On Tuesday, October 22^nd, the Appetite for Good team and nearly 1,000 guests at the Metropolitan Pavilion were treated to quite an amazing evening. The event raised $1.3 million. To put that into context, that’s enough money to feed:

• More than 5.4 million people for a day
• More than 770,000 people for a week
• More than 178,000 people for a month
• More than 14,840 people for an entire year
• More than 4,900 families for an entire year

From the minute we walked inside, there was an electric buzz in the air. And who was there? Everyone in the NYC culinary world, including board members: Eric Ripert and Marc Murphy,  some familiar faces: Chris Santos, Marcus Samuelsson and some new faces: Andy Ricker, Leah Cohen.

With 80 restaurants represented, it was impossible to eat every dish. (Trust me, we thought about it!) Here are just a few of our favorite bites from the evening:

• Le Bernardin “Shrimp Bouillabaisse”

• The Marrow “Taylor Bay Scallops with Giardiniere Mignonette”

• Beauty & Essex “Hand-cut Prime Steak Tartare with Mustard-kissed Brioche, Egg Yolk and Shaved Grana”

• El Colmado “Arroz Negro”

• Pig & Khao “Vietnamese Meatballs, Picked Vegetable Salad and Lime-chili Sambal Aioli”

• Hudson Valley Foie Gras “Torchon of Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Fig and Hazelnut Crumble”

• Buttermilk Channel “Merguez Sausage with Baby Clam Vinaigrette”

• Aldea “Roasted Potato Soup with Benton’s Bacon and Clams”

• Landmarc “Creamy Grits with Charred Kale and Sweet Italian Sausage”

• SD26 Restaurant & Wine Bar “Mini Uovo Raviolo”

• FP Patisserie “Assortment of Payard Mini Pastries”

• Dough “Assorted Gourmet Doughnuts”

• Mad Mac’s Macarons

There were also some specialty cocktails provided by:

• Ward III “Old Forester Old Fashioned”
• L’Apicio “Escape to Alexandria with Brooklyn Gin”
• The Butterfly “Whiskey Sour with Old Forester”

Then it was time for the live auction. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing Nicholas Lowry from Swann Auction Galleries in action before, so we know he likes to get the audience warmed up with a surprise auction item.

This year he really got the crowd going when Dominique Ansel and Questlove jumped onstage to auction off a dozen cronuts. If you live in New York City, you know how obsessed the city has become with these treats and the auction was no different. The bidding started off at $100 with the final winning bid coming in at $14,000 — that’s about $1,100 for each cronut.

Nick kept things going with the rest of the live auction:

• Marcus Samuelson auctioned off a walking tour of Harlem and dinner at Ginny’s Supper Club for $20,000
• A private dinner with Marc Murphy and Amanda Freitag at Landmark Columbus Circle went for $16,000
• Eric Ripert and Aldo Sohm auctioned off a wine class and dinner at the winner’s home for $42,000

We also had the opportunity to chat with some of the team running on City Harvest’s NYC Marathon team. The team includes City Harvest employees, chef Ivy Stark, members of organizations who donate to City Harvest, and some City Harvest friends.

The team has already surpassed their pledge goal of $50,000. If you would like to support City Harvest’s Marathon Team, you can sponsor a team member:

http://www.crowdrise.com/cityharvestnyc2013/fundraiser/cityharvestinc

Were we dazzled by City Harvest’s Bid Against Hunger event? Oh yes we were! We can’t wait to see what they have planned for next year.

About City Harvest
Now serving New York City for 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.

Photo: Karen Ko

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• Coming Soon: City Harvest Bid Against Hunger
• Bid Against Hunger 2012
• UPCOMING: City Harvest Hosts 9th Annual Summer in the City

Project by Project is a national volunteer organization of social entrepreneurs that serves Asian-American non-profits and helps to raise money, raise awareness, and improve outreach in the community. This year’s event by the New York chapter was held on behalf of the Film News Now Foundation (FNN), a nonprofit organization that makes films to provide information, awareness and content that serves to build capacity and community for social justice and change.

With over 400 attendees, The Appetite for Good team was privileged to attend and join in on the fun. The evening kicked off with a lively mixology contest hosted by FOX 5’s Ti-Hua Chang and judged by actor Brian Young from Hawaii Five-0 and Tara Szczepanski, Miss Earth NY 2013.

Chef Kerry Heffernan of Top Chef Masters also made a special guest appearance at the event.

