Sometimes, you have to be rude to get rude guests to pipe down. The crowd at the opening party for the Mandarin Oriental New York didn't cease chattering during remarks from Mandarin group communications director Jill Kluge, and everyone kept on until Christie's auctioneer Richard Brierley took the stage. "All right, shut-up!" he yelled into the microphone. "Can you see me? I can't see a freakin' thing," he said as he squinted at the bright spotlights after taking the stage to kick off a live auction to benefit City Harvest.
Planned by Arthur Backal of State of the Art Enterprises (Backal is also the hotel's in-house director of catering), the overstuffed black-tie evening began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the hotel's check-in area and lobby lounge. SBK Associates' large, colorful flower arrangements decked this area; Mobar, the in-house bar; and the entrance to Asiate, the hotel's restaurant. Bentley Meeker projected a multicolored, shimmering lighting scheme on the lobby's gold-painted ceiling.
Guests who managed to wade through the tightly packed crowd of people in the lobby to the lounge sampled Asian-themed dishes like Szechwan squab with wasabi pancake and mountain berry sauce. The dishes were displayed from pretty serving stations made of square, white lightboards with red flower petals arranged on top. Low square vases with orchids inside and votive cups filled with berries held up two curvy glass platforms above the lightboards where the individual servings were plated and served.
Taiko drummers from Japan, dancers from Thailand and a Chinese music ensemble provided the evening's entertainment during the cocktail hour, and a jazz combo from the Juilliard School played onstage inside the Mandarin Ballroom prior to the silent auction, where Brierly cajoled $150,000 out of guests for City Harvest. Outside in the ballroom foyer, the kitchen staff was busily replenishing dessert tables laden with numerous types of sweets served inside single-serving containers, like custards in shot and martini glasses, panna cotta and molten chocolate cake in small bowls and roasted pears in small square containers.
The 251-room hotel is the first tenant in the Time Warner complex at Columbus Center to open to the public. The evening ended with a four-song set by Billy Joel.
––Suzanne Ito
Read about another Asian-themed event...
Planned by Arthur Backal of State of the Art Enterprises (Backal is also the hotel's in-house director of catering), the overstuffed black-tie evening began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the hotel's check-in area and lobby lounge. SBK Associates' large, colorful flower arrangements decked this area; Mobar, the in-house bar; and the entrance to Asiate, the hotel's restaurant. Bentley Meeker projected a multicolored, shimmering lighting scheme on the lobby's gold-painted ceiling.
Guests who managed to wade through the tightly packed crowd of people in the lobby to the lounge sampled Asian-themed dishes like Szechwan squab with wasabi pancake and mountain berry sauce. The dishes were displayed from pretty serving stations made of square, white lightboards with red flower petals arranged on top. Low square vases with orchids inside and votive cups filled with berries held up two curvy glass platforms above the lightboards where the individual servings were plated and served.
Taiko drummers from Japan, dancers from Thailand and a Chinese music ensemble provided the evening's entertainment during the cocktail hour, and a jazz combo from the Juilliard School played onstage inside the Mandarin Ballroom prior to the silent auction, where Brierly cajoled $150,000 out of guests for City Harvest. Outside in the ballroom foyer, the kitchen staff was busily replenishing dessert tables laden with numerous types of sweets served inside single-serving containers, like custards in shot and martini glasses, panna cotta and molten chocolate cake in small bowls and roasted pears in small square containers.
The 251-room hotel is the first tenant in the Time Warner complex at Columbus Center to open to the public. The evening ended with a four-song set by Billy Joel.
––Suzanne Ito
Read about another Asian-themed event...
At the Mandarin Oriental New York's opening party, guests filled the Mandarin Ballrom for a live auction followed by a performance by Billy Joel.
Asian-themed dishes were served at pretty serving stations made of square, white lightboards with red flower petals arranged on top. Orchids inside low square vases and votive cups filled with berries held up two curvy glass platforms above the lightboards where the individual servings were plated and served.
Thai dancers entertained guests in front of the hotel's grand staircase.
A tantalizing dessert station covered with desserts in single-serving containers covered a table in the ballroom foyer.
