Thea Foundation’s benefit makes for tasteful evening
Marc Guizol of the Capital Hotel, serving up Fall Butternut Puree with Apple and Whipped Goat Cheese.
Kelli Mark of Sweet Love baker, dispensing Flourless Chocolate Cake with Mango Gelee and Pumpkin Cheesecake with Coffee Caviar.
Stephen Burrow of Skye’s Bistro at Stratton’s Market, offering Soybean Hummus with Pickled Shrimp, Piquante and Grilled Corn on Crostini.
Hungry yet? Sorry, you’ll have to catch these talented chefs at their places of business if you didn’t catch them at Blue Plate Special, the annual Thea Foundation fundraiser held Oct. 26 on the Capital’s mezzanine.
Guests also sipped libations from the bar as well as concoctions by featured mixologists Ben Franks of Petit and Keet and Luiggi Uzcategui of Big Orange Midtown. Serving as celebrity chef’s aids and hosts were Renee Shapiro and Chris Kane, both of KATV; glass artist James Hayes; singer Genine Perez; Steve and Vicki Farrell, comedians with The Main Thing; Lisa Fischer of KURB “B98.5”; jazz trumpeter Rodney Block; Jonathan Nettles of KTHV; Greg Henderson, editor of Rock City Eats; artist Michael Shaeffer; musician Amy Garland Angel; and Rusty Mathis, general manager of the Ben E. Keith Co.
With a sellout crowd milling around a limited space, it wasn’t always the easiest thing to make one’s way to where South on Main’s Ben Blain was dishing out Hot Chicken Rillettes with Pickle Powder, or where Payne Harding of Cache was pleasing palates with Braised Kobe Beef Gnocchi. Or the stations that featured morsels by Jeff Owen of Ciao Baci; Gilbert Alaquinez of Forty-Two; Brian Kearns of Simply the Best Catering; Amanda Ivy of Old Mill Bread; and Mark Abernathy of Red Door.
But the yumminess — and the continuation of programs of the Thea Foundation, whose mission is to affect young people through the arts — was worth the struggle. The foundation has awarded nearly $2.25 million in scholarships, distributed more than $1.5 million in art supplies to underfunded schools and implemented many arts-related youth programs.
— Story and photos by Helaine R. Williams