When Daniel Boulud was spotted in the crowded garden of Elisabeth de Kergorlay’s Greenwich Village townhouse the other night, I wondered if the famed chef had prepared the hors d’oeuvres being passed around. Certainly not.
The fig and caramelized onion puffs, scallops wrapped in bacon and risotto crab cakes were frozen food products that will soon be sold at Babeth’s Feast, opening on the Upper East Side in July.
De Kergolay, a Belgian-born comtesse and investor in Le Pain Quotidien, launched the business after hosting Sunday buffets in Paris with items from the supermarket freezer.
“Through clever presentation, my guests never suspected, and they all voted me a fabulous cook,” said the tall, blond entrepreneur, whose family has a chateau in Normandy.
Guests included Steve and Christine Schwarzman, Anh Duong, Diana Widmaier Picasso, Felicia Taylor, Vanessa von Bismarck and Bara and Roger de Cabrol, who helped finish decorating de Kergolay’s art-filled townhouse.