City Feast makes cooking fun and money is raised to keep people healthy. Shown above is a City Feast event in the North End last year.
If you’ve been saying “no” to the bread basket since forming your resolutions for the New Year, here’s a loophole- the North End’s 7th Annual CityFeast. Boston’s favorite Italian neighborhood is inviting food lovers to dine for a cause at a choice participating restaurant on Sunday, Jan. 29.  The unique event will include a five-course dinner with wine pairings, and all proceeds will benefit Joslin Diabetes Center’s High Hopes Fund, which supports diabetes research and clinical care.
CityFeast co-hosts include Carla Gomes, proprietor of Antico Forno and Terramia; Matt and Sean Williams, proprietors of Lucca on Hanover Street; Jose Duarte, proprietor of Taranta on Hanover Street; Ray Bourque and Harvey Wilk, proprietors of Tresca on Hanover.
In addition to her two restaurants, Antico Forno  and Terramia, both on Salem Street,  Lucca, Tranta, and Tresca will also participate in making the charitable evening a scrumptious one. The restaurants are promoting the event on their websites and Facebook pages. The tickets are $150 each (of which $100 is tax deductible), and can be reserved at www.joslin.org/cityfeast or at participating restaurants.
Gomes began Cityfeast to raise money in hopes of finding a cure for diabetes, a disease her son David, 21, has had since his first birthday.
“I always wanted to contribute and help out Joslin as a way to say thank you for taking care of my son who has had Type 1 Diabetes for the past 20 years,” Gomes said.
David is one of 24 million Americans afflicted by the disease, which he has been coping with on his own since starting college three years ago. Gomes recounted the thousands of shots and finger pricks her son has had, and adamantly expressed her zeal to find a cure. Her passion in the fight against diabetes, mixed with her restaurant expertise were the only two ingredients Gomes needed to make CityFeast. Sometimes, the greatest meals come from the simplest recipes. “I’m in the restaurant business so I thought it was a simple way to get people out and have dinner. A lot of people like to come out because of the type of event that it is,” Gomes said.             Ultimately, Gomes hopes more restaurants become involved in the event, even if they don’t choose to directly participate. “Restaurants could become involved by giving a small percentage of sales from one day to the cause. Anything helps,” said Gomes, who also hopes to grow the event by attracting more people.
Last year, 225 people wined and dined, and this year Gomes hopes they surpass that number. As an added incentive, there will be a raffle for a new black S50 Vespa donated by Herb Chambers.
“I look forward to working with the participating restaurants once again,” Gomes said, eager to kick off the event which will formally begin at 6 p.m.
“It is also the people who have bought tickets year after year and have supported Cityfeast with generous donations that have made this event so successful,” Gomes added. “I see this event expanding in Boston, and will continue to raise money to cure this awful disease which afflicts my son and so many others as well. Our goal this year is to raise as much money to support The High Hopes Fund which will help find a cure so one day my son David and millions like him will be free from diabetes.”