The Scene: Thirteen stories high on a rooftop in Tribeca, a crowd of the New York food world’s most influential (and charming) gathered, clutching house negronis and mezcal cocktails, even as the wind threatened to whip them away. What could inspire a cohort of the city’s chefs and restaurateurs to quite literally risk losing their hats in a gust on a Tuesday evening? Sustainable food and environmental education in New York public schools.
The Occasion: The crowd gathered for the annual spring reception of Edible Schoolyard NYC, a nonprofit inspired by Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters’s own Berkeley project to teach sustainable farming and food systems. As a leading figure in the farm-to-table movement, Waters has built a career defying America’s broken food system, one plate at a time.
The Crowd: Eagle-eyed attendees could spot chef and NYT Cooking contributor Andy Baraghani chatting with his colleague at the Times, the food critic Melissa Clark, while chef Clare de Boer of Stissing House and Jupiter joked around with Annie Shi of King and Lei. Although former Times food critic Pete Wells has put down his fork professionally, he still milled amongst the crowd, which included culinary consultant Christine Muhlke, and recipe developer Alison Roman yukking it up with chef Jess Shadbolt. Other attendees included food creator Sophia Roe, writer Natasha Wolff, restaurateurs Michael and Alli Stillman, chef Angie Rito of Don Angie, and Ariel Arce of Tokyo Record Bar.
Food and Drink: Guests could help themselves to bountiful hors d’oeuvres, featuring soft ripe cheeses, fresh fruit, and all manner of amuse bouche, but the real star of the night was a sit-down dinner with a menu by Nick Curtola of Four Horsemen and I Cavallini. Guests dug into poached white asparagus topped with horseradish crème fraîche, lamb sausage and potatoes under a pile of crackly frisée, and strawberry rhubarb semifreddo for dessert.
The Entertainment: Edible Schoolyard NYC auctioned off an enviable slate of goodies, from a pass to skip the lines at some of New York’s most covetable restaurants (Wild Cherry, Via Carota, Ambassador’s Clubhouse New York, and Borgo among them), luxurious food-lovers’ trips to London and Tuscany, and tickets to the New York City Ballet and Broadway. Ultimately, Edible Schoolyard was able to raise over $900,000 for hands-on cooking and gardening education for New York children.
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