Scenes from Bid Against Hunger
Photos: Hernan F. Rodriguez
Last night’s Bid Against Hunger event to benefit City Harvest was not only sold out weeks in advance, there were huddles of people outside the Metropolitan Pavilion looking to buy scalped tickets in order to attend. Great news for fighting hunger; perhaps good news for the economy, too. Event co-chair Marc Murphy of Landmarc wasn’t surprised at the turnout. “People give, no matter how hard economic times are. If people can feed the hungry, they do it,” he said.
The 800 chefs and attendees were in great spirits, nibbling on dishes such as Craig Hopson’s venison with pistachios from Le Cirque and Paul Liebrandt’s squash velouté from Corton. The Buzz took the opportunity between bites to ask leading chefs about fighting hunger.
Terrance Brennan said that not only donating, but volunteering, for organizations like City Harvest and Share Our Strength has a major impact, while Per Se’s Jonathan Benno urges all cooks to “be responsible with food, be precise with it and make use of everything, even the by-products.” Anita Lo of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar shared Benno’s sentiment, adding that “eating responsibly by opening your palate to prevent waste,” is important for everyone. Co-chair Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin added that he had a responsibility as “a lucky man with a beautiful restaurant” to help fight hunger, mentioning that seeing the hungry and homeless in New York’s streets initially caused him to become involved with City Harvest. “I cannot see myself being successful without helping to fight hunger.”
The event raised over $700,000 for the charity, with the auction alone bringing $220,000. Big-ticket prizes included a wine tasting, cooking class and dinner for eight at Le Bernardin for $55,000; a home dinner cooked by John Stage (Dinosaur Bar-B-Que) and Tom Valenti (Ouest, 'Cesca) for $22,000; and dinner for 20 in the private room of Landmarc, hosted by Marc Murphy and Ted Allen, for $20,000.
– Kathleen Squires