Online Bids now being accepted at www.internationalrestaurantny.com/photoauction
Artwork to be showcased at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York
NORWALK, CT, January 28, 2008 — The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, March 9 – 11, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, is proud to announce a new Show feature – Photography for Philanthropy, a culinary art auction to benefit City Harvest. A group of renowned celebrity chefs have prepared exquisite culinary dishes that have been captured through the lens of famed photographer Diana DeLucia, publisher of New York Restaurant Insider. This prestigious group of chefs includes: Lidia Bastianich, Daniel Boulud, Tom Colicchio, Larry Forgione, Johnny Iuzzini, Jean – Georges Vongerichten, Francois Payard, Eric Ripert and Laurent Tourondel.
The 27”x 33” photographs are framed with high quality painted black frames from Italy. The photographs have been framed by preservation experts to help protect the image from long term degradation. The acid free matting is personally autographed by each chef, making this limited edition series authentic and original.
The online auction opened on Thursday, January 24th and closes at 11:00 pm on Sunday, February 24th. Opening bids begin at $250, with a second option to buy outright for $950.To bid on the artwork and to learn more about the collection, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com/photoauction.
In addition to the online auction, the entire collection of autographed photographs will be on display in a special exhibit on the Show floor of the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, March 9 – 11, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. On Monday, March 10th at 11:00 a.m. a check from the auction proceeds will be presented to City Harvest.
A brainchild of Diana DeLucia, the Photography for Philanthropy project is a way to bring the beauty of an outstanding chef’s culinary masterpiece to a wider audience while benefiting a worthwhile cause. “I have the opportunity to meet, interview and photograph the top chefs in the world every month, and I wanted a way to share these images with a broader audience,” DeLucia said. “We are delighted to partner with these leading celebrity chefs and have them help us give back to the New York community,” added DeLucia.
Ron Mathews, Industry Vice President for Reed Exhibitions’ Foodservice Events concurred, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved in this wonderful partnership of the culinary and art worlds and provide much needed support to City Harvest. We invite restaurant and foodservice professionals as well as foodies from around the country to bid on these wonderful collectors items.”
About the Participating Chefs
Lidia Bastianich – A best-selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and the star of a national cooking show on public television. Her cookbooks include her most recent book, Lidia’s Family Table — a companion book to her new television series, as well as La Cucina di Lidia, Lidia’s Italian Table and Lidia’s Italian – American Kitchen. Her next book and television show, Lidia’s Italy, is due out in April of 2007. She is the chef/owner of
four very successful New York City restaurants — Felidia, Becco, Esca and the newly opened Del Posto– and is the proud chef/owner of Lidia’s in Pittsburgh and Kansas City. In addition, Lidia has developed her own line of tomato-based sauces that are sold at upscale retail establishments nationally, and heads up an exclusive
travel company that develops and implements customized excursions to Italy that often combine gastronomy with art history. A noted food historian, Lidia gives lectures on Italian cuisine throughout the US and Italy.
Daniel Boulud – The Chef/Owner of the five award winning restaurants and the Feast & Fêtes catering company that make up The Dinex Group. He is also the author of six cookbooks and the creator of a line of “Connoisseur” gourmet products. While he hails from Lyon, it is in New York that he has truly mastered the culinary scene. Boulud’s style is marked for his unique use time honored French technique and the finest seasonal American ingredients. Over the last two decades, in addition to the artistry he performs to his New York City restaurants DANIEL, CAFE BOULUD and DB Bistro Moderne, the chef has also opened Café Boulud in Palm Beach and Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort. This January 2008 brings the opening of Bar Boulud, a casual bistro and wine bar coming to Manhattan’s Lincoln Center neighborhood. In spring 2008, the chef will take his talents much further a field with Maison Boulud, a French fine dining restaurant destined for Beijing’s Legation Quarter, an elegant complex of former consulate buildings.
Tom Colicchio – The Chef/Owner Craft Restaurants & ‘wichcraft and a judge since 2006 on Bravo Network’s reality series “Top Chef.” In 1994, Tom, along with partner Danny Meyer, opened Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park neighborhood. In 1996, Ruth Reichl of the New York Times awarded Gramercy Tavern three stars noting that Tom was “cooking with extraordinary confidence, creating dishes characterized by bold flavors and unusual harmonies.” One year later, Tom opened Craft. Soon thereafter, in July 2001, William Grimes of the New York Times awarded Craft with three stars naming Craft “a vision of food heaven.” After opening Craft and Craftbar in New York City, Tom opened Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in July 2002. In spring 2003, ‘wichcraft opened – a sandwich shop rooted in the same food and hospitality philosophies as Craft. ‘wichcraft now has six New York City locations, one in Las Vegas and most recently, a location in San Francisco. On “Top Chef” Tom is a part of every episode, serving as a guiding hand to contestants and as head judge to the celebrity chef panel.
Larry Forgione – If cooking is an art, then Forgione opened his first masterpiece in 1983 when he introduced An American Place to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, (The name was actually suggested by one of his mentors, the late James Beard, with whom he would spend hours discussing our national menu.) The humility of the name perfectly summed up the feeling of the menu, which exclusively featured American grown and produced products. In 1988 the restaurant relocated to a larger, grander space at Two Park Avenue and at the termination of the lease in 1999, moved to 525 Lexington Avenue at 50th Street. In 1991, Forgione opened The Beekman 1766 Tavern at the Beekman Arms, the oldest inn in America, in Rhinebeck, New York. It was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants that year and The New York Times’ Bryan Miller selected it as one of the 10 Best Destination Restaurants.