But of course our favorite part of the evening was sampling the tasty bites!  Here are our top picks of the night (in random order):

·        Yerba Buena Perry “Taco De Costilla”

·        Barn Joo “Braised Beef Short Rib”

·        Maharlika “Sayote Soup, Beef Tapa and Toasted Garlic”

·        Cherry “Mangalista Pork Macarons”

·        Bell Book & Candle “Lobster Taco”

·        Obao “Massamun Chicken Curry Dip”

·        Thalassa “Lobster Pumpkin Bisque Katifi”

·        The Sea Grill “Sepia Carbonara”

Cherry’s “Mangalista Pork Macarons” won the award of the night as the audience’s favorite restaurant. The dish was a revelation marrying sweet and savory in a delectable bite.

But the Appetite team’s personal favorite of the night was the “Sepia Carbonara” from The Sea Grill. We happily went back for seconds (ok maybe that was thirds).

The evening’s attendees enjoyed a great selection of drinks and cocktails from Hiro Sake, Middle Branch, Sake Discoveries, Tiger Beer, World of Sake, and Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, just to name a few.

New Yorkers always love a night filled with good food and fun people to enjoy it with and this year’s Plate by Plate definitely delivered on both!

Congrats to Project by Project for another successful event and we look forward to next year!

More about the organizations:

Project by Project is a national volunteer organization of social entrepreneurs that serves Asian American non-profits in need by raising public awareness, volunteerism, and capital. Every year, each local chapter partners with a community-based organization and tailors a year-long campaign to help its fundraising, community outreach and public awareness efforts. Project by Project Incorporated is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Film News Now Foundation (FNN) creates films targeted to the US and international market to raise awareness of Asians and Asian Americans in the United States for their past contributions. The foundation has supported many independent filmmakers, in particular, Asians, Asian Americans and women. In the past, the Film News Now Foundation has sponsored projects by Ang Lee, Mira Nair, J.T. Takagi, Lonnie Ding, Renee Tajima, Peggy Stern and numerous other independent filmmakers. One of their most well-known films is the Oscar-nominated Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987).

Photo: Karen Ko

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This Friday, October 4^th, Project By Project will host the 15^th annual Plate by Plate tasting benefit. This signature event takes place every year in NYC, LA, and San Francisco. This year, the Appetite for Good team will join them to celebrate their 15th Annual event at 82Mercer.

Plate by Plate New York showcases NYC’s premier restaurants and is attended by over 500 food and wine loving guests. Guests will enjoy tasty bites prepared by some of NYC’s best restaurants including Bell Book & Candle, Blue Smoke, Jin Ramen, Maharlika, Thalassa Restaurant, The Sea Grill, and Yerba Buena Perry — just to name a few.  This year’s event will feature a special guest appearance by Chef Kerry Heffernan of Top Chef Masters.

There will also be a silent auction offering chances to win items such as an autographed NY Jets football, vouchers for 7 nights at St James Club-Antigua, passes to Disney Theme Parks, and gift certificates to many great restaurants and entertainment venues!

This year, Project by Project is fundraising for the Film News Now Foundation, a nonprofit organization that makes films to provide information, awareness and content that serves to build capacity and community for social justice and change.

So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets now!

http://platebyplate2013.eventbee.com/

Friday, October 4, 2013
82MERCER
82 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10012
VIP Reception: 6:00 – 7:30pm
General Admission: 7:30 – 10:30pm
Dress code: Black tie optional
http://www.platebyplate.org/ny

If you’ve never been to Plate by Plate, check out a video from last year’s event!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLF0434445315C6574&v=p6rbQpEqFIE
More about the organizations:

Project by Project is a national volunteer organization of social entrepreneurs that serves Asian American non-profits in need by raising public awareness, volunteerism, and capital. Every year, each local chapter partners with a community-based organization and tailors a year-long campaign to help its fundraising, community outreach and public awareness efforts. Project by Project Incorporated is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Film News Now Foundation (FNN) creates films targeted to the US and international market to raise awareness of Asians and Asian Americans in the United States for their past contributions. The foundation has supported many independent filmmakers, in particular, Asians, Asian Americans and women. In the past, the Film News Now Foundation has sponsored projects by Ang Lee, Mira Nair, J.T. Takagi, Lonnie Ding, Renee Tajima, Peggy Stern and numerous other independent filmmakers. One of their most well-known films is the Oscar-nominated Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987).

