NEW YORK — Food Network star, chef, and cookbook author Jeff Mauro teamed up with Bayer and cardiologist Dr. Jayne Morgan during American Heart Month to host the Heart to Heart Bistro presented by Bayer Aspirin. This immersive pop-up dining experience aimed to highlight the often-overlooked risks of cardiovascular disease. Held on February 26 at Lavan Chelsea in Manhattan, and attended by Chain Drug Review, the event featured a carefully curated menu, educational insights, and a sensory dining experience designed to encourage guests to pay closer attention to their heart health.
The evening unfolded in a beautifully designed dining area at the Chelsea venue, where warm lighting, elegantly arranged tables, and a relaxed vibe made it feel more like an upscale restaurant than a typical health-awareness event. Guests attended one of two seatings, enjoying a carefully prepared multi-course meal while listening to Mauro and Dr. Morgan discuss how food, lifestyle, and awareness can influence cardiovascular health.
The event also promoted Bayer’s Heart Health Risk Assessment, a two-minute online tool that asks users 13 questions about factors such as age, lifestyle and family history. More than 75,000 people have already completed the assessment, which estimates a user’s 10-year cardiovascular risk, calculates an approximate “heart age,” identifies potential risk factors and suggests next steps for discussing heart health with a doctor.*
A key part of the experience was a “dark dining” activity where guests wore blindfolds during parts of the meal. Mauro explained that the idea was to show how heart-health risks can remain hidden even when people believe they are living healthy lives.
“I partnered with Bayer Aspirin to help shed some light on the major heart health risk factors that we were kind of highlighting with a little sensory deprivation and blindfolds during the meal,” Mauro said, speaking to Chain Drug Review. “When you take your first bite, you don’t really know what you’re eating. That’s a way to bring attention to the denial that a lot of people have with some of these risks that are not obvious.”
He noted that many people assume that exercise and healthy habits alone eliminate cardiovascular risk.
“Your age, your genetics, your lifestyle choices, all this stuff,” Mauro said. “You may think you’re super healthy, and you work out, and you eat and drink a lot of water, and you do all the right things, but there are so many other health risks involved that really are out of your control.”
The menu was written in invisible ink, only legible at the end of the meal with a special UV flashlight.
The immersive dining concept was paired with an educational message encouraging guests to better understand their personal cardiovascular risk.
Mauro said he was surprised when he took the assessment himself.
“I feel like I’m the healthiest man alive, and I took it, and because I have heart disease in my family and because I’m turning 48 this year, I’m at a higher risk,” he said. “That was eye-opening for me.”
During the event, Mauro also served as host, introducing each course and speaking with guests throughout the evening.
“I’m introducing the courses and talking the whole time with a wireless microphone, which is my favorite sport,” he joked. “This is just a fun, loose time, and people are really enjoying the food. The food’s delicious.”
The menu itself was carefully designed to connect culinary elements with heart-health themes.
The meals served at the Heart to Heart Bistro.
The meal began with a trio of aged cheeses, highlighting aging as a major cardiovascular risk factor. Mauro explained that, just as cheeses develop flavor over time, age also influences heart health risk.
“What develops humans and interesting people is time, maturity and wisdom, and what develops these flavors in cheeses is time,” he said.
The main course included lemon-and-thyme-roasted chicken with smoked polenta. The smoked element of the dish represented smoking, which is a controllable risk factor for heart health.
The evening ended with dark chocolate avocado mousse and poached pears for dessert. Mauro said the dessert was meant to show how people can make healthier indulgence choices without sacrificing flavor.
“A lot of people get anxiety about dessert because they want it so bad,” he said. “This way, you can make better decisions and eliminate some of that stress, because stress is a giant risk factor in heart health. Stress is a killer, literally.”
Throughout the dinner, Dr. Morgan offered medical context on cardiovascular disease, explaining that many of the most serious risks are not immediately visible.
“One thing I didn’t know,” Mauro said, reflecting on conversations with the cardiologist, “was that 50% of heart attacks are with people who are basically not high risk. So it can happen to anybody.”
The evening balanced education and entertainment, combining an engaging dining experience with meaningful health insights. Jeff Mauro’s humor, warmth, and personal reflections made the message approachable, while Dr. Jayne Morgan’s deep medical expertise provided the scientific context behind the discussion of cardiovascular risk. Their perspectives complemented each other throughout the event, creating a program that was both informative and enjoyable. By pairing memorable flavors, storytelling, and expert guidance, the Heart to Heart Bistro left guests with a deeper understanding of the hidden risks of cardiovascular disease and a lasting reminder of the importance of heart health and prevention.
*The company emphasizes that the assessment is informational and does not replace an evaluation by a qualified healthcare professional.
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