Johnny Iuzzini – In May of 2002, Chef/Owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten named Johnny the Executive Pastry Chef at his famed four star name-sake, Restaurant Jean Georges, as well as its café, Nougatine. In November 2002, Johnny was awarded the title of “Best New Pastry Chef” by New York Magazine’s Gael Green in its First Annual Chef Awards. In April 2003, Johnny was nominated for “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. In June of that year, Johnny was named one of the “10 Best Pastry Chefs in America” by Pastry Art and Design Magazine. He received the same honor in 2004, as well. In June of 2005, Johnny joined Jean Georges in the opening of his newest restaurant, Perry Street. Johnny assumed the role of Executive Pastry Chef for this restaurant in addition to his responsibilities at Restaurant Jean Georges and Nougatine. Perry Street earned three stars from the New York Times. In November 2005, Restaurant Jean Georges earned its most prestigious award to date, three Michelin stars. In May 2006, The James Beard Foundation awarded Johnny “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year.”
François Payard – A third generation French Pastry Chef from Nice, François cultivated his passion for the art of Pastry as a child in his grandfather’s acclaimed shop, Au Nid des Friandises on the Riviera. François’ desire to travel brought him to New York in 1990. His first position in New York as Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin (****NY Times), challenged him to create a new dessert repertoire and made him popular for his beautifully presented creations, bursting with delicate flavors and taste. In 1993 François Payard joined Chef Daniel Boulud for the opening of Restaurant Daniel (****NY Times) where he delighted guests with his chocolate and seasonal fruit menus. In August of 1997 François’ childhood dream of opening his own Pâtisserie and Bistro became a reality. Since Payard’s conception, François has continued to strive to innovate, perfect, educate and contribute his ideas and passion to the field of pastry. In 1998 he was acknowledged for this by being awarded “Pastry Chef of the Year” by the Bon Appétit Food & Entertainment Awards and again in 2001 by the International Pastry Competition Committee-Beaver Creek.
Eric Ripert – In 1989, Ripert seized the opportunity to work under Jean-Louis Palladin as sous-chef at Jean Louis at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Ripert moved to New York in 1991, working briefly as David Bouley’s sous-chef before Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze recruited him as chef for Le Bernardin. Ripert has since firmly established himself as one of New York’s—and the world’s—great chefs. In 1995, at just 29 years old, Ripert earned a four-star rating from the New York Times. Ten years later and for the fourth consecutive time, Le Bernardin again earned the New York Times’ highest rating of four stars, becoming the only restaurant to maintain this superior status for this length of time. Le Bernardin continues to receive universal critical acclaim for its food and service. The Michelin Guide, which made its New York debut in 2005, honored Chef Ripert and Le Bernardin with its highest rating of 3 stars in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Ripert is the Chair of City Harvest’s Food Council, working to bring together New York’s top restaurateurs to raise funds and increase the quality and quantity of donations to New York’s neediest.
Laurent Tourondel – Executive Chef/Partner, BLT Restaurants has accomplished beautifully a nearly impossible task—the seamless integration of haute French sensibilities into the hearty constituents of American cuisine. Indeed he has explored American food with the probing curiosity of a true chef, one who understands and appreciates the innate charms of quality ingredients and how they will respond to his classic techniques. The result, and indeed the success of the expanding BLT concept, speaks for itself. Tourondel’s successful interpretations of American steak and fish houses have spawned a number of satellite projects including BLT Burger, which opened in New York City in 2006. Lively and casual, it features a variety of burgers, shakes and sides. BLT Burger is scheduled to open at The Mirage in Las Vegas in spring 2008. BLT Steak outposts in Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Dallas and White Plains have brought the inimitable flavors of the BLT name to new communities of diners.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten – Internationally reputed for his innovative, groundbreaking cuisine, Jean-Georges Vongerichten has emerged as one of the country’s leading chefs. Acclaimed by critics as ‘formidably gifted,’ a ‘residential genius’ and the ‘enfant terrible of modern French cooking’, his culinary vision has consistently set new standards and helped define today’s generation of cooking. In 1986, Jean-Georges Vongerichten burst onto the New York dining scene at the Lafayette in the Drake Swissotel, dazzling diners with his innovative interpretation of classic French cuisine and earning four stars from The New York Times at the age of 29. In the first of many bold moves that has established him as a culinary trendsetter; Jean-Georges traded in this formal 4-star dining room for paper-clothed tables and opened his charming bistro Jo Jo in 1991. Jean-Georges’ next venture, Vong, paid homage to the spices and flavors of the East, a passion he developed during the three and a half years he lived and worked in the Orient. In March of 1997 Jean-Georges opened restaurant Jean Georges in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, earning a 4-star review from The New York Times less than three months after opening. In 1998 he opened The Mercer Kitchen at the stylish Mercer Hotel in SoHo, Prime, a steakhouse located in Steve Wynn’s Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
ABOUT CITY HARVEST
City Harvest 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 20 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 more than 600 community food programs throughout New York City using a fleet of 16 trucks and volunteers on foot. Each week, City Harvest helps over 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their next meal. For more information, visit www.cityharvest.org.
ABOUT THE SPONSORS
The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, taking place March 9-11, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, is the premiere foodservice event in the Northeast. Over 18,000 foodservice professionals visit with more than 650+ exhibitors during the three day event that offers a plethora of educational programs and special events. For more information, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com.
New York Restaurant Insider Magazine is a monthly culinary magazine that presents its readers with in-depth looks at New York’s best known chefs and restaurateurs, with just the right mix of creative editorial and photography. Visit www.nyrestaurantindsider.com.
Bently Construction, Inc. was formed seven years ago by combining four key people with vast experience in the construction and management industries. Bently Construction Inc. offers not just an experienced builder, but a highly trained management team with their client’s goals in mind. Bently will meet the needs and budget with the highest quality and service in the industry. Visit www.bentlyconstruction.com.
