Essential Communications’ David Schwartz (right) and his client, chef Marco Moreira (left), owner of NYC restaurants Tocqueville and 15 East, show off the suckling pig prepared by his staff in one of Dining in New York City model kitchens.

Good food and stellar clients working for a great cause brought Essential Communications to an elaborate book launch for Dining in New York City. In order to properly celebrate the cuisine-centric photo book created by Jan Bertelsman in collaboration with renowned chefs Daniel Boulud and Marco Moreira, a "dine-around" experience was set up in the kitchens of several chic new condos in the 15 Union Square West building in downtown New York City. All proceeds were donated to Citymeals-On-Wheels.

Upon receiving an invitation to attend as a guest of friends and clients including Moreira and Nobu, David Schwartz, founder and president of Essential Communications, wondered how he could contribute to the charitable event. “I wondered what they were doing for sound and music, and it turned out, with no budget for music, they were just planning on using portable music players  with docking stations," Schwartz recalls. "I knew that wouldn’t be good enough for the large spaces, with over 350 guests expected, so I offered to donate my services and equipment, and provided the sound system and music programming for the evening. It was for a great cause.”

With 15 Union Square West still under construction, four adjacent model apartments provided the kitchens and entertaining space for the book launch dine-around. Participating restaurants included Annisa, Anthos, Blue Hill, Devi, Gramercy Tavern, Per Se and Veritas, among others.

As guests moved among the showplace apartments, Schwartz ensured that the atmosphere was as flavorful as the cuisine. “We set up a variety of Tannoy speakers and subwoofers throughout the spaces,” Schwartz describes. “At first, I thought of having four different soundtracks, to represent the variety of cuisines being prepared in each kitchen. But ultimately, I felt having one soundtrack for all the spaces would be a better way to bring the event together rather than reflecting individual restaurants.” 

As each apartment presented a different layout, Schwartz's sound design varied accordingly. “One of the most impressive spaces looks out over Union Square and has a big, open gallery-type living room with a kitchen at one end and dining room at the other,” Schwartz explains. “We put up two Tannoy V8s on the perimeter of that room, and a V6 on a credenza along with a TS12 self powered subwoofer sitting on the floor beside it. Throughout the apartments, we integrated the speakers into the existing furnishings as much as possible—inside and on top of cabinets and where there was no furniture, we used tripods.”

Schwartz chose Tannoy speakers for this unique event for the same reason he’s gone with Tannoy in so many high-end restaurants, retail, and hospitality environments in recent years. “Tannoy is really my go-to brand,” he notes. “In fact, three of the restaurants that were part of this event—Nobu, 15 East and Tocqueville—all have Tannoy speakers, as part of sound systems I designed and integrated.”