Roasting Rich and Famous

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A Lady Gaga look-alike at the Through the Kitchen Benefit for the Cancer Research Institute, which brought in $685,000 this year.

The theme at this year's Through the Kitchen Benefit for the Cancer Research Institute, which took place, as always, at the Four Seasons restaurant, was "Notable New Yorkers."

This means that each table was devoted to a person you think about when you think about Manhattan—Jeff Koons, for instance; Liza Minnelli; Donna Karan; Joey Buttafuoco; Barbara Walters, Ed Koch, Tiger Woods and the slightly more general "Your Plastic Surgeon." Some of those New Yorkers even sat at tables that were named after them, like Tony Bennett and Mayor Bloomberg.

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Ronald Lauder

The decor of these tables was also specific to the individuals. At Mayor Bloomberg's, there was an old Bloomberg terminal the event's designer, DeJuan Stroud, bought for a dollar while vintage shopping.

At Mr. Buttafuoco's, there were condoms, fire pink panties, wrenches and gloves. At Andy Warhol's there was fake cocaine and oregano posing as marijuana. At Your Plastic Surgeon's there were big fake lips, hand mirrors, gauze and hypodermic needles. At Martha Stewart's there were handcuffs on an oven mitt tied with a gingham bow. Meanwhile, a Lady Gaga look-alike lounged in the pool.

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Cathie Black, Veronica Kelly and Lauren Veronis

In case you haven't figured it out, comedy is pretty integral to this party, which was founded 29 years ago by Lauren Veronis. Her idea was that guests should have a casual dinner that they retrieved for themselves from a buffet in the kitchen. At first, the restaurant "didn't think it was doable, that most likely it was too labor intensive and they didn't know how it would come together," Ms. Veronis recalled. "They kept looking at me like, 'What are you talking about lady?' But I think they eventually relented to get me off their backs."

Her concept was to keep it low-key. "People like the idea of not having to get too dressed up, of being able to pick what they want to eat and leaving a party before 10 p.m., " she added. "Twenty-nine years ago, that was particularly ahead of its time."

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Tony Bennett

The very first year, with 15 tables and 150 guests, Ms. Veronis tried to be funny. "We put ducks in the pool," she said. "It wasn't hard.

They actually went right in. And they started quacking away. The only nuisance was when one of us stood up, they quacked even more."

Ultimately, "it has to be humorous," she explained. "Humor is very, very important. People like to have fun. It's an offbeat party—you're taking what you want to eat! We've had a band in the pool. We've had the Statute of Liberty in there. We've had tugboats, Pocahontas, a canoe. One year, we sold the Brooklyn Bridge at auction. You know that old joke, right? I don't remember who bought it or what they paid."

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Each table at the benefit was devoted to a 'Notable New Yorker.' Above, a table named for Tony Bennett.

As for themes, "We've done everything": Famous lovers (like Joe Namath and himself, Ms. Veronis said), New York neighborhoods, U.S. states, parades of Manhattan. "We try to keep it American or a New York City theme and we always make each table different."

That's where Mr. Stroud, the event designer, comes in. He has done the party for nine years. Ms. Veronis always says, "let's make people laugh," Mr. Stroud said. "This isn't a serious party. She allows a certain irreverence. That's why we put marriage certificates on the Liza Minnelli table. That's not necessarily a nice thing, but it's funny."

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A table for John McEnroe

Still, "every year, it's always a challenge," Mr. Stroud added. It's not about the cost of materials: he scrounges and scours flea markets and online auctions for things that can apply to the tables. It's more that it's about creating "24 or 25 individual parties," he said.

"There's a specific tablecloth, a chair and a votive for each table. It's 25 separate ideas. And you always want to get things at the place settings for people to play around with. Like bunny ears at the Gloria Steinem table."

"Everyone loved using their blown-up lips and wrapping their head in gauze," said Ms. Veronis of this year's affair, which brought in $685,000 for the Irvington Institute Fellowship Program. "People always know that they're going to have fun and there are things they can be interactive with. They come psyched for that. They eat what they want, they wave to their friends and go home. We added a few auction items, but there are no speeches. It's a fun way to raise money, and we don't want it to become anything other than it is."

Write to Marshall Heyman at marshall.heyman@wsj.com