Hello everyone. I’m back from Arkansas, writing this from Feed Me’s new office in Manhattan. I spent this morning zipping around Midtown for meetings, and was delighted by the small pumpkins organized around the front window of Michael’s.
Today’s letter includes: Where to see Keith McNally talk about his movie this weekend, Tory Burch’s sons are opening a donut shop, a New York media company that laid of 6% of its staff, and an office building selling $9.99 steak frites.
“I have devoured every post I’ve every been forwarded, and acutely left out and personally victimized by not being part of the community.” - Megan, paid reader
I first met Natasha Pickowicz in 2018 when I interviewed and photographed her for a Bon Appetit story. Since then, we run into each other a few times a year at parties or restaurants, and I think about her sticky buns constantly – she’s one of the best bakers in New York.
She also happens to be an extraordinary organizer.
On Saturday, October 18th, she’s bringing together 100 bakers for a bake sale raising funds for four New York City-based nonprofits: Heart of Dinner, Make the Road New York, One Love Community Fridge, and The Teaching Kitchen at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. Bakers at the event include
, , Apollo Bagels, Eel Bar, and Elbow Bread.I spoke to Natasha this morning about the event (which you should buy tickets for here) and what to do if you’re suffering from FOMO because you don’t live in New York.
First of all, why do you think your bake sales have become such a successful format for fundraising?
“I make the bake sales feel like a party — everyone is invited. There’s no admission price, it’s free! However many pastries you want to try is up to you. And who can resist a big cinnamon bun or slice of layer cake? Obviously pastries and sweets are having a moment in our online zeitgeist; there’s just something joyful and resplendent about it.
My event production style has always been DIY and kind of scrappy, but when you see the big fundraising totals at the end you know that came from THOUSANDS of $10 donations, not one six-figure donation. I wanted to get away from the “top down” philanthropic model and get at something more grassroots, but also bring in major culinary names that we all know and love.
I started producing bake sales when I was working in fancy NYC restaurants, where I had to work glam fundraising galas all the time. They’d raise millions of dollars, but the only way you could participate as a donor was if you bought, like, a $100,000 seat or something. Even the restaurants where I worked were too expensive for most of my friends to try. I wanted to create an event where everyone was welcome, where you could wander around and donate but in much smaller quantities.”
How did you choose the bakers who would be involved this year?
“I think of the lineup as akin planning my wedding or my own music festival… there might be a few headliners, but tons of surprises too. I like a mix of bigger names/creators/authors, indie up-and-comers, buzzy restaurants new to the NYC dining scene, and older institutions that are beloved and have been around forever. I always invite friends but also use the bake sale as a way of meeting new people that look like they’re doing cool and delicious things. I just love bringing people together and seeing all the new friendships that get made while everyone is setting up. And I’m obsessed with creating traditions and rituals — so I always invite back anyone who’s participated in a bake sale in the past.”
Any suggestions for people who live in other cities who are feeling FOMO over this event?
“Support the nonprofits we’re fundraising for by buying tickets anyway — the profits go right to them! Or have a bake sale in your own city; they’re so much fun and a great way to get to know your own community a little better.”
Audrey Gelman’s The Six Bells Countryside Inn just received a Michelin Key. Michelin Guide just shared a roundup of the new Key hotels, which also include The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia (historic hotel with a 3-star restaurant and interiors by a London stage designer), and Belden House, the Litchfield County hotel from the Troutbeck team that opened earlier this summer. The Michelin Guide is such a fun publication to scroll through. I know they were hiring a new editor at the end of August to replace Edward Barsamian, a former Vogue editor (and ex assistant to Anna Wintour), who left Michelin for a marketing job at COTE. Does anyone know who got the job?
Anna Delvey attended Breaker Media’s one year anniversary party last night at a burrito bar in Greenwich village, with crisis PR professionals in tow. She posted an Instagram story with Democratic strategist Lis Smith and Harvey Weinstein’s flack Juda Engelmayer (who you might recognize from Anna’s GQ feature on the crisis PR dark arts).
