free festival events takes place at the Communal Space at Good Shepherd (108 Cooper Street, Inwood) on Saturday, April 5th, at 12 noon. To make a donation, click here.

Rice, Dashi, and the Four Brews
EN Japanese Brasserie (435 Hudson Street) will present a demonstration and tasting on six key ingredients in Japanese cooking. Rice, dashi, and the "four brews" are considered the building blocks of all Japanese cuisine. Chef Yasuhiro Honma will lead the demonstration, emphasizing the role and importance of each ingredient. Journalist and Japanese food culture expert Harris Salat will moderate. The event will take place on Sunday, April 6th at 4:00 p.m. $80/person. Reservations: 212.647.9196 ext. 204.

Hands-On Espresso Fundamentals
Joe the Art of Coffee will be offering a coffee class on espresso in which some of the company's professional baristi will explain the art and science behind the perfect espresso shot. Later, they will coach participants on pulling their own shots on the shop's brand new La Marzocco GS3 espresso machine. The unique equipment is a professional-grade home espresso machine which pulls shots and steams milk just like coffee shop machines, but plugs into a normal wall outlet, does not need to be plumbed, and is transportable. Hands-On Espresso Fundamentals will take place at Joe's 13th Street location (9 East 13th Street) on Sunday, April 6th at 8:00 p.m. To RSVP, email Gabrielle. $25/person.

Image: iStockphoto.