On Tuesday, February 25th the annual C-CAP (Careers Through Culinary Arts Program) event hosted its 30TH Anniversary Benefit giving guests the chance to sample signature dishes by NYC’s hottest chefs, all while raising money to empower underserved youth. Founded in 1990 by Richard Grausman, this national nonprofit has created exceptional culinary art programming, scholarship opportunities and lifetime career support all centered around the art of food for over 300,000 kids. Held at Pier Sixty – Chelsea Piers, this special evening honored both Grausman and another industry icon, Sarabeth Levine (world-renowned Baker/Author/Restaurateur.)
Janice Huff, (NBC Chief Meteorologist) emceed the evening and was joined by Tim Zagat (Co-Founder Zagat), Marcus Samuelsson (C-CAP Board Chair/Chef/Restaurateur/TV Personality) and Carlton McCoy (President & CEO Heitz Cellar) to broadcast the relentless work and amazing success stories of the organization and its honorees.
C-CAP has changed the lives of participating students forever. One alumnus shared that he was lucky that Grausman, a Jewish man growing up in New York, took the time to understand the needs of the surrounding low economic communities and be a visionary to give these kids an opportunity. The effort was tremendous, commendable and he encourages others to help the deserving just as Grausman has selflessly done over the years.
“I want to thank everybody who joined us in supporting our special C-CAP 30th Anniversary Benefit. I’m gratified to be recognized by my peers and honored for my work with C-CAP. I look forward to many more successful years and continuing to work with the chefs and students who are my extended family,” Richard Grausman, C-CAP Founder & Chair Emeritus.
Though the evening was about raising money, it was also about enjoying great food by 35 of the top restaurants in New York City. Tim Zagat said it best “This was the best C-CAP tasting benefit in 30 years that broke all records raising over 1.2 million (that will benefit the career readiness programs.) The room was filled with amazing energy and was buzzing all night.” Talented C-CAP students and alumni also assisted with the grand tasting showing culinary chops alongside the renowned chefs.
Standout bites included:
- Storico (James Miller): Vegetable Lasagna with truffle wild mushroom sauce and thin, pristine layers of butternut squash, eggplant, zucchini, and celery root.
- Estiatorio Milos (Costas Spiliadis): Mediterranean Seabass baked in salt with a drizzle of lemon olive oil.
- Quality Eats (Craig Koketsu): Grilled Nueske’s Bacon, thickly cut, cooked and set atop a puree of ground peanuts with miso caramel and coated with apple jalapeno jelly.
- The Loyal (John Fraser): Hard-boiled egg soaked in mirin and soy sauce for 48 hours. The plate itself had soy gel at the base, chili oil, sesame seeds and fried noodles with umami ash spice.
- Nobu 57 (Matt Hoyle): A simple yet fresh salt and black pepper seared tuna sashimi.
- Four Seasons Hotel (John Johnson): Tea smoked Long Island duck with hazelnut praline, foie gras mousse, and cherry Dijon mustard. The meat was cured with sea salt, coriander, and paprika and smoked with tea to render the skin crispy.
Participating restaurants and chefs included: Abigail Kirsch (Matthew Tiscornia), Almond (Jason Weiner, Alex Nieto), Aretsky’s Patroon (Ken Aretsky, Aaron Fitterman), Bâtard Tribeca (Markus Glocker), Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse (Admir Alibasic), Bouley at Home (David Bouley), Café Boulud (Jerrod Zifchak), Casa Nomad (Yvan Lemoine), Cosme (Evelyn Velazquez, Isabel Coss), Cuisine Solutions (Bruno Bertin), Estiatorio Milos (Costas Spiliadis), Four Seasons Hotel (John Johnson), Gramercy Tavern (Miroslav Uskokovic), Hudson Yards Grill (Michael Lomonaco, Wayne Harley Brachman, Daniel Rutledge), Indian Accent (Manish Mehrotra), JAMS (Jonathan Waxman), Le Bernardin (Eric Ripert, Thomas Raquel), Locanda Verde (Deborah Racicot) (Loi Estiatorio (Maria Loi), The Loyal (John Fraser), Michael’s (Michael McCarty, Kyung Up Lim), Nobu 57 (Matt Hoyle), Park Avenue Winter (Zene Flinn), Perrine at the Pierre (Ashfer Biju), Portale (Alfred Portale), Porter House New York (Michael Lomonaco, Wayne Harley Brachman, Daniel Rutledge), Quality Eats (Craig Koketsu), Decoy/ Red Farm (Eddie Schoenfeld, Joe Ng), Red Rooster (Marcus Samuelsson), Sarabeth’s (Sarabeth Levine), Shake Shack, Storico (James Miller), TabeTomo (Tomotsugu Kubo), Untitled (Evan Tessler) and Vaucluse (Michael White, Jared Gadbaw).
Red Carpet guests included Justin Tuck (2x Super Bowl Champion), Howard Cross (NY Giants Super Bowl Champion), Charles Smith (NBA Veteran), Judge Patricia DiMango (CBS Hot Bench), Ryan Field (ABC Sports Anchor) and Dee-Morris (Actor/Singer/Songwriter Gotham (FOX), Shades of Blue (NBC), to name a few. For more information about C-CAP please visit https://ccapinc.org.
-By Lauren Wire