Chefs across Long Island will come together next Friday, Feb. 28, for a special fundraiser to help employees of Crescent Duck Farm following an outbreak of bird flu in January that dealt a major blow to the long-standing business.
“Flock Together: Local Chefs Tribute to Crescent Duck Farm” will be held at Tellers Next Door (599 Main St., Islip) from 6–8 p.m. and feature food stations, local cocktails and wines, an auction and donation opportunities, with proceeds going directly to Crescent Duck Farm’s displaced workers.
The event is being spearheaded by chef Francis Derby of Shands General (67 W Main St., Patchogue) and Michael Bohlsen, who runs the Bohlsen Restaurant Group, which includes Tellers Next Door. Derby and Bohlsen, both of whom have prominently featured Crescent duck on their menus, wanted to help in any way they could.
Derby, a seasoned chef who grew up on Long Island, was shocked to find that Crescent Duck Farm had gone through such a massive loss.
“I have duck on all my menus,” says Derby. “I found out because I walked [into work] one day and saw two cases of duck there that were not from Long Island. I said, ‘what is this? We don’t use this!’ This is horrible!”
After learning about the outbreak at Crescent Duck Farm, Derby reached out to his friend Bohlsen to discuss how they could assist owner Doug Corwin in relief efforts for the farm..
“Doug had [initially] rebuffed our efforts to raise money for him, but said he would really love help with his employees who had been laid off,” says Bohlsen. “He’s a very selfless guy and is interested in helping his people.”
Bohlsen and Derby quickly put a call out to any chefs who would be interested in participating in a fundraiser and the response was swift. Chefs from all over the island, including North Fork Table & Inn chef Berenice de Araujo, Ryan Hardy from Delicious Hospitality Group and Shelter Island chef Armond Joseph of Léon 1909 will be there, as well as other chefs from popular restaurants including Prime in Huntington, Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue, among others.
Local cocktails will be provided from Montauk Brewing Co., Wölffer Estate Vineyard and Better Man Distilling Co.
Crescent Duck Farm, which opened in 1908, was forced to cull 99,000 ducks in January following a dangerous outbreak of H5N1 bird flu. About 50 members of the farm’s workforce were laid off.
“This isn’t just about our farm; it’s about preserving the hardworking farmers behind what we’ve built here in Aquebogue,” said Corwin in a statement provided to Northforker. “We are entirely overwhelmed by the support from our community and these incredible chefs.”
Bohlsen says that they will set up a GoFundMe for the fundraiser, and that he’s very heartened by the camaraderie that he’s seen among the chefs and restaurants participating.
“There’s a ‘rising tide lifts all ships’ mentality. It’s certainly shaking hands and helping each other out,” he says.
The incident was also personal for Derby, whose family owned the former Gallo Duck Farm in Patchogue.
“Doug knows my grandfather,” he says. “It’s a little close to home for me … there was a time on Long Island where there was a half-roasted duckling on every menu. That was the norm if you had a restaurant, whether it was a pub, a fine dining restaurant or a steakhouse. I would hope with something like this, we can raise awareness so that when they’re ready to get going again, we all have duck on our menus all the time.”
Participating chefs and restaurants include:
- Francis Derby – Shands General
- Ben Hoffman – Prime: An American Kitchen & Bar
- Christian Mir – Stone Creek Inn
- Steve Gallagher – The Trattoria
- Armond Joseph – Léon 1909
- Ryan Hardy – Delicious Hospitality Group
- Steve Rizzo – Off the Block Meats
- Berenice de Araujo – North Fork Table & Inn (John Fraser Restaurants)
- Keenan Boyle – Tall Mutha Shucka
“Flock Together: Local Chefs Tribute to Crescent Duck Farm” will be held at Tellers Next Door on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $161.90 and can be purchased here.
