A Diner's Place is in the Kitchen

On any given day, the Grill Room at the Four Seasons is the place where deals are done and the people-watching can't be beat. But last night, the main action at the Park Avenue restaurant was in a place most patrons never see. Nearly three hundred supporters of the Cancer Research Institute turned up for the annual "Through the Kitchen" fund-raiser, which transforms the culinary heart of the legendary eatery into a buffet smorgasbord. Ticket sales, along with the proceeds of a live auction, netted in excess of half a million dollars for the charity. Organizers of the event are to be forgiven if they felt like throwing a parade after raising such a handsome sum, particularly since New York's parades were the theme of the night, with tables in the Pool Room themed to many of the city's quintessential street carnivals, from the St. Patrick's Day parade to the Steuben Day parade. Even Coney Island's Mermaid parade was represented, with—what else?—a raven-haired, fish-tailed beauty floating on a raft in the restaurant's reflecting pool.