Although many love to believe that women in fashion don’t eat; for the most part that couldn’t be farther from the truth. (Seriously, you should see how fast the catering disappears backstage before a runway show.) Plus, let’s be honest – we ladies love our chocolate. So it makes perfect sense that Belgian chocolate and ice cream brand, Magnum has a close knit relationship with the fashion industry – starting with Karl Lagerfeld as it’s spokesperson back in 2011. It also makes perfect sense that at 5pm on a Wednesday night, the brand had no trouble filling seats for a dinner party hosted by James Beard award winning chef, Andrew Carmellini in the private dining and wine cellar of his gorgeous NoHo restaurant, Lafayette. The occasion? A celebration of Magnum’s latest collaboration between Carmellini and fashion designer, Christian Siriano to create “The World’s Most Fashionable Dessert.”
Although I’d received notice of the event via email weeks before, one week before the party, I received by messenger a giant bar of chocolate engraved with the details of the party. “Now THAT’S an invitation”, I thought to myself as I broke off a corner and popped it into my mouth. Being a full-fledged foodie, as well as half Belgian – I really can’t say no to a lavish meal punctuated with chocolate. Even better when the meal itself is locally sourced and mostly organic… Lucky for me, chef Carmellini knew his crowd for this fashion-meets-food event and whipped up a meal filled with just such guilt-free ingredients. Organic carrot soup, wild black bass from Long Island, and fava beans from an organic upstate farm called “Buried Treasures” were just a few of the delights that warmed us up for the main event: The Dessert. Double caramel with champagne mango and pineapple, coconut cream and basil: the chocolate “lace” trimmed bar is as much a mouthful to say as it was to eat… At one point I remember chef Carmellini gesturing to the plate while explaining something about the importance of champagne mangoes, but to be honest I could barely hear him through the symphony of my senses as I focused on the decadent flavors in front of me. It’s a good thing (and definitely no accident) that the meal leading up to dessert had been fairly light, because from my left to my right and all around my table, not a single scrap of the bar remained on anyone’s plate. In fact, one eager guest even snatched up the display dessert that Carmellini had used to explain the dessert to the crowd. Seconds anyone? Yes please.
CLICK BELOW for more photos & wardrobe credits
[WARDROBE CREDITS]
Lime green mini dress with pearl detail: DARLING
White leather & pearl purse: CHANEL from BELLA BAG
Black patent leather heels: ALAIA
White, blown glass ring: TRE
Cateye sunglasses: KAREN WALKER
xx
Natty