A Day of Celebrations in New York City

November 28, 2016

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. In the coming days, I will share lots of photos from our holiday celebrations - the ones enjoyed by our staff, and from my own delicious feast up at Skylands, my home in Maine.

Before Thanksgiving, I enjoyed several other gatherings including a lovely dinner at the Ai Fiori Restaurant in New York City. If you haven’t yet been to Ai Fiori, I encourage you to make a visit the next time you’re in the area. Owned by distinguished chef, Michael White, Air Fiori highlights Michael’s signature hand-made pastas, while emphasizing seasonal ingredients inspired by land and sea. Joining me for dinner was our American Made development team - we went out to celebrate this year’s successful event.

But first, I attended the annual Tiffany & Co. Holiday Luncheon to celebrate the success of this iconic luxury store, and to kick off the holiday season. Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Tiffany & Co. rang in the holidays with their traditional luncheon. Hosted by CEO, Frederic Cumenal, the luncheon serves as a thank you to top tier media for their support throughout the year. http://www.tiffany.com

: The Tiffany lunch table is set with its beautiful china, silver and crystal in a stunning palette of silver and of course, Tiffany blue.

: The floral holiday centerpieces on each table were so pretty.

: Tiffany & Co. CEO Frederic Cumenal welcomed the guests and spoke of the company’s progress, its worldwide expansion, and its sales business growth.

: Here I am with James Aguiar, National Style Director of Modern Luxury.

: Guy Trebay of The New York Times and James Reginato of Vanity Fair

: Vanessa Friedman from The New York Times and Derek Blasberg of Vanity Fair

: And, here I am with acclaimed chef, Daniel Boulud, and Frederic. Daniel posted on his Twitter page that this Tiffany & Co. tradition is always one he enjoys preparing. @DanielBoulud

: Later in the evening, I took our American Made team out for dinner at the Michelin star rated Ai Fiori Restaurant, which showcases the modern interpretations of French and Italian Riviera cuisine. http://aifiorinyc.com

: Just inside the entrance is this winding staircase around a beautiful glass teardrop that takes you up to the restaurant.

: Here I am with Kimberly Dumer, and Blaney Rotanz.

: I had a blush rose with vodka served in a martini glass – delicious.

: Kim Miler-Olko, Anduin Havens and Kimberly

: Blaze Pennington, Heather Kirkland, and Hannah Milman

: Anduin had an English Milk Punch cocktail, made with clarified milk and gin.

: The cocktail on the left is non-alcoholic and the short one with the flower garnish is a Hazel Havana made with rum.

: This is called Ono Bianco made with bourbon, lemon, honey, and egg white.

: This is called an “amuse bouche” – this one with parsnip purée and pistachio crumb in a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre serving. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu, but served by the chef. These offer a glimpse into the chef’s approach to the art of cuisine.

: This is Vellutata à lobster soup, with périgord black truffles and tarragon.

: A leek and potato soup

: This is called tortelli – ricotta and mascarpone ravioli sottocenere cheese with red wine glaze

: This is the duck ravioli – cherries garnished the plate.

: Here’s Heather’s first course – sardines. The presentation is beautiful.

: This is called Anatra – long island duck, parsnips, braised lettuce, charred oranges, with seared foie gras.

: This is polenta on top of gorgonzola. We all shared two of these. But wait — it’s not quite finished yet.

: … the waiter topped it with an addition of white truffle. So delicious!

: We ate every bit…

: Garganelli pasta à ragu with Genovese, celery root, mustard greens, and pecorino toscano on top

: This pasta is spaghetti with blue crab, bottarga chilies and lemon.

: Trout with caviar

: Swordfish with artichokes

: Torchon – foie gras with apple chutney, hazelnut and sage

: After dinner, some of us enjoyed espresso.

: A neighboring table sent over a lovely digestif.

: On the menu, we noticed the Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese is Upland’s Cheese – they are one of this year’s honorees – how appropriate for our American made celebration!