A toast to the parties this week, two of which were focused on food. The venerable Chaine des Rotisseurs has a local chapter in Memphis, and this week celebrated with a five-course dinner at the Racquet Club (that’s Tom Cassidy raising his glass, left, with wife Mary Lynn and Joe Amendola, a special visitor from the Culinary Institute of America). Amendola, 86, taught baking and pastry at CIA for more than 50 years, and shared his secret to longevity with Michael Donahue in today’s column: “Moderation.” Click here for the slide show, right, which also includes pictures from Ballet Memphis’s latest Connection: Food performance.

Were you there?