Chefs Benefiting More Chefs
Last week, I was lucky enough to get a press pass to a benefit at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan honoring Gotham Bar and Grill chef and owner Alfred Portale for his contributions to the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a charity that helps New York high school students with the drive—but maybe not the money—to learn how to cook.
Tickets started at $450 and went up to $1000, and the room was packed with 600 generous guests, corporate sponsors like Charmer Sunbelt Group and Nestle, and staff from 37 of New York’s top restaurants, offering samples like crudo of ahi tuna topped with Glidden Point oysters, lemon and parsley (Fabio Trabocchi of Fiamma), quince cheesecake with pistachio phyllo (Nancy Olsen of Gramercy Tavern), and squash torelloni with sage, wild mushrooms, and pinenuts (Bill Telepan of Telepan) and pappa al pomodoro (Odette Fada of San Domenico).
