NEW YORK—New York’s largest food rescue organization, City Harvest, is hosting its fall tasting event—BID—on Oct. 18 this year at The Glasshouse. Following a three-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, the marquee evening is inviting guests down a rabbit hole to a place where everyone’s mad (if you know, you know).
Themed “through the looking glass,” City Harvest BID will be an Alice in Wonderland-inspired affair, and the nonprofit tapped event planning firm Le Feast and the culinary production team at Karlitz & Company to deck out the venue's 75,000 square feet of space in awe-inspiring whimsy.
BizBash sat down with City Harvest’s chief external relations officer, Gregory Boroff, for an exclusive tell-all, with an insider’s preview of the to-do, plus details on how the event came to fruition, what the planning process was like, what attendees can expect, and more.
There will be more than 50 chefs, restaurants, and mixologists in attendance from NYC’s greatest eateries—all of which will serve up bites during a tasting hour that will scream “eat me” and “drink me.”Photo: Courtesy of City Harvest
To start, Boroff said the “through the looking glass” theme was born out of a photo taken at a previous BID event. “One of our photographers, Eric Vitale, took a highly stylized shot of chefs posed around a dining table. It immediately reminded me of the Mad Hatter’s tea party,” he explained. “I started thinking about Alice in Wonderland—how colorful and magical it is. It’s a great theme for an event.”
However magical, though, no wave of a wand could lead to the event’s success. Boroff noted that the three-year process for planning 2022’s BID began with a vision board. “I went down the rabbit hole, literally,” he said, adding that his team “found these huge inflatable rabbits to use as photo opportunities, and then everything became about the rabbits.”
The "GZ" in GZ’s Wonderland is in honor of City Harvest board member and food council chair Geoffrey Zakarian (pictured).Photo: Jared Siskin
The challenge? “How we can make an immersive show [out of] what the theme will actually look and feel like for guests,” Boroff said, which he cited as difficult because City Harvest is a nonprofit organization. “The theme can’t be too adult and, at the same time, can’t be too childish. We try and strike the balance right between.”
The City Harvest team—along with its creative partners at Mario Avila Design, Great Performances, and On The Move Entertainment—found synergy by planning to highlight different nods to Alice in Wonderland at different sections around the venue. Take the rabbit, for example, which Boroff said will be the decorative centerpiece in the VIP room, dubbed GZ’s Wonderland (in honor of City Harvest board member and food council chair Geoffrey Zakarian)—although guests will have to wait to find out if the furry creature will be in a waistcoat and carrying a pocket watch, as he was in Lewis Carroll’s original tale.
Boroff noted that each corner of the venue will be outfitted in a different nod to Alice in Wonderland. Thus, guests can expect an English garden and a Mad Hatter's area.Photo: Courtesy of City Harvest
Every decision was informed by the theme, including venue selection. Aside from having enough space for the 1,000 guests expected to be in attendance, Boroff said The Glasshouse’s “floor-to-ceiling windows truly spoke to the ‘through the looking glass’ theme.” And once inside, the attention to detail will be evident in every step of the attendee journey.
For instance, the 50-plus chefs, restaurants, and mixologists in attendance from NYC’s greatest eateries will be serving up bites during a tasting hour that will scream “eat me” and “drink me.”
And live performances, courtesy of On The Move Entertainment and DJ Martial, are also in the programming—and although Boroff didn’t disclose the name of the special musical guest, he ensured the show will be on theme.
Every dollar raised at BID 2022 will be in support of City Harvest’s overarching mission to feed New Yorkers in need. In 2020, the event raised enough money to help feed more than 1.6 million families in NYC.Photo: Courtesy of City Harvest
The chief external relations officer also gave BizBash an insider’s sneak peek at an “immersive cocktail experience” that’s taking place during BID “in conjunction with DKNY’s fall 2022 campaign, ‘Today I Feel.” Boroff explained of the experience: “Attendees will be asked to choose a feeling, [and] each feeling is associated with a surprise cocktail. Once a feeling is selected, guests will enter an immersive ‘through the looking glass’-themed experience where their cocktail will be made. Guests will also receive a BID-themed DKNY T-shirt.”
Additionally, attendees can bid on live and silent auction items such as a getaway for two in the Caribbean at the Cayman Cookout with chef Eric Ripert; a rooftop barbecue with COTE Korean Steakhouse; and a private dinner in Don Angie’s soon-to-open private event space. To make it even better, every dollar raised will be in support of City Harvest’s overarching mission to feed New Yorkers in need which, as City Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens noted in a press release, is important now more than ever as the cost of living in the Big Apple continues to surge. 
BID 2022 is taking place at The Glasshouse, which Boroff said was chosen for its enhancement to the "through the looking glass" theme, thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of the NYC skyline. Once inside, guests will (literally) be taken down the rabbit hole and into a whimsical world.Photo: Courtesy of City Harvest
By purchasing a ticket to City Harvest BID, attendees can be a part of making a real impact in their local community. For reference, BID 2020 raised enough money to help feed more than 1.6 million families in NYC.
To attend the Oct. 18 event, ticket packages can still be purchased on BID’s website, starting at $1,000 for an “Eat Me Drink Me Ticket” (which will help feed more than 2,857 New Yorkers in need for a day) and maxing out at $100,000 for a “Wonderland Bungalow Package" (which will help feed more than 285,714 New Yorkers in need for a day).
