Daniel Boulud Hosts Annual Sunday Supper Benefitting Citymeals On Wheels
Restaurant Daniel opened its doors Sunday night to 180 philanthropic New Yorkers, who gathered for chef Daniel Boulud's 19th annual Sunday Supper benefitting Citymeals on Wheels.
Together with guest chefs Michael Anthony, Frank Castronovo, Scott Conant, Frank Falcinelli, Marcus Gleadow-Ware, and Charlie Palmer, the team prepared a multi-course late-winter menu for the sold-out 'Black Tie and Blue Jeans' event.
Guests enjoyed a variety of canapes upon arriving at the event, including wagyu beef tartare with black truffle and caciocavallo; Hamachi crudo with ginger, blood orange, and pistachio; and black truffle and quail ballotine. Dinner highlights include Palmer and Gleadow-Ware's Maine butter-poached lobster and Boulud's high plains buffalo 'rossini.'
On the inspiration for the night's culinary offerings, chef Boulud tells us, "This year's dinner had a local focus and included many wonderful guest chefs... It's a representation of how important the fraternity of chefs is to Citymeals... To create the menu we share our ideas for different dishes, and make choices based on what is exciting, seasonal, luxurious. The goal is for each dish to express the chefs' personal style, and of course be seasonal, delicious and in harmony with the wines."
The evening included live and silent auctions of unique travel and dining experiences, specialty gourmet selections, and rare and large format wines. Live auction lots included a trip to Paris, Burgundy, and Champagne, and a private after-hours dessert testing at chef Dominique Ansel's U.P. tasting table. Silent auction items included weekend getaways to Montreal, Nashville, and D.C., and dinner for two at db Bistro Moderne with tickets to Hamilton.
When asked about the choice of Citymeals as the exclusive charity for his Sunday Supper series, Boulud tells The Daily Meal, "Gael Greene and James Beard founded Citymeals in 1981 and always kept relationships in the restaurant community. It has always been a charity supported by many chefs in New York and all over the country... I felt it was very important to give back to our fellow New Yorkers who were the generation before us. Citymeals does this by bringing daily hot meals and a human touch to elderly New Yorkers who cannot cook or shop and feel isolated by themselves."
With the support of the City of New York, Citymeals board members, and designated grants for administrative expenses, 100 percent of ticket sales and donations in support of the event will be used for the preparation and delivery of meals. The event raised nearly $840,000 to prepare and deliver 130,742 meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers.