Travel Tips

Suzy Gershman’s Postcard from DIFFA’s Traveling Dinner

Peter Greenberg Worldwide
Locations in this article:  Atlanta, GA Dallas, TX Las Vegas, NV New York City, NY San Francisco, CA Santa Barbara, CA

DIFFA Dinners - Suzy GershmanDear Peter,

Although most of my postcards to you are destinational, this one is conceptual.

I have to start by explaining that my email account is filled with offers for bargain air tickets and I was especially drawn to low prices on domestic routes from Virgin America and Southwest.  You can buy now (at everyday low prices) and travel through some date in April or past … it depends.

So I kept wondering where I could go and how to best take advantage of planning ahead. The answer was inspired by a recent party in San Francisco and leads me now to book tickets to Kansas City.

IN COMES DIFFA

I was invited to the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) Dining by Design gala dinner in San Francisco. This is an annual event that travels through eight to 10 U.S. cities, beginning in March (the next one will be in New York City, then on to Kansas City, etc.) and going through the fall and ending before Thanksgiving.

The first such event was created in Kansas City 18 years ago. As a national theatrical event, the tour has been on the go for 12 years. The one I attended was the last of the 2009 season, so I now know what to book for next year and how to plan my upcoming travels.

Chandlier Made of Plastic Beach BucketsThe lesson here? Spread those wings, help others and grow your imagination through travel.

The money raised at each Dining By Design event goes to a local program to help fight AIDS. There were 28 different tables—each seating about 10 people; each designed by or representing a different corporation or interior designer.  This is a traveling show, usually set up for two nights of open-to-the-paying-public parties. This is not a trade-only event although you can expect that each table will be a mix of design pros and civilians.

The first night event usually costs $100 per person and is a dinatoire, i.e. a “walking dinner” involving small bites and hors d’oeuvres. On night two, the gala dinner costs $500 and includes a seated dinner at a specific design table, a silent auction, music and dancing.

I’ve heard scuttlebutt behind the scenes that the most fun cities were Atlanta and Dallas and the most buttoned-up were New York and San Francisco. I’m booking for Atlanta next year!

Learn about more great culinary events in our Culinary Travel section.

SET ’EM UP

The tables were all set dramatically—some in minimalist style, others were over-the-top with clutter or creativity. One firm even did a doggy setting—on the floor, of course. The event was hosted inside the San Francisco Galleria Design Center, which has a giant atrium and many levels of mezzanine galleries so that you walked around almost as if you were at the Guggenheim.

Gabbiano WinesThere was a two-hour cocktail “hour” for viewing as right before dinner, the magical china and glassware were whisked away and everyday from-the-caterer cutlery was rolled in. I guess they don’t trust me with that gold-leaf stuff or the Marc Blackwell-designed wine glasses rimmed with a wedding band of gold at the lip and neck.

Each table was set with wine; for the 2009 tour that wine was sent from Italy by Castello Di Gabbiano—a white and a red were served with dinner.

One of the designers whispered to me that the secret of a great table is to: 1) put the wine bottle directly on the table and within easy reach of the guests; 2) have a light source on the table (usually candles) and 3) put something alive on the table (usually flowers, but don’t overlook fruit).

Join Suzy as she explores California Wine Country in the Bottle Blogs series.

LESSONS FROM TRAVEL

I always say that the reason we travel is to see something that will teach us something new, something with visual impact, something cultural that changes your life, your style or even your dinner table.

DIFFA tableAll the tables are this event were fabulous, but when you stood there and really stared, you could break things down: look at how that very average rented chair has been transformed by doing this swatch of fabric—I could do that at home! One of the tables had a sort of cartoonish theme, with decorated Chairman Mao statues … I have some of those at home; why don’t I do that for Chinese New Year in February?

Among the most creative tables were the ones from Benjamin Moore in which the diners ate inside a paint can and the Kravet table which used masses of brightly colored beach buckets as the chandelier to their tented table.  My personal favorite was by designer Joel Robare, which was filled with Victorian clutter and clever furniture made from stacks of old books.

Marc Blackwell’s table for Castello Di Gabbiano featured a massive copper dining table topped with boxwood in tubs and heaps of bright red apples reflected in the gold edged porcelain. Scrim printed with scenes from the vineyard (near Siena, Italy) formed the shelter to the table and emphasized one of the trends of the evening—the enclosed and thematic dining space.

With DIFFA-rent Kisses,
SuzyKG

By Suzy Gershman for PeterGreenberg.com. Visit Suzy on the Web at www.suzygershman.com, and check out more of her “Bottle Blogs” at www.borntoshoplady.blogspot.com.

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