Nicholas and Henry Burch (sons of Tory Burch) opened a donut shop in… Indonesia. It seems as though they’ve been working on the project for three years, per Tory’s Instagram post. Why Indonesia? Perhaps because their father, Chris Burch, owns the NIHI Sumba resort on a remote Indonesian island, where The Burch Family Foundation is also involved in humanitarian and conservation work.
Vanity Fair got CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins to review broadcast news scenes from Anchorman, Bombshell, and The Morning Show. The 33-year-old journalist has a pretty impressive CV: she was the youngest chief White House correspondent in CNN’s history, and she also hosts the network’s prime-time show. She’s the first anchor to do both of these roles at the same time, making her arguably one of the busiest reporters in America.
Dan Abrams, Chief Legal Analyst at ABC News, opened his new Flatiron restaurant, Danny’s, for a press preview night last night. Naturally, the crowd included a bunch of TV news people, including Don Lemon, Ali Wentworth, reality star turned podcaster Jennifer Welch, MSNBC’s Ari Melber, and Fast Politics host Molly Jong-Fast, who we reported yesterday has just joined Substack. Danny’s is open to the public tomorrow.
A24 just dropped the teaser for Charli XCX’s movie The Moment, which comes out next year. The film – produced by and starring Charli and directed by Aidan Zamiri – follows “a rising pop star as she navigates the complexities of fame.” The cast is stacked with members of her squad, which includes some magazine people like Mel Ottenberg and Tish Weinstock as well as A.G. Cook, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, Kate Berlant, and Alexander Skarsgård. I admire her commitment to including her friend group in everything she does.
Flavors, the mini Happier Grocery outpost in the lobby of WSA, now serves steak frites with sauce au Poivre for $9.99. To put this in perspective, steak frites at The Odeon costs $49, Funny Bar is $29, Raoul’s is $64, and Chez Fifi’s price changes on the day.
wrote about a YouTube streamer called IShowSpeed, who has a new series called Speed Goes Pro, where he attempts to prove to his 44mm subscribers that he can make it as a professional athlete. Karten said she previously didn’t understand the “streaming is the future” narrative that entertainment industry professionals had been touting. Then she started watching Speed’s show, and got “hooked” for 2-3 hours a day. If you’re a brand person, it’s worth reading what Rachel wrote about how brands can tap into the medium. She asked the president of OBB Media’s branded content and entertainment studio what he tells CMOs about partnering with streamers (Speed Goes Pro is produced by OBB, co-founded by Friend of the Letter Lauren Ratner’s husband), and he said “streamers are the new appointment viewing… What’s different about streamers is that they don’t perform for their audience – they share with them. That creates a depth of engagement that traditional talent or even short-form creators can’t easily replicate.” Do any of you like watching streamers? Should we start streaming?
Ops, the pizza restaurant in the East Village which received a glowing review from Feed Me’s J. Lee, is launching a pizza collaboration series later this month. Restaurants participating include Yellow Rose (chorizo, Oaxaca cheese, cotija cheese, and jalapeño), Ha’s Đặc Biệt (mozzarella, lobster, Chinese sausage, scallion oil, Maggi black pepper, and chilis), Win Son Bakery (braised pork, basil, cilantro, chili, 5 spice béchamel) and more.
identified a new accessories trend from the animal kingdom in her letter today: eel skin. Khaite is selling bags made of real eel leather, Lemaire has faux eel boots, Dolce & Gabbana has a real eel toiletry bag that is “perfect for the modern man,” and Saint Laurent is doing it with loafers. This is interesting considering today’s news that Condé Nast won’t be showing real fur in editorials or advertising anymore, after a months-long campaign by The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade that involved protests outside of fashion editors’ apartments.
There’s an anniversary screening of Keith McNally’s End of the Night tomorrow at Roxy Cinema. McNally will be having a conversation with Vanity Fair contributing editor Lisa Robinson afterwards.
