Iron Chef and Food Network’s “Chopped” judge Alex Guarnaschelli had the honor to cook a meal for Prince when the musician enjoyed a night out at her New York City restaurant, Butter.
Guarnaschelli described Prince as a “unique” patron—among the many celebrities that have dined at Butter—and recounted the moment she found out Prince was coming to the restaurant in a blog post for People magazine.
“I remember a few years back when I was told that Prince was going to come to the restaurant. I felt like someone was going to sprinkle purple glitter in front of the restaurant in honor of his arrival,” she wrote.
Dressed in his signature purple, Prince dined with Maceo Parker and enjoyed a meal of mostly vegetables—his suggestion.
“I ended up making some asparagus dressed in sherry vinaigrette with sesame seeds; batter-dipped zucchini blossoms with paprika; mixed greens with edible flowers; cherry tomatoes with oregano and balsamic; roasted potatoes with pickled onions; grilled eggplant with garlic; braised baby carrots with brown sugar and marinated beets with scallions,” said Guarnaschelli.
The “Purple Rain” star was appreciative of the meal when he spoke to the chef.
It seems Prince had a fairly healthy diet, according to good friend and music executive, L.A. Reid.
“I know he was really health conscious. He was a vegan. He didn’t abuse alcohol,” Reid said once rumors started to float around that Prince died from an overdose. “I didn’t know him abusing drugs. He worked out.”
Guarnaschelli shared one of the recipes to the meals prepared that night. Read it below.
Roasted Beet and Ginger Salad
He seemed to really love mustard and this dish really packs that mustardy punch.
2–2 ½ lb. beets
Sugar
Kosher salt
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3-4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1. Cook the beets: Using a pot large enough to hold all of the beets, fill it ¾ with cold water and add the beets with a generous pinch of sugar and salt. When the beets are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, drain the water and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Peel them by wiping the skin off with a kitchen towel. Trim the tough parts of the tops and bottoms off with a small knife and cut each beet into sections like pieces of an orange.
2. Make the vinaigrette and serve the beets: In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, balsamic, brown sugar and mustard until smooth. Whisk in the olive oil and ginger. Taste for seasoning. Toss the beets with the vinaigrette and allow the beets to marinate in these ingredients for at least 20 minutes. Serve on a platter.
Wonder if Prince would’ve left his dinner for a ping pong match with Jimmy Fallon.
