The Art of Small Bites

Join the Buffalo Bailliage on Friday, October 16 at 5:30pm at The Buffalo Club for an evening built entirely around the small bite. Executive Chef Kevin Sippel has written a menu of nine hors d’oeuvres, served two at a time across four tastings, with a hand-passed bite and a glass of bubbly to open and a dessert station to close.

The evening moves rather than sits. We begin with sparkling wine and a passed bite, work through Spanish and California whites, break partway through for a walk through the Club’s art, and return for Italian and French reds before dessert. The staff who made the evening are introduced at the close, and the night winds down around 8:30.

A Walk Through the Club’s Art

Between pours, a historian leads a guided walk through The Buffalo Club’s art collection. It is the centerpiece of the evening as much as the menu is.

Founded in 1867 by President Millard Fillmore and 92 of Buffalo’s most prominent citizens, the Club has stood at the heart of the city’s social and civic life for close to 160 years. Its collection includes works by Charles Burchfield, Julius Stewart, and Frank C. Penfold. The Club has been listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places since 2021.

About the Chef

Chef Kevin Sippel brings more than two decades of experience in some of the world’s most respected kitchens. He trained at SUNY Cobleskill, ICIF in Italy, and the Paul Bocuse Institute in France, and has cooked in Buffalo, Perugia, London, and Manhattan.

As Chef de Cuisine at L’Impero, he was part of the team that earned the 2003 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. As founding Chef de Cuisine at Alto, he helped secure a three-star rating from The New York Times. As Executive Chef at Jockey Hollow Bar and Kitchen, he led a kitchen named Esquire’s Best New Restaurant of 2015. He has also held chef positions at La Caravelle in Manhattan and the Carlton Tower in London.

Since 2017, Chef Sippel has served as Executive Chef of The Buffalo Club, where he has helped lift the Club’s national standing from 26th to 15th among City Platinum Clubs of America. His cooking is rooted in classic French and Italian technique, with Japanese and German influences, and guided by exceptional ingredients, simplicity, and genuine hospitality.

A Note on the Wines

The evening opens with Schramsberg’s 2021 Blanc de Blancs from California’s North Coast. Five pours follow, one with each of the four tastings and a fifth with dessert: a barrel-fermented Muga Blanco from Rioja, Brewer-Clifton’s Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay, Elio Grasso’s 2017 Barolo Gavarini Chiniera from Monforte d’Alba, Clos Fourtet 2015, a Premier Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Émilion, and Disznókő’s 2014 Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos.