Citi Taste of Tennis NYC 2018

Citi Taste of Tennis brought everything from Grand Slam royalty, Master chefs, gourmet foodies and tennis fans together at Cipriani 42St on Thursday evening August 23rd in Manhattan.

The premier New York City tennis kickoff was a trifecta of tasting plates, signature cocktails, beats by DJ MadLinx and cooking demos in the elegant Cipriani. This year’s star-studded world class athletes who turned out for a good cause. Alexander Zverev, World №4, Bob Bryan, World №1 Double, Mike Bryan, World №1 Doubles, Kevin Anderson, World №6, Caroline Garcia, World №5, John Isner, World №9 , Hyeon Chung, World №25, Nicholas Kyrgios, World №18, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Olympic Gold Medalist Feliciano Lopez, 2016 French Open doubles champion, Gael Monfils, 7-time ATP World Tour Singles champion and Mischa Zverev, 1-time ATP World Tour champion.

The elite players took time from busy pre 50th US Open Championship game schedules to meet, nosh and greet fans. New York City top chefs prepared spectacular culinary dishes from their restaurant fiefdoms.

The star studded gourmet food fest takeover at Cipriani 42 St for the first time in it’s 19 year history. The smash up of US Open tennis stars and celebrity chefs was a benefit for Wellness in the Schools. Wellness in the Schools inspires 60,000 kids with programs in 122 public schools to healthy eating and fitness.
Wellness in the Schools teaches kids healthy habits to learn and live better.The non-profit partners with public schools to provide nutrition and fitness education, healthy scratch-cooked meals and active recess periods. Trained culinary graduates partner with cafeteria staff to feed kids real food, and fitness coaches encourage schools to let kids play.

The VIP event was headlined with a cooking demo by US Open 2017 breakout superstar and World №3 Sloane Stephens and famed Iron Chef Morimoto preparing sushi rolls. Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams took to the stage to select her favorites beats for DJ MadLinx to spin. A surprise appearance by the six-time US Open Women’s Champion Serena Williams stunned the crowd. Serena who holds the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players and 39 major titles joined Chef Cedric Tovar to prepare French crepes. Gorgeous WPIX 11 sports anchor Andy Adler was the mistress of ceremonies.

The main event started with delicious culinary art from Masaharu Morimoto –Morimoto, Shorne Benjamin — St. Lucia’s Master Chef, Nicole Gajadhar –Saxon & Parole , Michael Han — Ortzi ,Kerry Heffernan — Grand Banks, Catherine Medrano — The Regency Bar & Grill, John Mooney — Bell, Book & Candle ,Mina Newman — Sen Sakana, Engin Onural — The Venue Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge, Bill Peet — Tavern on the Green, Keith Geter — HGU New York, Bill Telepan — Executive Chef of Wellness in the Schools , Sujan Sarkar — Baar Baar, Wenford P. Simpson -Walkerswood Caribbean Foods, Matt Schindler — Charlie Palmer at The Knick, Roxanne Spruance –Kingsley, Juan Tourn — Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Andy Xu –DaDong, Greg Rubin — American Cut, Rebecca Clavecilla-Eng –Rebecca’s Cake Pops, Raymond Mohan — Lolo’s Seafood Shack ,Paolo Dorigato — Lugo, Jorge Espinoza Scarpetta Restaurant and Wenford Patrick Simpson — Walkerswood Caribbean Foods.

Foodies savored the many tasting plates including Grand Banks’s scallop ceviche with lime oil, habanero pepper and mint, The Regency Bar & Grill’s Rock shrimp torta, Dadong’s Spicy Duck Treasure, American Cut’s Pastrami on Rye with little gem Caesar salad bites or Walkerwood’s Open face Jerk chicken slider with pickled cabbage and mango chutney, Chef Boonnum Thongngonen’s Kho Kriap Pak Mohr , Davios’ Gnocchi Bolognese and Gnocchi with mushrooms and Lotte New York Palace’s Tater Tots with Ossetra Caviar and Gold Billionmaire Bacon.

Hand crafted cocktails Smoked Old Fashion, Lion’s Roar, Lime Mint Mojito, Sky Dirty Martini and tastings of Aperol, Campari, Red Stripe, Espolon Tequila, Charles Smith wines, Hampton Water Rose, Oban Single Malt Whisky, Diplomatico Rum, and Voss Water complemented the cuisine.

All the while a fabulous silent auction featured a private villa getaway in Bali, 2019 US Open Golf experience, a 5- star getaway in wine country and a dinner for ten from the chef of the Famous Rao’s.

More excitement continued into the evening in the Citi Gold lounge for Taste of Tennis After Dark were decadent desserts from Moffle Bar, The Little One, Rebecca’s Cake Pops, American Cut, and Oceana Restaurant and innovative dessert drinks from Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Cynar and Zonin Prosecco flowed.

While guests savored Cracker Jack sundae, Chocolate Hazelnut bar tennis inspired Cake Pops and Moffle Bar treats while Pop violinist Enzima performed beautifully.

Citi Tennis swag bags of RX bars, Sugarpova milk chocolate bars, Moleskine journals, Skinny dip almonds, tins of Charney and Sons tea and Skinny popcorn went home with everyone. The generosity of sponsors Citi, Jamaican Tourism Board, The British Virgin Islands, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Palladium Hotel Group and Mexico Tourism Board made the packed extravaganza the biggest New York City fun summer tennis party.