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• Project by Project’s 2013 Plate by Plate
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That slight chill in the air means Fall is upon us and one of the most highly anticipated food event in New York City is right around the corner! City Harvest is getting ready to host their 19^th annual Big Against Hunger tasting event on Tuesday, October 22^nd at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

Last year Bid Against Hunger attracted over 900 people and raised more than $1 million for City Harvest.  Anthony Bordain even stopped by for a special appearance!

If you have not been to Bid Against Hunger, you are in for a truly memorable night.  With over 70 participating chefs, it will be a literal ‘who’s who’ of the New York City culinary world.  (Check out our coverage of last year’s event here)

This year’s event will honor Stacy and Joel Hock and will feature chefs including Marc Murphy, Leah Cohen, Chris Santos, Andy Ricker, Harold Dieterle, and Matthew Lightner just to name a few.

The walk around tasting event will feature chef tasting bites from New York City’s top restaurants (see the list here).  This year’s VIP Room will include a tasting of premium specialty wines and champagnes, curated by Aldo Sohn, Chef Sommelier of Le Bernardin.  Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on exclusive prizes in the live and silent auctions.

The Appetite For Good team is thrilled to be covering this culinary event again and we hope to see you there!

Purchase your tickets today before they sell out:  https://giving.cityharvest.org/bid-2013-tickets

About City Harvest:

Now serving New York City for more than 30 years, 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 46 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 400 community food programs throughout New York City using a fleet of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the more than one million New Yorkers that face hunger each year.

City Harvest also addresses hunger’s underlying causes by supporting affordable access to nutritious food in low-income communities, educating individuals, families, and communities in the prevention of diet-related diseases, channeling a greater amount of local farm food into high-need areas, and enhancing the ability of our agency partners to feed hungry men, women, and children.

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• City Harvest’s 19th Annual Bid Against Hunger
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A look inside the culinary efforts to rebuild the Motor City

Detroit-based Eastern Market Corporation (EMC) is leveraging the city’s Eastern Market’s dynamic history as a way to jump-start the revitalization of a culturally rich city. The non-profit is currently crafting a plan to launch the most inclusive, resilient and robust regional food hub in the United States, according to Dan Carmody, president.

“We’re providing critical infrastructure to strengthen the Eastern Market District, improve access to healthy, green, affordable and fair food choices in Detroit and throughout Southeast Michigan and to fortify the food sector as a pillar of regional economic growth,” said Carmody.

Currently, the non-profit is operating 19 pop-up farm stand locations to improve food access and promote employee wellness programs and provide umbrella services to 14 members of the Detroit Community Markets Network, as well as working with Detroit Public Schools to improve student meal content and healthy food consumption.

In terms of expanding the Eastern Market’s visibility, EMC is renovating Shed 5 to create and build a shared-use community kitchen and the Eastern Market Green Grocer in an attempt to improve food access four days a week, when the market is not open for retail customers. It’s replacing Shed 4 with a structure that includes 48 units of workforce housing in addition to market space to provide a mixed-use market hall model. “We are converting a 104,000 square foot abandoned building to create a regional food accelerator to expedite the growth of scalable food enterprises,” he added.

Another unique initiative EMC is working on is “Detroit Spiritual Brunch” which will debut in spring 2014. The concept behind the brunch is to bring together three to four faith groups on a weekly basis to showcase a few recipes and their musical ministries and to collaborate with local-area chefs. The food will be cooked in the Community Kitchen in Shed 5.

“We believe Eastern Market is a place that can help improve the supply of and demand for fruits and vegetables throughout Detroit by operating programs with many community partners,” said Carmody. “We look for ways to both celebrate good food as well as ways to make it easier for Detroit residents to source good food.”

For those looking to partner with EMC, please contact Tracy Rivard, director of development at trivard@detroiteasternmarket.com and for further information, go to http://www.michigan.org/.

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On June 19^th, Generation Harvest hosted the 12^th Annual Summer In the City tasting and cocktail party at The Metropolitan Pavilion.  Generation Harvest is City Harvest’s young professionals group and Summer In the City is their biggest event of the year.

The Appetite For Good team joined Generation Harvest and over 650 guests as they raised $300,000 (an event record) – enough to help feed over 170,000 hungry New Yorkers for an entire week!

This year’s Summer in the City featured some of New York City’s culinary stars including Chopped Chef Marc Murphy, Top Chef contestant Leah Cohen, Chef Ed McFarland and over 30 of New York’s hottest restaurants and cocktail lounges.  A special thanks goes out to the event sponsors of the night including Nespresso, Empire Merchants, Groupon and Rums of Puerto.

