May 09, 2012
Bloomfield/Montclair, NJ- The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is thrilled to announce a new food and wine tasting event, Forks and Corks: A Culinary Experience. This first of a planned annual event will offer culinary enthusiasts the unique opportunity to sample scrumptious dishes by some of New Jersey's most popular restaurants preparing delicious bites alongside unique wine and cocktail pairings while supporting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in their movement towards a world free of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Local chef Ryan DePersio, of Bar Cara in Bloomfield and Fascino in Montclair will showcase his culinary skills as one of the evening’s featured chef’s for the Forks and Corks Culinary event. At the age of 34, Ryan DePersio has spent nearly half his life making his mark on the food world. DePersio is a graduate of the New York Restaurant School and his Fascino restaurant has received an "Excellent" rating from The New York Times.
Ryan's latest project as Chef/Consultant of NICO Kitchen + Bar, the new restaurant at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, which opened in late February 2012. His concept there is "Italian Without Borders" -- contemporary tastes, market driven ingredients, shared plates, high energy. NICO, incidentally, is Ryan's nickname for his six-year-old son Nicholas. Ryan DePersio's many television appearances include The Today Show, The Food Network, WCBS-TV with Tony Tantillo, and others.
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system which interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from reduced or lost mobility to numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men having the disease. MS affects, 400,000 people in the U.S., and over 2 million worldwide.
Forks and Corks: A Culinary Experience will be held at the new Maritime Parc Restaurant in Liberty State Park in Jersey City on Tuesday, May 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Along with the lavish food and wine, the night will feature live jazz music, an auction of unique and high quality items, and of course, breathtaking views of the New York Skyline. For more information or to order tickets for Forks and Corks, call Karen Drzik at: 201-967-5599 or on the web at www.nationalMSsociety.org/NJM. For more information about Chef Ryan DePersio’s restaurants log onto their website at http://www.nicokitchenbar.com, Bar Cara.com, or www.fascinorestaurant.com.
About the National MS Society
The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. We exist to make sure it doesn't.
We mobilize people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MSthrough our 50-state network of chapters. The Society helps people affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, and providing programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.
# # #