Mothers and daughters honored with ‘Fashion Gene’ awards
Who says that food and fashion aren’t the perfect pair? Certainly not Recipe for Success founder, president and CEO Gracie Cavnar.
“After all, who doesn’t dress for dinner?” she asked Wednesday’s Fashion Gene Award attendees, seated runway-style at Tootsies. The 11th annual soirée marks the finale of a season-long “Dress for Dinner” event series hosted by the foundation’s 2016 chair, Carrie Colbert. As a nod to Mother’s Day, six stylish mother-daughter teams were honored during their respective spins down the catwalk.
Jacqueline Fair and Jillian Bass, Jo Lynn and Christine Falgout (daughter Kimberly Falgout was unable to attend), Tammie Johnson and Leigh Randolph, Vanessa and Alexa Sendukas, Jana Arnoldy with daughters-in-law Lindley Arnoldy and Lauren Barrett, and Duyen, Misha, Lauren, Chloe and Anais Nguyen all strutted their stuff in spring looks by Alexis, Badgley Mischka and more. Shelby Hodge took over emcee duties from her colleague Clifford Pugh, who is recovering from motorcycle-accidentrelated injuries.
For a lucky few — 36, to be precise — the evening’s festivities were just getting started. Chef Barbara McKnight prepared an inspired feast of green papaya and pomelo salad, beef short rib “Bo Kho” and a brown butter almond tart with strawberries.
“If you eat nothing else, eat that,” she advised diners of the dessert course. The Culinaire founder and highly regarded caterer has been teaching local fourth-graders how to prepare healthful meals every month for the past decade.
“I like to say that we’ve been celebrating our 10th anniversary all year long,” Cavnar said before the intimate meal began, standing at the center of a single long table that she had artfully festooned herself with fresh white flowers and candles. “Our mission has always been to combat childhood obesity. We teach children about food from seed to plate and are focused on changing the way that people think about their food.”
Supporters contributed $17,000 toward the nonprofit’s Seed-to-Plate nutrition-education programs and the newly opened Hope Farms, which trains veterans to become farmers.