The Arts Community Alliance (TACA) has been waiting all spring for its fabulous annual fete known as the Lexus Party on the Green at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, where discerning foodies get to sample delicious dishes from top Dallas chefs and culinary teams from Rosewood properties around the world.
Mother Nature was generous this Friday night, providing a beautiful backdrop for the popular fundraiser. There wasn’t a trace of the nasty storm that ripped through the area just 24 hours prior. On this magical evening, the only showers came in the form of champagne.
Joining event co-chairs Anne and Jeremy Besser and Kristen and Ladd Sanger was a spunky springtime crowd — including Barbara and Don Daseke, Lindsey and Michael Miller, Lynn McBee, Kate Rose Marquez, Gillian Breidenbach, Lisa and Bill Ogle, Amy Van Cleave, Jackson, and Alex and Clayton Snodgrass — who floated from station to station, sampling each chef’s signature creation and enjoying music from DSQ Electric and Shoot Low Sheriff.
Mansion chefs Bruno Davaillon and Tastemaker Award winnerNicolas Blouin welcomed myriad culinary stars to their turf, including follow Tastemaker Award winners Brian C. Luscher and Brian Zenner, Matt McCallister, Matt Balke, Eric Shelton, Stephan Pyles and Sarah Snow, who competed for the coveted Golden Skillet. In the end, Abraham Salum from Salum and Komali emerged victorious for his beer-braised oxtail roulade, Swiss chard, Chihuahua cheese and piloncillo pasilla demiglace on black bean tamal. The judges — our very own Jennifer Chininis, D Magazine’s Cristina Daglas and Sarah Blaskovich Hanna from the Dallas Morning News — agreed that the peanut butter and jelly macaron with foie gras mousse from Oak, however, came in a close second.
After Salum was presented with his award — designed by local sculptor Brad Oldham — a spectacular fireworks show cascaded across the sky. It was a grand finale to a fantastic night under the stars for an organization that does so much for the Dallas arts community.
In 2014, TACA will award more than $1.4 million to local performing arts organizations. In January, grants went out to 46 diverse and deserving groups, enriching the lives of North Texans of all economic, social and ethnic backgrounds.
Kary Brittingham, Kristen Sanger, Alyson Griffith
Fly By Midnight.Photo by John Strange, Selig Polyscope Company
Carter Brown.Photo by Bryan Chatlien, Chatlien Photo
Landon Richie.Photo by Bryan Chatlien, Chatlien Photo
Liliana Villarreal, Kelley Robinson, Brandon Wolf, Dustin Vyers.Photo by Bryan Chatlien, Chatlien Photo
Cynt MarshallPhoto by John Strange, Selig Polyscope Company
Jason Lamoreaux and Black Tie Dinner beneficiaries.Photo by John Strange, Selig Polyscope Company