Macquarie Private Wealth hosted a Mad Men-inspired cocktail party for 400 guests on Tuesday, with proceeds going toward Big Brothers and Big Sisters Toronto and the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington. Kim Graham, principal at Kim Graham and Associates, produced the event and incorporated the 1960's into every aspect, from the Imperial Plaza venue to the menu.
“The Mad Men theme developed after seeing the space,” said William MacTaggart, an investment adviser at Macquerie, who toured the space with Graham. The Rockefeller family commissioned Imperial Plaza in 1957, and its marble walls, 35-foot ceilings, and gold-leaf tiles are a statement of the period.
Ingrid von Cube, creative director at Appetizingly Yours, referred to Mad Men to refresh her memory and design the 60's-inspired menu. Bow-tied servers passed Waldorf salad, steak tartar, and beef Wellington, and cigarette girls passed Swedish meatballs and sushi, rolled to look like cigars. Guests helped themselves to the cheese fondue station, and staff from Servers and Shakers mixed Absolut Elyx martinis at the bar.
MacTaggart hoped the event would raise $150,000 for Big Brothers and Big Sisters Toronto and the Children’s Foundation. "You have to do good in the community where you live and work," MacTaggart said. As of press time, the total was still being calculated.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
Appetizingly Yours served hors d'oeuvres on picture frames, so that guests could see descriptions of each dish. The baked new potatoes were made to look like deviled eggs, a popular dish in the 1960s.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
Bartenders and servers wore blazers and bow ties to match the Mad Men theme.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
Three kinds of cheesecake lollipops were brought out for dessert: white chocolate cheesecake covered in milk chocolate; pumpkin cheesecake covered in white chocolate and caramel; and chocolate cheesecake covered in dark chocolate and Skor.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
Guests helped themselves to jumbo shrimp with horseradish cocktail sauce. Although the dish is from the 60s, Appetizingly Yours modernized the presentation with bamboo sticks and shot glasses.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
In addition to the cigar-shaped sushi, the cigarette girls circulated with Swedish meatballs.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
The cocktail party was held in the marble lobby of Imperial Plaza, commissioned in the 1950s by the Rockefeller family. The space is being refurnished as a condominium.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
William MacTaggart, investment adviser at Macquarie Private Wealth, thanked guests.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
