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Citymeals-On-Wheels Honors Nick Valenti
of Restaurant Associates at its 21st Annual Chef's Tribute Benefit
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2006 – NEW YORK, NY – Citymeals-on-Wheels raised more than $1 million tonight when Tutto Italia, this year’s Annual Chefs’ Tribute in Rockefeller Center, honored Nick Valenti, CEO of Restaurant Associates and the event’s Grand Host. Forty world-renowned chefs—many flown in from Italy—brought to life the sights, sounds, tastes and aromas of an Italian feast for the benefit of Citymeals, a non-profit organization that provides home-delivered, nutritious meals to frail, homebound seniors in New York City.
More than 1,200 of New York’s business leaders, social and cultural trendsetters and gourmets mingled with the world’s leading Italian and American chefs – and sampled their creations – during this movable feast straight out of the Mediterranean. With cuisines from Modena in the north to Naples in the south, Tutto Italia embraced a full range of Italian cuisine, from creamy risotto and homemade sausage to spicy salami and sweet gelato. After an evening of treats, sweets, vino, and signature cocktails, guests enjoyed the ultimate in sightseeing: the night’s sky, as they danced under the stars until midnight to the sounds of a lively band and strolling musicians which added another savory dash of Italian zest to the festivities.
“Tonight we raise our glasses in a toast of ‘salute’ to Nick Valenti who brought together some of the world’s finest Italian chefs and whose extraordinary generosity and dedication made this event possible”, said Marcia Stein, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels. “Every dollar we raised from ticket sales at Tutto Italia will help Citymeals-on-Wheels provide more than 200,000, nutritious, hand-delivered meals for needy homebound elderly New Yorkers throughout the coming months.”
Among the chefs who created culinary magic at the 21st Annual Chefs’ Tribute were:
Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta, Ristorante di Mare, Las Vegas
Mario Batali, Babbo, NY and B & B, Las Vegas
Chris Bianco, Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana, Modena
Luca Brasi, La Lucanda, Osio Sotto (Bergamo)
Ed Brown, The Sea Grill, NY
Andrew Carmellini, A Voce, NY
Cesare Casella, Maremma, NY
Tom Colicchio, Craftsteak, NY
Antonello Colonna, Ristorante Antonello Colonna, Labico (Roma)
Franck Deletrain, Café Centro, NY
Roberto Donna, Galileo da Roberto Donna, Washington, DC
Todd English, English is Italian (NYC)
Gennaro Esposito, La Torre del Saracino, Vico Equense (Napoli)
Odette Fada, San Domenico, NY
Larry Forgione, An American Place, NY / St. Louis
Richard Leach, Park Avenue Café, New York
The Maccioni Family with Patrick Nuti, Osteria del Circo, NY / Las Vegas
Umberto Montano, Alle Murate, Firenze
Charlie Palmer and Dante Boccuzzi, Aureole, NY
Roberto Petza, S’Apposentu, Cagliari (Sardinia)
Alfred Portale, Gotham Bar & Grill, NY
Antonio Prontelli, Rock Center Café, NY
Seppi Renggli, Restaurant Associates, NY
Davide Scabin, Combal.Zero, Rivoli (Torino)
Theo Schoenegger, Patina Restaurant, Los Angeles
Piero Selvaggio with Angelo Auriana, Valentino, Santa Monica and Luciano Pellegrini, Valentino, Las Vegas
Joachim Splichal, The Patina Group, Los Angeles
Ciccio Sultano, Ristorante Duomo, Ragusa
Mauro Uliassi, Uliassi, Cucina di Mare, Senigallia (Ancona)
Tom Valenti, Ouest, NY
Marc Vetri, Vetri, Philadelphia
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto, NY
Michael White, Fiamma Osteria, NY
Marco Wiles, Da Marco and Dolce Vita Pizzeria Enoteca, Houston
Over the course of the year, Citymeals will underwrite 2.3 million meals to nearly 17,000 seniors in New York City. One hundred percent of donations from the public to Citymeals goes toward hand-delivered meals for homebound seniors. For more information, visit www.citymeals.org.
