Fall Season Soirees

Chefs and Jilly Stephens at City Harvest’s 14th annual Bid Against Hunger Benefit.

Last Tuesday night the American Ballet Theatre kicked off its 2008 its annual Fall Gala beginning with a special performance at City Center where ABT's Principal Dancers performed highlights from the Fall season, including George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Romeo and Juliet and Paul Taylor’s Company B.

After the performance, guests traveled up and over to the Pierre Hotel where the celebration continued with a black tie dinner and dancing. During dinner, Lamin Periera dos Santos, an exceptional student from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School was presented with the inaugural Northern Trust Award and Sharon Patrick was honored with the 2008 Melville Straus Award.


	Tory Burch and Marjorie Gubelmann

Honorary Chair of the evening was Lewis S. Ranieri. Co-Chairs were Muffie Potter Aston and Dr. Sherrell Aston, Julia and David Koch and Ann and Mario Grauso. Gala Vice Chairs were Pamela Fielder, David B. Ford and Ruthe and Tony Ponturo.

Among the evening’s guests were Rita Gam, Ugly Betty's Eric Mabius, Model Liliana Dominguez, Designers Olivier Theyskens, Tory Burch and Christian Cota, Peter and Jamee Gregory, Richard and Karen LeFrak, Lauren Santo Domingo, Henri Barguirdjian, Andrew Barth, Jonathan Farkas, Anka Palitz, Leonard and Susan Feinstein, Jennifer Creel, Barbara Gollust, ABT Dancers Julie Kent, Marcelo Gomes, Jose Manuel Carreño, Herman Cornejo, Xiomara Reyes, Jared Matthews, Maria Riccetto, Kristi Boone; Drs. William and Linda Hamilton, Annaliese Harstick, Sharon Patrick and Beverly D'Anne, Sylvester and Gillian Miniter, Susan Fales-Hill, Barbara Gollust and Claudia Overstrom.

Nina Ricci was the official sponsor of the Gala, Michelob Ultra generously underwrote ABT’s 2008 New York City Center season. $550,000 was raised for the American Ballet Theatre.

Alessandro Fendi and Peter Lyden

Eric Mabius and Ivy Sherman

David and Julia Koch

Anka Palitz

Ann Grauso and Olivier Theyskens

Ashley McDermott and Bridget Keller

Cashmere Snowdon-Jones and Marina Wangold

Jennifer and Allen Andreas

Elizabeth and Bill Kahane

Jennifer Creel and Jill Fairchild

Karen LeFrak and Peter Lyden

Jean and Larry Shaw

Karen LeFrak and Rachel Moore

Christian Cota, Alexandra Adame, and Gabriel Rivera-Barraza

Melville Straus and Sharon Patrick

Howard and Tania Adler

Karin Sadove

Laraine Fischer and Alan Fischer

Sharon Patrick and Melville Straus

Daniel Benedict, Ashley McDermott, Claude Wasserstein, and Andrew Saffir

Jared Matthews and Maria Riccetto

Kevin McKenzie and Martine Van Hamel

Jared Matthews and Yuriko Kajiya

Krisi Boone, Christian Cota, and Maria Riccetto

Lamin Periera dos Santos and Marcelo Gomes

Gillian and Sylvester Miniter

Rinat Imaev, Xiomara Reyes, and Christian Cota

Jose Manuel Carreno and Melanie Hamrich

Fe Fendi and Susan Sosin

Heidi Dangoor and Ulla Parker

Nancy Ellison and Bill Rollnick

Barbara Gollust

Grace Meigher

Peggy Siegal

Peter and Jamee Gregory

Meryl and Henry Kauffman

Muffie Potter-Aston and Sherrell Aston

Richard and Karen LeFrak

Ulla Parker

Susan Fawcett Sosin, Mary Jo Ziesel, and Meredith Elliot

Paula Mahoney

Liza Thompson Mettles and James Dawkins

Susan Fales-Hill and Peter Lyden

Victor Barbee and Julie Kent

New York City’s premier restaurants including Nobu Fifty-seven, Gordon Ramsay at the London, Le Bernadin, craftsteak New York, Lever House, Porter House, The Modern, Landmarc, Eighty-One, A Voce, Payard Bistro, and Blue Hill joined together for an evening of culinary tastings and fine wine and auctions for one night to fight hunger in New York City at City Harvest’s 14th annual Bid Against Hunger Benefit.

NYPD Drummers Side

The evening ran from 7 to 11 at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Co-chairs included Heather and Steven Mnuchin, Lauren and Scott Pinkus, Pamela and Andrew Kaufman, Tania and Brian Higgins, and Margaret and Randy Brown. Restaurant co-chairs were Sandra and Eric Ripert, Tracey Nieporent, and Pamela and Marc Murphy. Chefs participating included Eric Ripert, Tom Colicchio, Francois Payard, Michael Lomonaco, and John Doherty.

City Harvest Workers

Kerry Heffernan and Tom Colicchio

Francois Payard and guests with his Hot & Cold Pina Colada

Auction winners with Eric Ripert and Tom Colicchio

Clockwise from top left: Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, Inc.; Black Tuna Salad Sandwich from Geisha; CH Apron by Nicole Miller; Herbed Ricotta Mousse, Arugula, Proscuitto from A Voce; Desserts from Waldorf=Astoria.

Josh Emett, Eric Ripert, Tom Colicchio, and Kerry Heffernan

Heather Mnuchin

City Harvest's Jilly Stephens

Charlie Romano and John Doherty

Crishelle Strauss

Clockwise from top left: 57 Restaurant at the Four Seasons; Billy's Bakery Cupcakes; Cupcake Cafe Bohemian Maple Walnut Cake.

Akhtar Nawab from Elettaria

Graham Bunn and Chrishelle Strauss

Don Pham from Geisha

Graham Bunn

Stone Barns V8 from Blue Hill

Nicole Miller

Clockwise from top left: T Bar Steak & Lounge; Ron-Ben Israel Cakes; Le Cirque; House Cured Ham from Telepan.

Kelly Choi

Sipping Hot & Cold Pina Coladas with Francois Payard

Star Jones

Eric Ripert

Tracy Nieporent

Clockwise from top left: Truffle Oil from da Rosario Organics; Venison Keilbasa; Gelato Bites; Smoked salmon salad from Aquavit; Smoked salmon salad from Aquavit; Tacos Al Pastor from Toloache.

Also last Monday night in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art held its annual gala with the theme Whitney – Past, Present and Future. Versace was the sponsor for the evening and the following Studio Party after the dinner. Co-chairs were Allison Kanders, Liz Swig and Donatella Versace. Special guest for the evening was Patrick Dempsey. More than 1100 guests attended and the museum raised more than $3 million.

Beth Campbell’s installation created for the Gala greated guests as they arrived. It also served as the décor inspiration for the evening conceptualized by David Stark Design. Playing with issues of repetition and memory, Campbell’s recent installations have conjured up uncanny trompe l’oeil effects suggestive of mirrors.

As part of the Whitney sponsorship, Versace collaborated with Julian Schnabel and Wangechi Mutu to create two one-of-a-kind pieces of priceless jewelry.

Joanne Casullo

Liz Swig

Mary Boone

Among those attending were Sting and Trudie Styler, Christina Ricci, Mariah, Carey and Nick Cannon, Sean Avery, Cindy Sherman, Fred Schneider, Michael Nouri, Beth Campbell, David Salle, Tara Donovan, Carroll Dunham, Mark Fox, Rachel Howard, Charles LeDray, Whitfield Lovell, Malcolm Morley, Lari Pittman, Ugo Rondinone, Laurie Simmons, Rudolf Stingel, Lawrence Weiner, Fred Wilson, Robert Hurst, Brooke Neidich, Steven and Ann Ames, Anne Dias Griffin, Susan and John Hess, Leonard and Evelyn Lauder, Charles and Betty Gwathmey, Audrey and Martin Gruss, Amanda Burden, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Julie and Billy Macklowe, Heather and Steven Mnuchin, Mary Boone, Marvin Hamlisch, Campion and Tatiana Platt, John and Susan Gutfreund, Frederic and Shrin Fekkai, Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, Jane Holzer, Sari Gueron and Bonnie Morrison.

At the Studio Party later in the evening: Byrdie Bell, Kipton Cronkite, Lydia Fenet, Zani Gugelmann, Behnaz Sarafpour, Gilles Mendel, Poppy Delevigne, Jane Krakowski, Katie Lee Joel, Kiera Chaplin, Juliette Lewis, Emma Roberts, Helena Christensen, Rose Bryne, Harry Josh, Lee Lee Sobieski, Becki Newton and Hana Soukupova.