Welcome to Downtown Highlights, the series in which we take the opportunity to “highlight” businesses in NYC, like delicious chocolate and or gelato from Venchi. After the tumultuous and crazy year we’ve had, brick and mortar locations have taken a hit, and so it is important for us at Downtown to make sure that we’re serving the places that are serving us.
Venchi
This week, we have been transported to Italy via our New York, Venchi, an Italian gourmet chocolate shop. This place evokes a sensory experience, from homemade chocolate to refreshing authentic gelato. The sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feel of their shop are unlike any other. The best part? You don’t need a passport to enter this little slice of Italy.
We sat down with store manager Michele Sbarigia to get the scoop on Venchi’s story.
Venchi started in 1878 in Torrine, Italy. Their claim to fame is their nougatine, a decadent treat of caramelized hazelnut coated in 56% dark chocolate. Twenty years ago, Venchi incorporated gelato into their decadent repertoire.
One of the most stunning features at Venchi is that its ingredients are as authentic as it gets. They use all-natural ingredients, importing their specialized ingredients directly and exclusively from Italy. Hazelnuts come from Piedmont Italy. Pistachios come from Bronte, a small village in Sicily. Lemons come from Sorrento, a small village under Naples, and so on.
By staying true to the pillars of rich tradition and quality ingredients, Venchi remains as authentic as it gets in NYC.
On June 18th, City Harvest will be hosting their 17th Annual Summer in the City event, which is partnered with Urbani Truffles as well as Seamore’s, fluff+fluff, Charley St. and a few others this year. City Harvest is a food-rescue organization that uses the abundance of surplus food in the city to help feed food-insecure New Yorkers through food pantries, soup kitchens, and nutrition partners in all five boroughs.
Summer in the City is their annual celebration of the beginning of summer, an event that combines philanthropy and culinary artistry to raise money for their cause. Their 2018 event raised over $410,000, which was enough to help feed over 6,000 families for the summer. This year, City Harvest hopes to reach, and preferably surpass, that same milestone.
Photos provided by City Harvest
Urbani Truffles is a perfect partnership for City Harvest. The company has been run by the Italian Urbani family for six generations, and their products are characterized by the passion and reverence the family has for truffles, and for the art of food.
Urbani sources their truffles from “Italy – from Umbria, to other regions,” says Vice President of Marketing Sabrina Notarnicola, who expressed the family’s “passion, love, and connection with [their] land”. When asked how Urbani got involved with City Harvest, Sabrina said “We are always supporting good causes. We got involved thanks to our network of chefs.”
Summer in the City will feature an expertly-crafted dish of roasted asparagus with shaved grana padano and truffle fonduta. Downtown had the chance to ask City Harvest Director of Special Events Kathy Holding for more information about the event.
Downtown: How did Summer in the City get started?
Kathy Holding: Summer in the City started 17 years ago as an event bringing together young philanthropists, tastemakers, and the city’s restaurant community to support for City Harvest’s work. It is now one of our signature annual events, kicking off the summer with the city’s best cocktail party, featuring some of the hottest chefs, restaurants, and mixologists in New York City. All proceeds support City Harvest’s work to rescue nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to soup kitchens and food pantries across the five boroughs to help feed New Yorkers in need.
DT: What does the event support specifically?
KH: The event supports City Harvest’s work, as New York City’s largest food rescue organization, to feed the more than 1.2 million New Yorkers who are struggling to put meals on their tables. The need is especially high in the summer. One in five children across the five boroughs don’t always know where their next meal is coming from, and many rely on free school breakfasts and lunches as the only healthy meals they will get during the day. As a result, families that are already struggling to make ends meet may need to turn to food pantries and soup kitchens for help. Summer in the City and other fundraising efforts supports City Harvest’s works to rescue and deliver 61 million pounds of food this year so that all New Yorkers have the food they need to thrive, all year long. Last year, Summer in the City raised over $410,000, which is enough to help feed over 6,000 families for the entire summer.
DT: What’s new for this summer?
KH: The summer is an exciting time for City Harvest. We recently wrapped up our annual Skip Lunch Fight Hunger campaign, which also raises funds to help New York City children and families throughout the summer months. Individuals and companies across the City created teams, competed against one another, and collectively raised over $1.2 million – enough to help feed 55,000 children for the entire summer. We will be rescuing high-quality perishable and non-perishable food from the annual Summer Fancy Food Show on June 25 at the Jacobs Javits Center. Each year, more than 200 City Harvest volunteers collect about 100,000 pounds of excess, gourmet food from the show, which go directly to food pantries and soup kitchens across the city. City Harvest’s annual Feed Our Kids Food Drive is running through June 16. Anyone can donate to the drive by bringing nonperishable food to participating NYPD stations, FDNY firehouses, and Apple Bank locations across the city. City Harvest’s partnership with Brighter Bites will be extending into the summer. Together, our organizations provide grocery bags filled with fresh produce and recipe cards to students and their parents during pick-up time after school. This summer, the program will be running at 2 summer camps in Queens. We have 9 Mobile Markets in all five boroughs that distribute free produce to community members year-round. During the summer, these markets are paired with recipe demos hosted by volunteer nutritionists and chefs.
DT: What can guests expect at Summer in the City?
KH: Guests can expect delicious dishes and cocktails from acclaimed chefs and mixologists. Over 30 of the best restaurants in the City will be participating in the event with a tasting station, including Urbani Truffles, Aquavit, COTE, and more. There will also be music from one of New York City’s top DJs and interactive activities. More information about the event can be found here.
The Downtown team can’t wait to experience the delicious truffles at Summer in the City and show our support for City Harvest and their mission of making food accessible to all New Yorkers. We hope to see you at Pier 61, Chelsea Piers tomorrow!
OZY Media’s third annual OZY FEST has been extended to two days this year—July 21-22 on Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The massive event, described by the New York Times as “part music festival, part TED Talk, part food fair” is New York’s answer to SXSW. It features world-class entertainers, thought leaders, celebrity chefs, artists, and more.
This year, headliners include Common and Grouplove, Chelsea Handler, Laverne Cox, Taye Diggs, designer Christian Siriano, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Padma Lakshmi, authors Salman Rushdie, Roxanne Gay, and Malcolm Gladwell, celebrity chefs Marcus Samuelsson and Roy Choi, Martha Stewart, and many others.
Says OZY Media Co-founder and CEO Carlos Watson, “OZY FEST is a massive party that descends upon New York City, bringing together the most diverse group of performers, thinkers, chefs, and entertainers. It’s an unprecedented exchange of ideas and the most fun you’ll have all year. This year we’re taking over Central Park for two days of laugh-out-loud comedy, delicious food, and the hottest music. You don’t want to miss it!”
Organizers bill OZY FEST as an experience rather than just a run-of-the-mill concert/festival performance, and last year’s festival attracted over 5,000 people. In addition, previous events have included headliners such as Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, as well as Jason Derulo, Issa Rae, Katie Couric, and Senator Cory Booker. Guests experienced new technology, amazing eats, and electric musical performances. Plus, they listened to provocative speakers with expertise in everything from politics to the arts.
VIP tickets to the two-day event include complimentary food and drinks, celebrity meet-and-greets, and reserved premier seating. General admission tickets include all-access passes to the festival grounds, gourmet food experiences and merchandise to try-and-buy. In addition, tickets can be purchased as a two-day pass, or individual day passes for either Saturday, July 21 or Sunday, July 22.
Attend the festival the Daily News called, “one of the hottest tickets in town this summer!” For more information, visit the OZY FEST website.
