Auction Packages

Brooklyn Historical Society has created amazing one-of-a-kind, food-themed auction packages drawing on the tremendous offerings in Brooklyn and the city at large! At Brooklyn Bounty, October 25th, a live auction will be lead by Philae Knight of Phillips de Pury.

Start your bidding early! We will open online bidding on the Brooklyn Bounty blog on Monday, October 15.

Some lots you may want to keep for yourself. Others are perfect for sharing or gifting to friends and family; dinners, cooking and mixology lessons, to a burger party sure to subside your hunger for a week!

Not only are you winning experiences you can’t find elsewhere, you are supporting Brooklyn Historical’s nationally recognized education programs. To learn more about educational programming, click here.

To whet your appetite, a preview of auction packages are below — descriptions including estimated dollar values and opening bid amounts.

Before bidding on a package, make sure you have purchased your ticket to Brooklyn Bounty. All auction lots will be finalized the night of the event and all bidders must attend. To purchase your ticket, click here.

Brooklyn Burger Buffs

Photo courtesy of George Motz

Hamburger expert and Travel Channel host of Burger Land, George Motz will host a burger party for ten in your home any where in New York City, including a signed Hamburger America DVD and book. The meat for your burger patties may be purchased at the Meat Hook with your included gift certificate. Wash down those juicy burgers with a case of beer from Brooklyn Brewery and end the meal with deserts from Leskes Bakery.

The burger mania does not stop there! You and a guest will also receive the opportunity to dine on two burgers from five of some of George’s favorite Brooklyn burger joints (Smashburger, Five Guys, Two8Two, Bark, 67Burger). And as an added bonus, you’ll receive a $100 gift card from Shake Shack.

The value of this package is $2,000 and the bidding will open at: $ 1,000

Bid Now! 

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The Brunch Bunch

This package includes all of the accouterments for a perfect brunch party:

• Four dozen bagels from Leo’s Bagels
• Smoked fish specialties and Wild King Salmon Jerky to accompany bagels from Acme Smoked Fish
• Coffee and gift certificate from Crop to Cup Coffee Importers
• A gift basket of tea and coffee from Brewklyn Grind Coffee & Tea
• A Case of champagne from Heights Chateau

End the meal the right way with a sweets platter of rugalach and babka from Shelsky’s

For a more intimate setting, you also have brunch for four at Madiba restaurant of Fort Greene

The value of this package is $1,000 and the bidding will open at: $500

Bid Now! 

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The Do-It-Yourselfer

Become an expert in culinary arts with cooking classes from A Cooks Companion, Brooklyn Kitchen, William Sonoma and Institute of Culinary Education. You’ll impress your friends and can even bring one along with you!

Photo courtesy of BoroughBees.com

Your gourmet skills will be even more refined with a private class in your home by French Culinary Institute graduate chef Sarah Schechter with food to prepare from Sahadi and Fairway Market. You can also enjoy another in home teaching session with a mixology lesson from Allen Katz of NY Distilling Company.

Your final lesson will be in the art of beekeeping by becoming a beekeeper for a day with Brooklyn-based company BoroughBees.com.

The value of this package is $1,500 and the bidding will open at: $750

Bid Now! 

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A Foodie’s Staycation

Need a weekend getaway, but can’t go too far? This package is perfect for escaping without having to leave the borough.

Enjoy a two night stay and cocktails at the Nu Hotel. You’ll have dinner each night waiting for you at Battersby of Carroll Gardens, PokPok in the Columbia Street Waterfront district and Beer Table in Park Slope. While out on the town, take a stroll over to Henry Public to use your gift certificate and don’t forget to pick up your deserts from Ted and Honey to end the evening on a sweet note.

The value of this package is $1,200 and the bidding will open at: $600

Bid Now! 

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Visiting Out-of-Towners

Photo courtesy of Kings County Distillery

Unsure what to do with all of those guests visiting over the holidays? This package is perfect to impress those out-of-towners with tours from:

• Kings County Distillery: Private tour of Distillery and tasting with owner for two
• Brooklyn Navy Yard tour fromTurnstyle Tours for two
• Tour and smoked fish sampling for two with Acme Smoked Fish General Manager
• Any tour of your choice from Levy’s Unique New York Tours for four
• Immigrant Foodway Tour from Turnstyle Tours for two
• Tour of farmfor four at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture of Pocantino Hills, NY

And after all of that touring around New York, your guests can enjoy a relaxing Friday Night dinner for two at Natural Gourmet Institute

The value of this package is $1000 and the bidding will open at: $500

Bid Now! 

