“This can’t be real”—that was the knee-jerk reaction of Matt Lambert, chef/owner of The Musket Room in New York, when he heard of the Christchurch mosque shootings, the deadliest mass shootings in modern New Zealand history, this past March. 

“You become a little distant because it seems so frequent globally,” he continues. “But if you’re a New Zealander, it’s just an unbelievable thing to have happened. You very rarely see a gun unless you endeavor to. To have gun violence to the scale of that attack is really heavy.” 

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impactful art by @rubyalicerose My heart goes out to the families effected by the disgusting and senseless acts of some mentally defective racists in New Zealand. One of the great qualities of New Zealand is we love all and accept all. We take a large number of displaced people to help them obtain a freedom. To target a group of refugees is the most vile and disgusting shit I’ve ever heard of. This is not a representation of the most peaceful and passive place on earth, this is a representation of governments globally doing stupid shit that allows simpletons to feel comfortable with unacceptable thoughts and words which translate to actions. I read there was an anti immigration manifesto. Everyone in New Zealand migrated there. The Europeans came late and to be honest we have no place to be talking who should or shouldn’t be allowed there. I’m heart broken, Saddened but optimistic. Im optimistic when Johnny is talking shit at a party his friends might check him now. When Larry starts joking about religion his friends might educate him and curb his behavior. New Zealand is small and loving place. This will not define us. Also people of Christchurch I’m sorry you keep getting the wrong end of the stick. First the earth quakes now this. I’m optimistic and positive this will generate great leadership in the future. #newzealand #endracisim #pma #standwithrefugees #standwithchristchurch #makenewzelandsafeagain #whānau

A post shared by Matt Lambert (@musketmatt) on Mar 15, 2019 at 5:47am PDT

Next week, the New Zealand native is hosting a six-course dinner at his Nolita restaurant benefitting the victims, with 100% of the proceeds going towards the Christchurch Shooting Victims’ Fund. 

Dishes include Ora king salmon with apples and horseradish yogurt; New Zealand beef Wellington; a caviar tart with egg yolk and onions; and a dark chocolate namelaka with banana and rum for dessert. All food and beverages were donated by friends of Musket Room, including Fulton Fish Market, Regalis, D’Artagnan, Valrhona, Deutsch Family and Supernatural Wine Co., among others. “Everyone jumped in,” he says. “It was a group effort.”

“It’s more about helping people that were put in the [worst possible] situation they could have ever have been put in,” he adds. “Most of these people were refugees who came to our country to escape this [stuff]. I want to make it more about helping people that need help than anything else.” 

Reserve your seat for the fundraising dinner by calling 212.219.0765 or via Resy. 

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