Reader's Digest Association debuted its new magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray, with a festive, autumnal event at Café St. Bart's that combined pages of the magazine with cutesy elements inspired by the Food Network star's bubbly personality. Alison Schajer, associate director of event marketing for Reader's Digest Association, and Christine Guilfoyle, Every Day's publisher, worked with Maneesh Goyal of MKG Productions to plan the event, which was part farmer's market, part street fair.
Held beneath a tent over the café's patio, the event felt like a fall day in the park. Bentley Meeker washed the interior with warm orange light that mimicked a warm autumn sunset, and orange pillows printed with the magazine's logo dotted park bench seating. Roy Braeger hung a giant flower-shaped decor piece covered with yellow and orange gerbera daisies in the center of the tent, and his orange, yellow, and red floral arrangements topped tall cocktail tables with orange cloths. After passing through a tented hallway, guests entered the great hall, where a five-tiered pyramid topped with pumpkins carved by Hugh McMahon was surrounded by silk-covered lounge furniture.
But this was a cooking magazine launch, so the food was the draw. Sage Events’ seven food stations skirted the perimeter of the tent, all serving dishes taken from recipes or inspired by articles in the magazine. "[Ray] wanted it to be less about just baskets of produce, and more interactive," Guilfoyle said. So instead of just stocking food stations, caterwaiters dipped strawberries in chocolate, frosted cupcakes, and assembled and baked pizzas in front of guests. Sushi was served from hot dog carts, and another caterwaiter assembled an apple and bacon hors d'oeuvres from a station studded with apples on the walls.
After Guilfoyle and Ray's short remarks about the launch, Ray's husband, John Cusimano, and his band, the Cringe, performed a set that wasn't quite as popular as the rest of the party's charms. We couldn't help but notice that midway through his first song, the great hall had emptied considerably, prompting a bit of a rush at the coat check and gift bag stations.
—Suzanne Ito
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Held beneath a tent over the café's patio, the event felt like a fall day in the park. Bentley Meeker washed the interior with warm orange light that mimicked a warm autumn sunset, and orange pillows printed with the magazine's logo dotted park bench seating. Roy Braeger hung a giant flower-shaped decor piece covered with yellow and orange gerbera daisies in the center of the tent, and his orange, yellow, and red floral arrangements topped tall cocktail tables with orange cloths. After passing through a tented hallway, guests entered the great hall, where a five-tiered pyramid topped with pumpkins carved by Hugh McMahon was surrounded by silk-covered lounge furniture.
But this was a cooking magazine launch, so the food was the draw. Sage Events’ seven food stations skirted the perimeter of the tent, all serving dishes taken from recipes or inspired by articles in the magazine. "[Ray] wanted it to be less about just baskets of produce, and more interactive," Guilfoyle said. So instead of just stocking food stations, caterwaiters dipped strawberries in chocolate, frosted cupcakes, and assembled and baked pizzas in front of guests. Sushi was served from hot dog carts, and another caterwaiter assembled an apple and bacon hors d'oeuvres from a station studded with apples on the walls.
After Guilfoyle and Ray's short remarks about the launch, Ray's husband, John Cusimano, and his band, the Cringe, performed a set that wasn't quite as popular as the rest of the party's charms. We couldn't help but notice that midway through his first song, the great hall had emptied considerably, prompting a bit of a rush at the coat check and gift bag stations.
—Suzanne Ito
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Reader's Digest Association launched Every Day With Rachael Ray with an autumnal event at Café St. Bart's. Roy Braeger hung a giant flower-shaped decor piece covered with yellow and orange gerbera daisies in the center of the tented event.
A Sage Events staffer prepared an apple pie recipe from the new magazine in a sunny yellow pegboard-style booth studded with red, green, and yellow apples.
Sage Events served three pizza varieties prepared baked in the venue's brick oven.
An event staffer handed guests bouquets of yellow and orange gerbera daisies tied together with orange ribbon.