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Let Them Eat Beef

Do you consider yourself a steak connoisseur? This package is perfect for you to try several cuts of meat and share it with your friends.

Chef David Siegel courtesy of Kitchensurfing

You’ll enjoy a side of organic fed beef from Adams Farm with vegetables to accompany it from Brooklyn Grange. All of this will be prepared in your home for you and ten of your closest friends by Chef David Siegel of Kitchensurfing. Wine pairing will be available with bottles of 2001 Silver Oak Cabernet, 2005 Kistler Chardonnay and 2001 Alion Ribero Del Duero. Finish the evening off with desserts from Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Hot Blondies Bakery .

We’ve thought of everything and even have your table scape prepared with flowers from Opalia Flowers .

The value of this package is $1,500 and the bidding will open at: $750

Bid Now! 

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Fourth of July week in Fire Island

View from deck

Already dreaming of Summer vacation? No need to fret any longer, your Fourth of July can be spent waterfront on a private beach on the Great South Bay from July 1-July 8, 2013. The house in Lonelyville has three bedrooms and can fit two couples and four children. On your way out, stop by gourmet market Sherry’s in Babylon and stock up on snacks for the week.

The value of this package is $5,000 and the bidding will open at: $2,500

Bid Now!

Immigrant Foodways Public Market and Neighborhood Tour on Sept. 29th

From farms to pushcarts to markets to the kitchen table, join us as we explore the ever-changing cultural and gastronomic landscape of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  Once known for its pickles and kosher meat, the neighborhood today serves up herbal teas from Mexico, sounds of salsa, and traditional foods and products from Latin American countries. Based on oral histories with neighborhood residents, this tour explores the history of Brooklyn’s “Avenue of Puerto Rico” – once the heart of a Jewish community – and takes an in-depth look at the Moore Street Market, built in 1941 to mark the end of the pushcart era and today a centerpiece of the Spanish-speaking community.  By the end of the tour, you’ll be equipped with new knowledge about Latin American ingredients and a booklet of traditional recipes to help you recreate the tastes and smells of the market in your own home.

Tickets: $42/person (10% off for BHS members — call 718.222.4111 for discount). Advance ticket purchase is required. Go to Turnstile Tours website or call 347.903.8687 to book public or private tours.

Saturday, September 29th 10:30 am to 1:00 pm 

Allswell: Your home-away-from-home in Williamsburg

Nate Smith of Allswell

If you ask Nate Smith, chef of ALLSWELL, what he plans to make for October 25th’s Brooklyn Bounty, he’ll tell you he has no idea yet.  His favorite time to cook is the period between two seasons, because you get to use ingredients that don’t normally “cross paths,” as he put it.  

A California native, he loves the climate of New York, especially fall. He plans to base his Bounty dish (he hinted at braising) on whatever’s in season at the time, and is very excited to see what October weather, and the restaurant’s first anniversary entail.

After moving to Brooklyn from San Francisco with a group of friends who were more like family, he worked at the Spotted Pig with April Bloomfield. Working with April was an incredible learning experience for Nate, giving him the tools needed to open his own place. After months of construction and lots of stress, he opened ALLSWELL, the homey gastropub in Williamsburg. Smith uses seasonal ingredients, getting biweekly lists of what’s in season from farmers in Lancaster.

The name ALLSWELL was chosen in part because it reflects the desired mood, “all is well.” The ‘well’ in ALLSWELL, Smith mentions, is also a reference to the extensive bar, custom built for the restaurant. Smith believes that great food should not just be for special occasions, especially in a city where so many people don’t cook. Smith wanted to create “a breakfast, lunch and dinner place. It’s fun to have a place that you can stay late at night and drink at night and then come back in the morning for breakfast.”

Amazing french toast!

He’s at the restaurant every day, working to create a place with “a soul that’s more than four walls.” Smith has always worked with food, beginning in pizza joints when he was a teenager. His whole family is involved in the restaurant, although his kids are still picky eaters. Smith loves the community of chefs in Williamsburg, calling it “another generation of the neighborhood” and is thrilled that food is no longer a fringe interest. “When I started cooking,” he explained, “I had no friends that were into it. It was this weird thing that I did.”

In addition to a commitment to seasonal ingredients and everyday goodness, ALLSWELL makes everything from scratch, from sausage to bacon to bread (they have plans to wholesale it down the line). When we visited, the homemade bread was transformed into delicious French toast topped with seasonal peaches. The waitress joked that everything but the peaches were made in-house. ALLSWELL may not have an orchard but it does have a patio, brunch (a recent addition), a bar with late night service, and perhaps most importantly, a chef who loves every minute of what he does.

– by Abigail Koffler

Brooklyn Bounty Intern