One of the highlights of the evening was Groupon’s interactive digital graffiti booth which allowed guests to take a photo,  draw graffiti on it via a projection, and take home the final print out (see our picture above!).

But of course the food tastings were the main attraction of the evening and we noticed a few new changes this year.  We spoke with Generation Harvest’s Co-Chair Julien Vernet who shared with us that “Generation Harvest made a conscious decision to add more vegetarian options over the last few years.  This was partly based on feedback from attendees, but also because they recognize that more chefs are creating innovative vegetarian dishes.”   Even a few chefs mentioned that since it was the beginning of a hot Summer, they preferred to serve lighter and cooler dishes this year.

So what were our favorites? While there were many amazingly delicious plates served this year, our top picks were:

• Delicatessen – Peach and Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with Peekytoe Crab Salad

• Hecho en Dumbo – Ensalada Cesar Roasted Cauliflower Caesar Salad with Fresh Parmigiano Cheese

• Pig & Khao – Yum Woonsen

• Zengo – Korean Fried Chicken with Corn-Potato Salad, Pickled Chayote, Gochujang Sauce

• Ed’s Lobster – Lobster Rolls

• Yerba Buena – Tacos de Costilla

• Corsino Cantina – Marinated Summer Squash Involtino with Fresh Ricotta, Mint & Tomatoes

• Feast – Beet Ravioli Catapano Goat Cheese Mache Saba

Ever wonder how they select which restaurants to include in their events?

All of the restaurants and bars for Summer In The City are handpicked by City Harvest and Generation Harvest.  Each year, Generation Harvest strives to feature both new, well-reviewed restaurants that recently opened such as Pig & Khao and crowd favorites such as Marc Murphy’s Ditch Plains and Dinosaur Bar-B-Q.  The restaurants and the chefs are always the biggest draw to the event, hence Generation Harvest always ensures that their event features an incredible line-up.

In addition to the impressive selection of participating restaurants, this year’s event also featured two special performances by Rakiem Walker Project and Howie Day.  Needless to say, Howie Day played all the crowd favorites including their 2003 hit single “Collide.”

It was one of the best Summer in the City ever.  If you missed this year’s Summer in the City, be sure to save the date for City Harvest’s next food tasting event Bid Against Hunger on October 22^nd.  PS: Tickets are already on sale: http://www.cityharvest.org/donate-funds/special-events

About Summer in the City

This year’s participating restaurants and beverage stations for Summer in the City includes: Ardesia Wine Bar, The Beagle, Benchmark Restaurant, Bis CO. Latte, BLT Fish Shack, Booker and Dax, Butcher Bar, Corsino Cantina, Delaney Barbecue, Delicatessen, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Ditch Plains, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Ed’s Lobster Bar, Extra Virgin Restaurant, Feast, French Roast Downtown, Genting Palace,  Hecho en Dumbo,  Melt Bakery, Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York Cake Pops, Oceana, Pig & Khao, Rhong Tiam, Silver Lining, The Smith, The Stanton Social, SUSHISAMBA, Tom Cat Bakery, The Treats Truck Stop, Valrhona Chocolate, Victor’s Café, Yerba Buena Perry, and Zengo. The VIP lounge sponsored by Nespresso will allow guests to enjoy the Ultimate Coffee Experience, Nespresso sensory cocktails and specialty creations designed by chefs Michelle Bernstein, Marc Forgione and others!

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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Presented by The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District, the event was a celebration of prominent chefs and restaurants who have come to support the Upper West Side neighborhood in the recent years.  All net proceeds are dedicated to neighborhood projects, including this year’s recipient, the  Columbus Avenue Streetscape Project.

Saturday’s  “Best of the West” event was hosted by Top Chef Judge, Gail Simmons .  Under the big white tent that spanned the entire block, we celebrated the Upper West Side with food tastings showcasing 40 chefs and restaurateurs with wine and spirits galore.

It was a hot, sultry night – literally.  I don’t think the restaurants were expecting the heat wave that struck New York City that day.  Fortunately the heat wave didnot dampen anyone’s spirits!  We even discovered a new way to serve champagne courtesy of an upside down aerialist (you  try that at your next dinner party).

Some of the biggest names in the culinary world came out to support the Upper West Side including our favorite Chefs Marc Murphy (Landmarc restaurants and Chopped on Food Network) and Jacques Torres (Jacques Torres Chocolate).

