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On Thursday,
April 24th, City Harvest held its 20th annual
gala, An
Evening of Practical
Magic, at Cipriani 42nd Street
in New York City, and raised nearly
$2.2 million to help feed hungry New Yorkers.
During the event, Eric
Ripert, Maguy Le Coze and the staff of Le Bernardin were
honored with the Harry and Misook Doolittle Heart of the
City Award, which is given to a City Harvest partner who has
provided the organization with extraordinary services or has
performed in an exceptional manner to impact hunger. City
Harvest Board Member Benjamin
Bram and Managing Member, Watermill
Institutional Trading LLC, was honored for his ongoing
commitment to helping City Harvest feed New York’s hungry
residents with the Star of the City Award.
Hosted by restaurateur and Food Network star Geoffrey
Zakarian, the event attracted more than 600 guests.
Notable event attendees included: Questlove;
Miss USA Erin Brady; and renowned culinary experts: Geoffrey
Zakarian; Eric Ripert; Tom Colicchio; Marcus Samuelsson; Ted
Allen; Anthony Bourdain; Tom Valenti; Dominique Ansel;
Donatella Arpaia; Ron Ben-Israel; Terrance Brennan; Anne
Burrell; David Chang; Anita Lo; Marc Murphy; Ben Pollinger;
Chris Santos; and Tracy Nieporent. Also in attendance were
gala co-chairs: Arthur F. Backal; Lise and Michael Evans;
Carola and Robert Jain; Pamela and Andrew Kaufmann; Kristen
and Patrick McMahon; Heather Mnuchin; Sandra and Eric Ripert;
Chris Hikawa and David Windreich.
Nicholas D. Lowry, President of Swann Auction
Galleries, served as auctioneer. Highlights from the live
auction include:
· DOMINIQUE
ANSEL BAKERY’S COOKIE SHOTS: Eight of Dominique Ansel’s
cookie shots made with chocolate-chip-cookie dough and
filled with cold milk and a hint of Tahitian vanilla.
Winning bid: $6,500
· CHEF’S
PRIZE: Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian preparing a four
course meal for a party of eight with mixed cocktails
prepared by Ted Allen. Before the bid commenced, Geoffrey
asked Marcus Samuelsson, Tom Colicchio, Tom Valenti,
Terrance Brennan, and Anne Burrell to join. Winning bid:
$60,000
· RIDE
WITH A DRIVER: City Harvest Transportation Manager
hosting a truck ride-along. Two Winning Bids for $18,000
each, totaling: $36,000
· FRENCH
FEAST: Executive Chef of Le Bernardin Eric Ripert
preparing a delicious French dinner for 20 guests in your
home. Winning Bid: $150,000, which sold twice.
An Evening of Practical Magic paid
tribute to the efforts of individuals and organizations that
have gone above and beyond in their commitment to help City
Harvest feed hungry New Yorkers at a time when demand for
emergency food remains high.
Ticket prices for An Evening of Practical
Magic ranged
from $1,000 to $3,000 and tables from $10,000 to $100,000.
City Harvest is also grateful to Pernod Ricard, Groupon,
Rodney Strong, Manhattan Lincoln, MKDA, Specialty Food
Association, and all event sponsors.
# # #
About
City Harvest
Now serving New York City for more than 30
years, City Harvest
www.CityHarvest.org is the world's first food
rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry
men, women, and children. This year, City Harvest will
collect more than 42 million pounds of excess food from all
segments of the food industry, including restaurants,
grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms.
This food is then delivered free of charge to some 600
community food programs throughout New York City by a fleet
of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the more than
one million New Yorkers that face hunger each year.
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