A Baby Shower for Maureen

November 20, 2017

It won't be long now - in just about three weeks, my personal business manager, Maureen Farago, and her husband, Chris, will welcome their first child - a girl!

Last week, I hosted a special baby shower at The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges, a casual yet elegant restaurant nestled in the picturesque town of Pound Ridge, New York - not far from my Bedford farm. My friend, acclaimed chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, restored the 1833 home and lodge, and preserved many of its original details. The Inn offers farm-to-table cuisine with ingredients sourced from the Hudson Valley and New England. I love this establishment - every dish is so fresh and flavorful - it was the perfect place for our gathering. We had about 15-guests, including Maureen’s mother, Pat, her mother-in-law, Margaret, her sister, Eileen, and her niece, Clara.

It was a most memorable evening for all - enjoy these photos.

: Here I am with Maureen and members of her family who traveled from Long Island, New York to attend the shower. This photo was taken in one of the lounge areas at The Inn. The Inn is such a charming restaurant. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit.

: We held the shower in one of the restaurant’s private rooms – a candle only illuminated wine cellar used for more intimate dining events.

: Each place setting included a menu listing all the wonderful small bites we enjoyed.

: I wanted the dining area filled with pink, so before the shower Heather and Shqipe decorated the space – many pieces were from my home, including these festive pink glass globes. Each globe was placed on a dessert plate to keep it from rolling.

: Candles were placed all around the table along with several vases of white flowers – these accents looked so beautiful with our pink theme.

: The room looked very special for Maureen – all the guests loved it. We used lots of balloons in different sizes, along with Martha Stewart Crafts paper flowers hung from the wooden beams.

: We even included pink “b-a-b-y” balloons – these were a big hit!

: Gifts were displayed on a nearby table. Shqipe made this pretty banner revealing the baby’s name, Julianna.

: Here is our group seated around the table – it was the perfect venue for the event.

: Our appetizers included this delicious salad – salumi and house-made pickles.

: We also had several platters of antipasto.

: Here is one of several pizzas we all devoured – a tomato and mozzarella basil pizza.

: This one is a mushroom, three cheeses and a farm egg pizza.

: And this is a black truffle and fontina pizza – Maureen’s favorite Inn at Pound Ridge meal.

: This is crackling calamari with yuzu dipping sauce and sesame oil.

: And, a peekytoe crab crostini with garlic aioli. Everything was shared family style.

: Here I am with Maureen and her mother-in-law, Margaret. We were all asked to wear pink for the party.

: Here I am with members of my staff – Shqipe, Ryan, Heather, Dorian and Maureen – but not everyone wore pink.

: Opening the beautiful baby gifts is always a highlight of any shower. Here, Maureen is opening a stack of gifts from her mom, Pat.

: Some also gave special cards with their gifts.

: Here, Maureen is opening my present – filled with “things for mom” – a collection of Mario Badescu products I chose myself.

: Maureen’s mother, Pat, looks on as Maureen opens another gift.

: We all took many photos. Here I am with Sanu, Laura, Dolma and Maureen. The staff at my farm is very close. It always makes me so happy to see everyone having such a great time.

: For dessert – pink cake, of course! This is carrot cake with pink cream cheese frosting and candied lemon. The chocolate cake had toasted marshmallow frosting.