Celebrity Dinnertime Chez Madoff

By Gabrielle Birkner December 18, 2008

For Bernard Madoff, who federal prosecutors say ran a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, there’s little hope these days of getting out for a leisurely dinner at Daniel, at Davidburke & Donatella, or at any of the tony restaurants near his manse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

But Madoff’s wife, Ruth, should have no trouble preparing for her husband a range of gourmet dishes such as Dover sole poached in vermouth, buckwheat risotto with wild leeks and goat cheese, and double lemon mille-feuille; they are among the many recipes in a 1996 cookbook that she co-edited.

In “Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher: Over 175 Recipes From America’s Greatest Restaurants,” Madoff and one of her co-editors, Idee Schoenheimer (Karen MacNeil also edited the book), reached out to several world-renowned chefs — including Daniel Boulud, David Burke, and Emeril Lagasse — and asked them to provide kosher renditions of their favorite dishes. Proceeds from the 185-page, photo-filled cookbook benefited Jewish National Fund.

The cookbook features a picture of an apron-clad Madoff, standing alongside Schoenheimer. Madoff’s bio touts her master’s degree in nutrition and refers to her as “Director of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,” her husband’s now-collapsed company that may have cost investors as much as $50 billion.

The now-notorious Wall Street trader may want to relish fancy fare while he can; if convicted of securities fraud, he could spend the next 20 years eating prison food and commissary snacks.

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