Larry Wohl, Sirio Maccione, Cheri Kaufman and Ravi Batra.
Photo by: Chance Yeh/Patrick McMullan

Cheri Kaufman Celebrates “Summer In the City” with Supper & A Show With Performance by Here II Here at Le Cirque

Cheri Kaufman of historic Kaufman Astoria Studios hosted a “Summer in the City” cocktail buffet dinner for her many friends including David Koch, Anne Dexter Jones, on air radio host Mark Simone and Catherine Saxton at the always chic Le Cirque on Monday, June 23. The reason for the sumptuous soiree was in part to introduce her protégés, Here II Here, the bi-lingual musical group from Miami.

In the private dining room “Stella” on the second floor of the restaurant, there was a buffet with two stations featuring filet of beef sliced razor thin to order and sautéed cheese ravioli with a simple and irresistible tomato sauce for all to enjoy. While the pristine waiters passed a variety of irresistible hors d’oeuvres including tuna tartar, lobster medallions, and beef carpaccio complimented by perfectly chilled flutes of bubbling champagne, Ilonka Harezi and her little tiny pooch Jyba (named for Jesus, Yawah, Buda, Allah and dressed in a petite little doggy wedding gown), husband Court Reeves and son Bryan, who manages the band, mingled with Le Cirque’s owner Sirio Maccioni and Rebecca Silver, Ravi Batra, David Patrick Columbia, Larry Leeds, Alan Patricos, Rodolfo Valentin and Maria Aranova, Elaine Sargent, Margot Catsimatidis and her husband John (who is running for Mayor of NY), Debbie Bancroft, animal advocate Frances Hayward, Elaine Sargent, Larry Wohl, Maxim model twins Jodie and Diane Fanelli and high powered attorney Salvatore Strazzullo.

Once guests, including designer Michael Mione, event planner Harriette Rose Katz, Micah Jesse, Roger Wilson, Geoffrey Thomas and Sharon Sondes, R. Couri Hay, Susan Hirschcorn and Jan Chipman had indulged their palates, Cheri took to the stage to introduce the boys - Alex, Kaz, Ash, Jaime and Edwin - all dressed in white except for the singer’s red turban - to perform from their CD ”What If in Infinity There is No Such Thing as Far…” Cheri had discovered the band through music impresario and producer Suzanne de Passe. They began their set with the “Time IV Change,” a blend of soulful sounds of guitars and exotic sitar like instruments melded with their perfectly harmonized voices, which captivated the audience for the entire show.