block party; On an East Village sidewalk, Looking Glass caters a picnic with champagne and couscous.(at Harvard University)

Byline: William Norwich

You can always expect news from Harvard-but rarely, if ever (and no offense to the Ivy League intended), in the friendlier fields of fashion or food.

But now, the ink hardly dry on their Harvard diplomas, two young women are making noise in New York with a joint venture, Looking Glass caterers.

Meredith James and Melia Marden met as undergraduates a few years ago while designing costumes for one of the university's many theatrical productions, and were surprised to discover they shared an affinity for entertaining. Soon they were hosting jolly gatherings with the greatest flair in and around Cambridge, excelling, in particular, at tea parties with dress-up themes ranging from old-time Bowery dives to Alice in Wonderland (an affair, they admit, necessitated by the discovery of certain Victorian dresses in a Boston thrift shop).

Recently the glamorous gourmets were called into action to create a meal with a relaxed, neighborly mission. The Rivington Arms gallery-owned by Melia's sister, Mirabelle Marden, and her business partner, Melissa Bent-had moved from its original location to East Second Street in New York, a new and larger space practically next door to John Derian's celebrated shop for tabletop goodies, bibelots, art, and other fine chicerie. Why not have a picnic supper on the sidewalk outside John's shop, and invite friends of Rivington Arms and John Derian to mix it up with a convivial summer's evening dining on Looking Glass cuisine?

The morning of the dinner, Meredith and Melia finessed their menu. Dressed in Lauren Moffatt, they headed up to the Greenmarket in Union Square.

"We like food that is not fussy, not high-maintenance, but appealing and eclectic, a mix of exotic things served family-style," explained Melia, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute who last summer worked for Maya's, the St. Barth's eatery. (She has been cooking since childhood, really, at home with her parents, Brice and Helen Marden, noted hosts.)