Model Elettra Weidemann saw a void in healthy lunch options for hurried and hungry Fashion Week attendees. So last season she launched the Goodness pop-up restaurant at Ed's Chowder House at the Empire Hotel.
"I've been through so many Fashion Weeks' where I didn't have access to good food," says Elettra, the daughter of Italian actress and model Isabella Rosselllini and granddaughter of screen legend Ingrid Bergman.
"Everyone looks their best for the first two days, but we crash after living on [nothing but] wine and champagne."
This season, from Feb. 11- Feb. 14 Goodness returned as a pop-up restaurant at Robert, atop the Museum of Arts and Design. Each day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., guests noshed on regionally sourced seasonal cuisine by a rotating line-up of hand-picked celebrity chefs including Iron Chef Mario Batali of Babbo and Julian Medina of Toloache. A la carte and prix fixe ($35) menus were available.
For the first year, Goodness also presented the Goodness Lounge by Renaissance Hotels for bloggers, editors and industry insiders. Elettra is the face of Lancome, and in the lounge press covering Fashion Week experienced masterful manicures and make-up touch-ups by the Parisian beauty brand.
To keep things fresh, Goodness will change venues every season. "It's an industry that gets bored easily," admits Elettra, who keeps things interesting by traveling and training for her first triathlon.
Chef Medina comments that the pairing of fashion and food is a natural partnership. "We chefs create beautiful food," he says. "And fashion creates beauty with models and couture."
Although Valentine's Day is over, it's never too late to plan a romantic meal. What would Chef Medina put on the menu? "Anything you can eat with your hands."
Goodness will make future appearances in Paris, London, Miami and Doha, Qatar. For more information, go to goodnesspopup.com.
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| Elettra Wiedemann |
"Everyone looks their best for the first two days, but we crash after living on [nothing but] wine and champagne."
This season, from Feb. 11- Feb. 14 Goodness returned as a pop-up restaurant at Robert, atop the Museum of Arts and Design. Each day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., guests noshed on regionally sourced seasonal cuisine by a rotating line-up of hand-picked celebrity chefs including Iron Chef Mario Batali of Babbo and Julian Medina of Toloache. A la carte and prix fixe ($35) menus were available.
"Goodness is a place to experience good food, great chefs and to get charged to take Fashion Week by the horns," she says of the pop-up restaurant, which earned the CFDA's Health Initiative Stamp of Approval.
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| Goodness Lounge by Renaissance Hotels. |
Chef Medina comments that the pairing of fashion and food is a natural partnership. "We chefs create beautiful food," he says. "And fashion creates beauty with models and couture."
Although Valentine's Day is over, it's never too late to plan a romantic meal. What would Chef Medina put on the menu? "Anything you can eat with your hands."
Goodness will make future appearances in Paris, London, Miami and Doha, Qatar. For more information, go to goodnesspopup.com.
I'd like to meet this chef Medina.
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