(Bloomberg) -- The privilege of having Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin's chef and co-owner, come to your home and cook dinner with John Legend performing went for $1.2 million in a live auction Tuesday at the City Harvest benefit.
That was more than double what the package cost in 2019, when it included appearances by Yo-Yo Ma, Chrissy Teigen and Legend, and six times as much as it went for at a City Harvest gala 10 years ago.
It could be due to inflation, or maybe just how much richer some people in the room are, but those weren't the only explanations.
Ripert himself said it was “simple”: City Harvest helps feed New Yorkers. Since March 2020, the nonprofit has rescued and distributed 270 million pounds of surplus food. And more's to come: A new, bigger facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, opened this year, doubling capacity.
There's also all that pent-up demand for in-person, special experiences brought on by the pandemic. The gala, which raised $5.2 million, was back after a three-year hiatus in the same catering hall, Cipriani 42nd Street, with the same waiters (some of whom hadn't worked in more than two years) and with the same slightly racy vibe. Colin Cowie created a “Red Supper Club” -- a little Maxim's, a little Vegas -- and the chairwomen were dressed in red gowns by Naeem Khan.
The real it factor, though, was that the night honored Ripert and his wife Sandra, a real estate agent, for their more than two decades of involvement. That includes not only offering his services at a gala, but also packing food in warehouses and serving on the board.
Around the room were famous chefs whose restaurants help make New York what it is, as well as some appreciative diners, including Citadel's Marco Birch, Millennium's Robert Jain, Greenhill's Scott Bok and Reservoir Capital's Dan Stern.
During cocktail hour, Ripert said he'd been at a charity event recently where “everyone was so happy to be there, no one listened to the speeches.”
The more than 500 people attending the City Harvest event, though, were mostly attentive, with the auctioneer, Nicholas Lowry, president of Swann Auction Galleries, giving only a few “Shhhhs” here and there. (It helped that everyone had been well-fed, with sliced Wagyu strip loin steak on the menu.)
Melba Wilson, the chef and owner of the Harlem institution Melba's, got a very enthusiastic response, with multiple bidders driving up the price until three guests agreed to pay $130,000 each for a party at her Southern-style restaurant for 40 people. “Now that's some good fried chicken!” Wilson said.
The team at Cote agreed to let two bidders pay $150,000 each for a summer surf-and-turf BBQ for 20 guests prepared by executive chef David Shim, with owner Simon Kim promising to bring a karaoke machine. The location is up to the guests: The party can be held in New York, the Miami area or the Hamptons.
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