Houston’s 40 Top Chefs, Cocktail Queens and Sommeliers Come Together for One Wild Foodie Dream Night

Grazing through Silver Street Studios during the Taste of the Nation, No Kid Hungry campaign seemed almost sinful. Such was the bounty of gourmet fare and appealing libations that had we not known that the $151,000 raised would provide more than 1.5 million meals for hungry children we might have been loaded with as much guilt as good food.

Bar owner Alba Huerta of Julep joined chefs Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar and Ryan Pera of Agricole Hospitality and Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn as co-chairs of the food fête that saw 40 of the city’s top chefs, sommeliers and mixologists participate in the fundraising effort.

We swooned over BCN chef Luis Roger’s Catalan sausage with caramelized onions and duxelle mushrooms, while Uchi’s pork belly with compressed tomato, red onion and fried shallot had us licking our chops. Brennan’s tempted with crawfish enchiladas. Brasserie 19 slayed us with the roasted escargot on roasted garlic crouton. Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen had us asking for a second on the tacos de carnitas. And Louie Mueller Barbecue‘s samplings had us thinking of driving over to Taylor, Texas, for more.

Think of it as the ultimate “eat, drink and be merry” event.

What would such a feast be without dessert? Among those pouring on the sweets were Cacoa & Cardamom, Dolce Neve, Michael’s Cookie Jar and Tiny Boxwood offering its sublime chocolate chip cookies.

And then there were the silent auction items including an Old Tub Bourbon from chef Chris Shepherd‘s private collection and a five-course tasting menu at Riel. There were VIP gift bags and a competition for a $1,500 shopping spree at Whole Foods. Holding it all together was ABC -13’s Katherine Whaley, who served as emcee.

Feasting: Chita Craft, Lindsay Brown, Chris Wadley, Jennifer Jordan, B&B Butchers & Restaurant’s Benjamin Berg, Karen Henry, Ryan Miller, Brandon Bourque, Derrick Shore, Marianna Corcoran, Laura and Jonathan Glueck and Share Our Strength executive vice president Chuck Scofield.