Houston’s $10,000 Ticket Dinner — The World’s Best Restaurant, Three Michelin Starred Chefs and a Meal Like No Other
Hope and Opportunity For Texas Children's
BY Shelby Hodge //
Chef Jordi Roca, Ignacio Torras, Chef Joan Roca at the Hope & Opportunity dinner in support of the neurodiverse community. (Photo by Texas Children's Hospital)
The buzz in the living areas of Isabel and Ignacio Torras’ Houston home was second only to the energy in the vast temporary kitchen erected just outside. For within the tented walls, three Michelin Star chefs and a total 21 back-of-house chefs bustled around, whipping up a fantastical nine-course evening for 100 diners.
It was a philanthropic exercise played out over two consecutive nights, 100 diners attending each soirée.
(Photo by Texas Children’s Hospital)
These “Hope and Opportunity Dinners,” uniting science and social awareness, earned more than $400,000 for Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute and The Genuine Foundation in a salute to neurodiversity. It was a union of “Hope” through groundbreaking research at the institute and “Opportunity” via The Genuine Foundation’s platform for inclusion.
The extraordinary fundraiser, dinner presented by BBVA, was the brainchild of Ignacio Torras, whose inspiration was his godson. The charming young man has mastered his intellectual differences to become a student at the University of St. Thomas. Tickets went as high as $10,000 per person to this special dinner.
(Photo by Texas Children’s Hospital)
Leading the culinary charge on these exceptional evenings were the Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca, voted the Best Restaurant in the World twice. Helming the feast were head chef Joan Roca and dessert chef Jordi Roca, both of who jetted in for the fundraiser from their legendary restaurant in Girona, Spain. They were joined by Chef Luis Roger of Michelin Star restaurant BCN Taste & Tradition in which he and Torras are partners.
Diners were invited to visit the kitchen and have a moment and photo-op with the Roca brothers. In the background, chefs and support staff scurried about, preparing and plating in complete silence as is the wont of these celebrated chefs.
SHOP
On the way to the kitchen, everyone passed the clutch of some 25 excited young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who had been training for three months to be the servers for the evening. Their service of each course was a beautiful nod to the advocacy for the inclusion of neurodiverse individuals that The Genuine Foundation supports.
The first evening honored Dr. Huda Zoghbi , founding director of Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Whitney and Jim Crane, owner of the Houston Astros, whose charitable arm the Astros Foundation supports local and regional causes. The second dinner honored philanthropist Laura Arnold, co-founder of Arnold Ventures LLC, a philanthropic organization that advocates for equity and innovation; and Texas Children’s hospital CEO and president Debra F. Sukin.
“You are all about running toward the problem,” Sukin told the gathering, “which is exactly what we do at Texas Children’s. We run toward the problem . . . making Houston the epicenter of the world for bringing hope.
The menu? Three sophisticated passed hors d’oeuvres, Cured Mackerel With Ajo Blanco, Lacquered Eggplant, Artemisia Norway Lobster, Turbot Trilogy, Veal Shoulder With Mushrooms, Orange Chromatism, Lactic Dessert and Bonbons.
(Photo by Texas Children’s Hospital)
PC Seen: Monica and Yordan Álvarez, Dr. William Zoghbi, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Cathy and Joe Cleary, Carlos Correa, Molly and Jim Crownover, Adrienne and Jim Crane, Paula and Reginald DesRoches, David Pruner, Pam and Keith Fullenweider, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Penny and Paul Layne, Tracy L. Vaught and Chef Hugo Ortega.
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