A Second Helping of Life
October 3rd, 2006 by Jasmine
As I walk down Law and Order Way (named for the television show filmed there) to the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, I think to myself exactly how many glasses of wine I will allow myself to imbibe at this event – an important event entitled “A Second Helping of Life” benefiting SHARE – an organization dedicated to self-help for women with Breast and Ovarian Cancer. I’m pretty sure my grandmother is a survivor of both breast and ovarian cancer, but she is very quiet about the ovarian cancer so I’m not 100% sure. I know she did survive breast cancer, however, and I know how serious an issue it is. Which is why, even though the event consisted of the Top Chefs and Top Wine Companies in New York City dedicating their time to tantalize our tastebuds, I knew I needed to keep it as simple and sober as possible – while still having fun.
I arrived at the Lighthouse – a huge space open for events directly on the Hudson River at Chelsea Piers – and took in the views. A wall of windows showed off the river, downtown Manhattan, and all of New Jersey. The room was full of people walking around with wine glasses, saying hello to each other and tasting each delicious morsel provided by the crème de la crème of New York City Restaurants including Del Posto, Butter, Pearl Oyster Bar, Nobu, Sarabeth’s Bakery, and many more. If the celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali weren’t enough, the event boasted celebrities “helping out” including Daphne Rubin-Vega from the original cast of Rent, Wendy Kaufman from VH1, and Kathleen Chalfant. A silent auction was set up along one wall showing off items donated to SHARE. Looking around, I noticed that the auction featured everything from a party with Bette Midler, a trip for two to Paris, to a massage at a New York City Spa.
After trying nearly every dish at the 50 or so tables throughout the space, and tasting several different types of wine, I thought to myself that I needed some coffee – to help sober a bit and digest the food. I walked over to the coffee table and decided to try my last dessert of the evening – a goat cheesecake dessert provided by Pastry Chef Kate Zuckerman from Chanterelle. Next to the table gushing about the excellent pastry chef, was none other than the famous Claudia Waite – soprano extraordinaire – who is going to be featured in this season’s Magic Flute at The Metropolitan Opera.
An avid opera fan, I was not sure if it was the wine finally kicking in, my excitement at meeting Claudia, or both, I tried to play it cool, while gulping my coffee to try to sober up very quickly. The results were practically disastrous as the coffee kicked in and I became extremely interested in everything Claudia had to say – perhaps seemed a little too interested. Slightly intoxicated, hyper, and excited, I started asking many questions and talking way too much. Kate and Claudia’s faces told me I was going overboard and, forgetting what I was even talking about, I made the decision to retreat immediately.
Sad to go, but knowing it was time, I put down my coffee and dessert, grabbed a bottle of water, and slipped out the front door to catch a car to my next event of the evening.
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Image Credit: Tricia Viola