Who

Looking for fancy hors d'oeuvres to serve to 500 of your closest friends? Sean Driscoll is the high-end caterer who services the city's elite.

Backstory

Driscoll produced TV commercials before teaming up with Christopher Idone to start the catering company Glorious Food in 1971. To assemble a team of part-time waiters, he came up with a novel approach: He contacted casting directors to find hot, struggling actors in need of work. (Glorious alums include two of the three members of the Blue Man Group—they actually met while working for Driscoll—as well as Bronson "Balki Bartokomous" Pinchot.) In the 1980s Driscoll contemplated expanding his operation nationwide, but decided to focus his efforts on conquering the New York's high-end catering market. Mission accomplished: Glorious Food now services New York's most notable social doyennes, captains of industry and charity groups. Idone is no longer part of the operation these days. The company is managed by Driscoll and his top chef, Jean-Claude Nédélec.

Of note

The preferred caterer of senescent society types, Driscoll has provided fancy hors d'oeuvres for numerous functions organized by the likes of Annette de la Renta and David Rockefeller, as well as the late Brooke Astor and Pat Buckley. More generally, though, Driscoll caters the biggest charity events in town—often at the price of $300 or $400 per head—including the New York Botanical Garden's Conservatory Ball, the New York Public Library's annual fundraiser, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit (which is organized by Anna Wintour), and the annual Robin Hood Foundation Benefit (where a table at the David Saltzman-coordinated affair will run you $250,000). Glorious Food is also the go-to caterer for the Whitney and MoMA.

Legal file

Female employees of Glorious Food filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the company in 1995, claiming that they'd been excluded from working certain events. The caterer paid out $425,000 to settle the suit.

For the record

Jonathan Schell, a former employee, made a 1995 movie about the company and its wait staff called Picasso Would Have Made a Glorious Waiter.

Personal

The gay Driscoll lives on East 75th Street.