The days become longer and warmer.
Pedestrians roll their shirtsleeves up and cabbies roll their windows down.
Vast blocks of metal and gray brighten with the season's first flowers. What better way to celebrate the glories of spring than at the table of John Reilly , executive chef of Great Performances . A veritable Fantasy Island of party planning, Great Performances will create an intimate luncheon in the privacy of your home, tackle a company picnic for 10,000, or set up shop on Ellis Island, preparing a sit-down affair for 750 in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. This year alone, he will prepare meals for more than 1,500 engagements. Reilly, who lives in New Paltz, New York, rises before dawn each morning, sometimes personally delivering fresh Hudson Valley produce to his kitchen in the city.