While there were many delicious plates served that night, here are  our personal favorites:

• Red Farm Steamed Chicken and Shrimp Dumpling

• Jean Georges Peekytoe Crabcake with Sugar Snap Pea Remoulade

• Bar Boulud Harissa Marinated Lamb

• ‘Cesca Veal & Fontina Agnolotti with Asparagus and Lemon

• Shake Shack Smokeshack Burger

• Ocean Grill Skuna Bay Salmon Tartare with Sesame, Ginger, Avocado

• Corvo Bianco Burrata Salad

• Picholine Minted Pea Macaron Brownie “Ganache” Candied Bacon

A special moment of the night came when Gail Simmons paid tribute to the night’s honorees: restaurateur Danny Meyer, founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and his USHG Upper West Side colleague, Randy Garutti, the CEO of Shake Shack.

After the guests had their fill of food and drinks, the crowd danced throughout the night to the live music provided by Joe Bataglia and his 17-piece ensemble, “The New York Big Band.”

The “Best of the West” was a successful fundraising event for the Columbus Avenue Streetscape Project!

http://www.newtasteuws.com/best.html

About the Columbus Avenue Streetscape Project:

The sustainable Streetscape project for the block between W.76-W.77th Streets and Columbus Avenue is finally scheduled to begin construction on or about March 1st. The plans include the following:

• 6 benches
• 5 new tree beds in front of the schoolyard fence which will be planted with new trees and seasonal plantings
• An expansion of the existing tree beds with new tree guards to protect the plants
• In-ground solar lighting, to add safety to the street as well as a means of way-finding
• A BigBelly solar-compacting trash container (already in place and sponsored by Shake Shack)
• A bioswale (This is a storm-water collection area that looks like a tree bed, but functions very differently, collecting and reusing water that would normally go into the sewers. It will have a tree and seasonal plantings that can survive with lots of water. This will be the first one in NYC.

Funding for this project, with the exception of the BigBelly solar-compacting receptacle, which was sponsored by Shake Shack, has come exclusively from our revenue from New Taste of the Upper West Side. It has taken 5 years to be able to finally move forward with this. We are hopeful of receiving a grant from Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal to continue these sustainable elements down the rest of the Columbus Avenue BID area.

Photo: Carmel Mushin

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Come join the Appetite For Good team as City Harvest’s young professionals group, Generation Harvest, hosts its 12^th annual Summer In The City tasting and cocktail party.  This summer’s biggest event will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18^th Street, NYC) on Wednesday, June 19^th.

Summer in the City provides guests with the opportunity to see some of the city’s newest culinary stars in action. It is Generation Harvest’s biggest fundraising event of the year and is attended by New York City’s young philanthropists and tastemakers.

Last year, 650 guests celebrated a hot, sultry Summer Solstice evening and helped raise over $230,000, enough to help City Harvest feed nearly 900,000 hungry New Yorkers.

This year’s event promises to be even better with delicious tastings and cocktails from Booker and Dax, Delaney Barbecue, Ditch Plains, Feast, Hecho en Dumbo, Pig  & Khao, The Smith, The Stanton Social, and many others (see full list below). There will also be special musical performances from Rakiem Walker Project and Howie Day and a digital graffiti photo booth sponsored by Groupon. And don’t forget about some exciting raffle prizes including a 6-month lease on a car.

VIP tickets are already sold out but General Admission tickets ($150) are still available.

Click here to purchase tickets:

https://giving.cityharvest.org/summer-in-the-city-2013-ticket-purchase

So come join us for the best restaurant tasting event to kick off the Summer season the right way!

About City Harvest
Now serving New York City for 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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On May 2nd, the Appetite for Good team had the pleasure of  attending the Grand Gourmet – Flavors of Midtown event in the Vanderbilt Hall of Grand Central Terminal.  Although many of us have walked through the Vanderbilt Hall in transit to and from work, the hall was completely transformed that evening into a stunning venue lit with colored, patterned lights and rich décor.  The Grand Gourmet attracted over 1,000 guests this year, raising funds for the Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services Corporation, a vital organization to the city of New York that provides services for the homeless.

Over thirty celebrated restaurants in the Midtown area served a wide array of delicious bites, both sweet and savory.   Accompanying beverages for the evening included cocktails from Campbell Apartments, Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace beer, and a variety of local wines.  Notable restaurants at the event included Grand Central Oyster Bar, Murray’s Cheese, Cibo, and Capital Grille, among others.

