Every year for the past decade, several hundred guests have descended on Bloor-Yorkville to dine at some of the neighbourhood's top retail boutiques as a part of Bloor Street Entertains, a fund-raiser supporting the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (Canfar) "It's insanity," said David Vallee, vice chair of the black-tie gala and principal of David Vallee Entertains. "This is one of the craziest events to pull off." The planning of this year's gala was made no easier by the fact that it attracted a record 800 dinner patrons.Valets from Mark J. Mooney & Associates greeted guests at the more than 25 participating retailers, including Birks, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co. Prominent chefs from leading Toronto restaurants presided over the dinner parties. At Roots, Lobby executive chef Jonathan Lucas offered a menu that included cured tuna and sweet pea truffle infusion, arctic char, and braised beef cheeks. Guests dined on the third floor of the venue, where Chair-man Mills installed two long banquet tables covered in striped linen. Fiori Floral Designs contributed berry and twig centerpieces to add to the atmosphere of holiday cheer. At Holt Renfrew, Corbin Tomaszeski, chef of the retailer's in-house restaurant, Holt's Caf?, served a gourmet meal in a dining space that featured new black Louis Ghost dining chairs. For guests of Tiffany & Co., Scaramouche Chef Keith Froggett prepared hickory smoked salmon, pan roasted quail, poached filet mignon with foie gras and a caramelized lemon tart. Table decor included chocolate-coloured satin linens, clear acrylic candelabras, and cream-coloured florals from Forget Me Not Flowers. A regal brown and gold colour palette subdued the backdrop of shimmering crystals in Swarovski Canada. At Harry Rosen, the menu from Marc Thuet of Bistro Bakery included wild Scottish game terrine and wild pigeon consomm?.
After dinner, Chessington Transportation Services provided dicsounted rates to guests travelling to The Party at the Royal Ontario Museum, where they joined hundreds of additional revelers for music and dancing. A massive shimmering white number 10 decorated the venue entrance to mark the event's 10th anniversary. Inside, large, blue-lit martini glasses, oddly shaped and filled with clear glass rocks and icicles, topped black sparkling linens on the cocktail tables. Dufflet Pastries provided dessert, while Soul Stew and Edwin supplied the live music.
—Robyn Small
Posted 12.14.06
After dinner, Chessington Transportation Services provided dicsounted rates to guests travelling to The Party at the Royal Ontario Museum, where they joined hundreds of additional revelers for music and dancing. A massive shimmering white number 10 decorated the venue entrance to mark the event's 10th anniversary. Inside, large, blue-lit martini glasses, oddly shaped and filled with clear glass rocks and icicles, topped black sparkling linens on the cocktail tables. Dufflet Pastries provided dessert, while Soul Stew and Edwin supplied the live music.
—Robyn Small
Posted 12.14.06
A massive shimmering white number 10 from adorned the entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum for Canfar's 10th anniversary Bloor Street Entertains fund-raiser.
Chair-man Mills used banquet tables to form the dining room at Roots.
Fiori Floral Designs topped the tables at Roots with berry and twig centrepieces.
Black Louis Ghost chairs contrasted with an eye-popping fuchsia, orange, and red colour palette at Holt's Caf? in Holt Renfrew.
Carnation arrangements in black vases from Fiori Floral Designs decorated the tables at Holt's Caf?
At Swarovski Canada, a regal brown and gold colour palette subdued the store's backdrop of shimmering crystals.
The upper-level dining space at Tiffany & Co. also featured a brown colour palette, accented by acrylic candelabra centrepieces and large flower arrangements from Forget Me Not Flowers.
Higgins Party Rentals opted for an entirely chocolate palette to blend with its stock of suits and formal wear.
Students of the event, exhibit and design program at Seneca College topped the cocktail tables at the Royal Ontario Museum with large, blue-lit martini glasses, oddly shaped and filled with clear glass rocks and icicles.
