The Italian Villa Life Hits Houston in a Poolside Night at a Luxe Hotel
Cocktailing with the Borlenghis Teases a Major Food Event
BY Shelby Hodge // 05.20.19Shafik Rifaat & Shelby Hodge with hosts Giorgio & Cathy Borlenghi, Alex Borlenghi at the kick off, held at Hotel Granduca, for the American Cancer Society's Corks & Forks fundraiser. (Photo by Roswitha Vogler)
We could have been in the garden of an Italian villa as waiters swirled through, beneath the palms, with tempting appetizers and colorful drinks while the David Caceres trio provided the lilting soundtrack to a poolside evening at the luxe Hotel Granduca. It was the launch for the American Cancer Society’s Corks & Forks fundraiser, scheduled for October 3. And it could not have been lovelier.
Hotel Granduca owners Cathy and Giorgio Borlenghi and Alex Borlenghi hosted the cocktail fete saluting major underwriters, the chairs and honorees of the fundraiser that promises to be a foodie paradise with numerous leading chefs cooking for the crowd. Tiziana Triolo, ACS distinguished events development manager, is the mastermind behind the lavish event.
The only chef necessary on this night, however, was Hotel Granduca executive chef Maurizio Ferrarese, who with his team wowed the gathering with frutti di mare risotto with cream of asparagus presented in mini cast iron skillets, roasted quail breast topped with foie gras and leek jam, plus a host of scrumptious passed appetizers which all but negated moving on to dinner elsewhere. (But, in fact, more than a few booked tables at Ferrarese’s domain within the hotel, Ristorante Cavour.)
The Borlenghis have a special connection to the event as Mary Grace Gray, who opened the Granduca and helmed the hotel for 10 years and then worked with the Borlenghis at Interfin before joining John Daugherty Realtors, is chairing the event. In addition, the Borlenghis and the Corks & Forks honorees, Shelby Hodge and Shafik Rifaat, have been friends through the decades. Also receiving special recognition at the main event will be Victory, the arm of the American Cancer Society that produces the Cattle Baron’s Ball.
PC Seen: Major underwriter Clare Glassell, Elizabeth and Alan Stein, Dr. Fabio Triolo, Cynthia and Bucky Allshouse, Channing Allshouse, Holly Moore, Donna and Tony Vallone, John Daugherty, Cheri Fama, Hector Villarreal, Margaret Alkek Williams, Diane Lokey Farb, Renee and Alan Helfman, Brad Marks, Mary Ann and David McKeithan, Valery and Bill Meek, Jerre Parson Williams and Dennis Williams.
Gift Guide
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