‘DINNER AND THE SHOW’ PAIRS VAN GOGH EXHIBITION WITH ELEGANT FARE AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2015

Williamstown, MA—The Clark Art Institute’s popular series “Dinner and the Show” returns Saturday, July 18 at 6 pm. The evening begins with a tour the exhibition Van Gogh and Nature with Richard Kendall, curator at large at the Clark. Kendall will give an insider's perspective on the years of research he conducted with fellow curators and noted Van Gogh scholars Chris Stolwijk and Sjraar van Heugten. After the tour, guests will enjoy a gourmet meal prepared by Starr Executive Chef Daniel Hardy. Tickets are $60 ($55 members), including tax and gratuity. Beverages are extra. Space is limited; advance reservations are required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 0524.

The menu includes raisin sunflower rye bread with garlic scape butter, roasted beets with olives and goat cheese, Beef Daube Provençal with slow roasted carrots and artichoke ravioli, and peach melba with honey marscapone. “Dinner and the Show” showcases the exceptional cuisine of Stephen Starr Events, a division of the acclaimed Starr Restaurant Group. Starr, the Clark’s culinary partner, brings creative, innovative, and artful menus to Café 7 that feature locally sourced ingredients.

ABOUT CHEF DANIEL HARDY

Executive Chef Daniel Hardy combines his passion for healthy, wholesome cooking with the bountiful selection from local farms to create a refreshing approach to food. Trained at Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, Hardy began his career at Signal Mountain Lodge in Wyoming after which he became executive chef at the Old Yellowstone Garage in Jackson, Wyoming. He then moved to Seattle as a key member of the start-up team for Volterra, an Italian concept restaurant, which earned “Best New Restaurant” from Seattle Weekly in 2005. After opening Volterra, he relocated to Livingston, Montana, where he started his own company, Second Street Catering, and ran the business as chief financial officer, manager and executive chef. Hardy relocated to the East Coast in 2010 when he was offered the opportunity to lead the Mezze Catering kitchen where he worked with a team that executed events including Berkshire weddings, non-profit galas, and private parties. After several years, he landed a position as executive chef of Mezze's sister restaurant, Allium, in Great Barrington. He joined the Clark in 2014. Hardy’s recipes have been published in cookbooks and magazines, with mentions in Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, Mountain Living, Skiing, and Sunset.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open daily in July and August, 10 am to 5 pm; open September through June, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

Press contact:
[email protected]