$4.6 Million Dallas Night Fueled by City’s Top Chefs and 1,200 Guests

The numbers are astonishing: 1,200 guests, 18 top chefs, wine pairings from 30 leading wineries, 620 silent auction wine lots and proceeds of a whopping $4.6 million. Once again, the American Heart Association Dallas chapter’s Côtes du Coeur scored the most successful AHA fundraising evening in the country with net proceeds of $4 million.

Applause for gala chairs Kelly and David Pfeil, executive leadership team chair Barbara Smith, logistics chairs Terri Gallagher and Kim Hext, and chef chair Richard Chamberlain, whose stroke in the culinary community guaranteed a grand dinner at the Omni Hotel.

Count Dean Fearing of Fearing’s, Jim Severson of Sevy’s, Carl Murray of Nobu, John Tesar of Knife, Stephen Rogers of Gemma, Dan Landberg of Dragonfly, Chad Houser of Cafe Momentum, and Alex Astranti of Uchi  among the notable top toques participating.

While the highly-regarded Merry Edwards Winery was the Tête du Cuvée honoree, featured wines included Beringer, Etude, Ramey and Sequoia Grove and more, making this the best wine evening of any charity event in the city.

With all the good food and drink, generous patrons were inspired to raise their paddles high during the Open Your Heart appeal with more than $1.5 million raised in during just that. Live auction items were hot as well with deep-pocketed guests vying for luxurious packages ranging from vineyard experiences to Dallas Cowboys tickets. The highest bid went for an exclusive trip to Paris for a private tour of the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles. It sold twice, both times for $110,000. The second highest bid went for a VIP weekend package to the Merry Edwards Winery in California’s Russian River Valley. That jaunt sold twice as well.

Wining and dining: Côtes du Coeur founder Bob Hillert; American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown and husband Gary; plus Cammie Lee Heflin, Mary Parker, Carol Holmes, Nancy Gopez, Diane and Hal Brierley, Kristen and Ladd Sanger, Kim Lewis-Gleason, Kate Rose Marquez, Scott Ellington, Patrick Fox, Bill Hogg, and Brent Russell.