“This is the kickoff of the season!” Marcus Samuelsson said upon arrival at the 16th annual New Yorkers For Children Fall Gala, held Wednesday night — and so it was. After several months of Hamptons casual, the fund-raiser, sponsored by Chloé, marked the first occasion of the season for New York’s charitable crowd to rediscover their gowns and come out for a good cause. Guests including Samuelsson and his wife Maya Haile, Wes Gordon, Leandra Medine, Georgina Bloomberg, Indre Rockefeller and Lauren Remington Platt were greeted by Bellinis at Cipriani on 42nd before mingling through a cocktail hour of casino games from slot machines to blackjack.
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The night’s host, Alina Cho, has been involved with the organization’s Friend’s Committee for several years now. “I got involved in 2008 when I came to the gala with my friend John Demsey, who was later honored here at the gala, and I’m not sure I had ever been to a big social gala. He told me to buy a new dress because this was a very big deal. So I did, I wore Oscar de la Renta,” the former CNN anchor said, who was in Stella McCartney for this year’s event.
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“Food can be comforting, it’s a necessity and it’s also an opportunity to give to the world, so we’re very happy to be here,” Samuelsson said. The organization, which works with foster children in New York City, “thinks about the community we live in and work in.”
The restaurateur was one of the honorees of the evening for his work with the organization and revealed he will be running the New York Marathon with his wife. How is training going? “It’s rough,” he admitted.
After a dinner of fresh fish and risotto, donations were collected through a live auction, which culminated in a spontaneous auction item from Samuelsson, a brunch at his famed Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem, won by Bloomberg.
“There was one student in particular with who I worked, Zhanna,” Cho said of her involvement. “I helped her with her college applications and we would pick out dresses for the gala, and now she’s getting her master’s degree in social work.”