Look To The Stars News: Tom Colicchio

Celebrity-Signed Books Up For Grabs For Charity

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Whether you are looking for a good book to read while stretched out on the beach, or – for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere – searching for something to curl up with in bed on a frosty winter’s night, there will be something for you in the SAG Foundation’s Celebrity Autographed Book Auction.

The Screen Actor’s Guild Foundation is raising money for it’s literacy programs by auctioning off books signed by your favorite stars. Going under the hammer are titles such as The Olsen Twins’ Influence, Michael J. Fox’s Always Looking Up, Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge, Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, Tom Colicchio’s Craft of Cooking, William Shatner’s Quest For Tomorrow, Alison Sweeney’s All The Days Of My Life, Kirk Douglas’ Let’s Face It, Jenny McCarthy’s Healing and Preventing Autism, Larry King’s My Remarkable Journey, Tori Spelling’s Mommywood, Sean Astin’s There and Back Again, John Lithgow’s The Poet’s Corner and many more.

Proceeds from the auction benefit the Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s literacy effort, which began in 1992 and now includes such programs as:

BookPALS, a volunteer program comprised of performing artists who read aloud to students in schools, hospitals and libraries.
We The Children, which teaches children the value of books and the importance of their lives by giving them the opportunity to write and illustrate their family history.
Storyline Online, an online interactive website which brings the excitement of books into the classroom and home.

The auction runs until July 28 and can be accessed here.

Join Bill Clinton For Vegan Lunch In Charity Auction

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Russell Simmons has launched an online auction to 10th anniversary Art For Life Garden Benefit Party.

Simmons will flex his charity muscles on July 18 with the Art For Life Garden party benefit on July 18th in East Hampton. The auction and event benefits Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the organization he founded with his brothers, Danny and Joseph Simmons, that connects disadvantaged youth with art programs. Held at the private East Hampton Estate of Russell Simmons, this evening will once again celebrate the creative energy of New York City youth and honor exemplary individuals in the community, including Vanessa Williams, at a star-studded dinner and gala featuring live and silent auctions of unique art and luxury items.

The online auction features the chance to join an intimate and private dinner where Bill Clinton will be hosted with 35 guests at Simmons’ private residence in New York on July 20. The others in attendance will be 35 of the most influential movers and shakers in America under the age of 35, part of the noted Summit Series. Past Summit Series attendees have included founders and top officials of companies as Zappos, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Trump International, as well as top entertainment personalities. An extraordinary vegan dinner will be prepared by world famous chef Tom Colicchio, head judge on Bravo TV’s Top Chef, and founder of NYC’s famed Craft restaurants.

Other items include the chance to meet Deepak Chopra and Ice T, yoga lessons with Simmons, meet-and-greets with Third Eye Blind and Fall Out Boy, exclusive tickets to Coldplay, and much more.

The auctions run until July 18 and can be accessed here.

Celebrity Chefs Cook Up Tasty Treats In Florida

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:59:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

The Food Network South Beach Food and Wine Festival took over the city last weekend for the yearly fundraiser to benefit various South Florida charities.

The annual event attracts food lovers from around the globe and it’s easy to see why. Some of the finest culinary experts – including Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay – flock to the event in efforts to support the charities, take part in cooking demonstrations, and to simply tantalize your taste buds.

From Rachael Ray’s ‘Burger Bash’ to Tom Colicchio’s ‘Bubble-Q’, the city was filled with the aroma of fine foods, tasty treats and highly sought after nibbles. Fancy cocktails, fine wine, and juicy burgers filled various tasting parties, which were held in chic tents sprawled out across the white sandy beaches.

The family friendly event offered everything from the Whole Foods Tasting Village to lectures on eating right and proper nutrition at the South Beach Diet presents Fun and Fit as a Family featuring Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen.

Top Chef season 5 contestants were also on hand to do what they do best.

In addition to taking part in the Food Festival, the top chefs showcased their skills at Saturday evenings Top Chef party hosted by Jeff McInnis. The intimate event, held at the amazing penthouse of the Pelican Hotel, included a variety of tasting stations from Top Chef season five contestants Jeff McInnis, Hosea Rosenberg, Leah Cohen, Jamie Lauren, Melissa Harrison and season four winner Hung Huynh. From the ‘amuse bouche’s’ to the cucumber mojito’s, there wasn’t an unsatisfied guest in the suite.

Join Celebrity Chefs At Food Festival Charity Event

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

One of the largest and most popular festivals of its kind, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is set to take place February 19-22 in Miami.

Now in its eighth year, the event combines the international appeal of top-quality food and wine from around the world with the international appeal of the worlds most celebrated chefs to benefit multiple South Florida charities.

The four-day event showcases the talents of the world’s most renowned winemakers, chefs and culinary personalities. Those taking part this year include: Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, Rick Bayless, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, Martha Stewart and many, many more.

Hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Florida International University (FIU), the festival is against the backdrop of America’s Riviera, South Beach. Tickets are still available for some of the many exciting family friendly events, including: South Beach Diet’s Fun and Fit as a Family Featuring Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen; Beyond Chicken Nuggets: How to Raise a Healthy Eater; and the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village.

They are also running an auction where you can bid on amazing travel packages, rare wine lots, fabulous dining experiences, jewelry, home goods and much more. It can be accessed here.

More info about the Festival can be found at the event website.

Get A Taste Of The NFL And Help The Hungry

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Top Chef viewers and SuperBowl fans are invited to the ‘18th Annual Taste of the NFL’ taking place on Saturday January 31 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Florida.

The highly anticipated event pairs one chef and one alumni or current player from each NFL city for an evening filled with food, wine and entertainment on the eve of the Super Bowl. Proceeds from ticket sales, silent auction items, donations, etc. go to help tackle hunger in America through national and local hunger relief organizations.

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio (Top Chef) along with former Top Chef contestants will join such NFL players as Ben Patrick (AZ Cardinals), Derrick Martin (Baltimore Ravens), Richard Marshall (Carolina Panthers), Shaun Gayle (Chicago Bears), Jacoby Jones (Houston Texans), Kevin Houser (N.O. Saints). Entertainment for the night, compliments of the Max Weinberg Band (Late Night with Conan). Tickets for are currently on sale by visiting the Taste of the NFL website.

Taste of the NFL is proud to announce that, as in years past, every NFL city’s Feeding America food bank network will receive a portion of the net proceeds from this year, with special local emphasis placed on America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay. They are able to reach out across the country thanks to the generous participation of guests, sponsors, volunteers and community leaders.

Have Lunch In Style With New Celebrity Auction

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

It’s that time of year again – time for the Annual Celebrity Lunchbox Auction to benefit the Food Bank For New York City.

The Lunchbox Auction is a non-profit organization that runs a yearly auction of celebrity designed lunchboxes and splits the proceeds between the Food Bank For New York City and The Lunchbox Fund, a foundation that provides lunch to pre and high school children in South Africa.

This year’s auction includes lunchboxes designed and signed by celebrities such as Mario Batali, Beastie Boys, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, Salman Rushdie, Cameron Diaz, the cast of Gossip Girls, Rachael Ray, Eva Mendes, Mike Myers, Ellen Page, Michael Stipe, Liv Tyler, Diane Von Furstenberg, and many others.

The auction starts on December 12 at www.thelunchboxauction.org. For a special sneak peak of some of the items, click here.

Siegfried And Roy's Magical Return

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:13:01 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Illusionist team Siegfried & Roy’s long awaited return to the stage has finally been scheduled, and will be their first performance since Roy was mauled by a tiger in 2003. The one-night only show, next February at the Keep Memory Alive (KMA) foundation’s “Power of Love” gala, will benefit the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute (LRBI) in Las Vegas.

Under construction since last year, the Institute will aim to provide the most current research and scientific information for the prevention, early detection, treatment, education, and support of memory disorders and neurodegenerative dementia diseases. LRBI plans to “house the world’s most powerful brain doctors”, and predicts that the cure for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease will be discovered there.

High profile galas with big name guests play a major role in KMA’s fund raising, a strategy that has worked well for founder Larry Ruvo, who named LRBI after his father, a victim of Alzheimer’s. The twelfth gala, held in February this year, was attended by such celebrities as Muhammad Ali, Danny DeVito, Lorraine Bracco, Steve Schirripa, David Copperfield, Leeza Gibbons, Siegfried & Roy, and Teri Hatcher, whose lunch date was auctioned for thousands of dollars. Robin Leach played host, with performances by Michael Buble, and celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck, Guy Savoy, and Tom Colicchio.

“[We] are simply overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the institute,” said Ruvo. “There are no words to express our deep gratitude for the generosity shown. It only deepens our resolve to build an institute that… the medical world will recognize as one of the finest of its kind.”

Nearly five years after the accident, despite still undergoing daily physiotherapy, Roy feels ready for the stage again and to support LRBI in a big way. Siegfried didn’t at first, as he told the Las Vegas Review Journal in December: “I was really not ready for it. All the doctors say what [Roy is] doing now is impossible.”

The tiger that dragged Roy by his neck, causing extensive blood loss and damage, was actually attempting to get him to safety after a fall. Unbeknownst to the animal, humans have substantially thinner hides than tigers.

“I’ve always said, ‘I am the magician and Roy is the magic,’” said Siegfried. “And Roy shows me every day the magic – the magic of life.”

The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is expected to be finished next year.

Look To The Stars News: Tom Colicchio

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