Here are some of our favorite nibbles from the evening:

Ammos Estiatorio: Grilled Mediterranean Octopus with Fennel, Capers, Parsley in Red Wine Vinaigrette & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Capital Grille: Kona Rub Tenderloin with Shallot Butter

O’Casey’s: Reuben Roll: A Classic Reuben updated with cream cheese and a wrapped in a soft tortilla

Triomphe: Roasted Candied Beets with Vegetable Ash Goat Cheese and Micro Basil Salad

The centerpiece of the Grand Gourmet this year was a historical lamppost from decades ago that had been part of NYC when Grand Central Terminal was first built.

Reconstructed from several lampposts, the lamppost showcased was the only original one left.   It serves as a historical reminder of the Grand Central’s past, a celebratory icon for Grand Central’s Centennial Year, and connection to Midtown’s history.

What a great way to bring the neighborhood together while helping others! If you missed this year’s Grand Gourmet event, you can still support those in need by donating funds or volunteering at Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services. To find out how to volunteer in your area, please visit: http://www.grandcentralneighborhood.org/volunteer/

About Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services Corporation (GCNSSC):

GCNSSC aids the homeless in the Midtown area by offering immediate assistance in the forms of food, clothing, and showers as well as long term social services such as employment counseling, treatment and referrals, and housing assistance. GCNSSC considers itself a bridge to a more secure life and takes care to customize its services for each individual to give each individual a greater chance of continued success.

Photo: Carmel Mushin

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This year’s Taste of Hope honored Chef Marc Murphy, the owner and executive chef of Benchmarc Restaurants and judge of the Food Network’s hit show CHOPPED.  Other notable guests included, CBS News Anchor Chris Wragge and Chefs Todd English, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Ferraro, Franklin Becker, Marcus Ware and Jesse Schenker.

Having recently been honored at City Harvest’s Practical Magic, it was indeed a great honor for Chef Marc Murphy to be recognized at the Taste of Hope for his contribution, leadership and support in the fight against cancer.

Chef Marc Murphy shared with us that this honor from the American Cancer Society this year meant a lot to him as his wife is a breast cancer survivor.  Marc’s charismatic yet down to earth personality is truly an inspiration to many others for his impressive achievements in his career and his dedication to charity organizations that fight to end hunger and cancer.

The Taste of Hope was a packed event filled with hungry guests, eager to sample tastings from New York’s hottest restaurants including Red Rooster, Recette, Landmarc, Delicatessen, Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya, Beauty & Essex, Almond, Dinosaur Barbeque, Buddakan, The Smith, and many more.

We sampled many delicious savory plates, however there were a few that stood out (and had us coming back for seconds too).

Here are the dishes that had us coming back for more:

Aureole: Wagu Beef Carpaccio, crispy Shitake, scallions, taro root, ponzu lavash cracker

Delicatessen: Avocado Soup with Peekytoe Crab Salad

Of course there were our favorite classics:

Dinosaur Barbeque:  Pulled Pork Slider

Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya: Hand Rolls

Luke’s Lobster: Shrimp Roll

Just when we thought we had covered the entire Taste of Hope, we realized that there was an entire room dedicated to desserts from delicious bakeries, restaurants, and catering companies including Magnolia Bakery, Clinton Street Bakery, Georgetown Cupcakes, Alison Eighteen, Bonne Fete Baking, our favorite peanut butter brand, Peanut Butter & Co. and many more.

While we must admit that we were pretty stuffed by the time we got around to the dessert room, we did manage to find our third stomach for sweets.  Some of our favorite desserts were:

Delicatessen: Lemon Cheesecake with Chilled Strawberry Broth and Baby Shiso

Bonne Fete Baking: Chocolate Bombshells (to die for!)

Fabipops: Cake pops and Cake truffles

The live portion of the night was kicked off with the emcee of the evening, CBS News Reporter Chris Wragge and this year’s culinary chair, Chef Todd English who introduced the honoree of the evening, Chef Marc Murphy.

For the ACS’s 100th Birthday, a special cake tower was brought out by the Carlos’ Bakery team (who made the cake) and a special guest was brought on stage to partake in their celebration, cancer survivor Penny Islop. The crowd sang a touching Happy Birthday to Penny, after which Penny joined Chef Marc Murphy in blowing the candles and cutting the cake.

This year’s Taste of Hope raised over $175,000 for the American Cancer Society.  If you did not have a chance to attend this year’s Taste of Hope, you can still support the fight against cancer by making a donation to the American Cancer Society here.

To learn more about how you can make a difference, please visit: http://www.cancer.org

About the American Cancer Society:

For nearly 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Together with millions of our supporters worldwide, ACS is helping people stay well, helping people get well, finding cures, and fighting back against cancer.

Photo: Hazel Sy

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