Sure, in nearly 30 years of doing Great Chefs of the West, there have been a couple of times when restaurants that had been confirmed and re-confirmed wound up backing out at the last minute.
But they always let someone at the sponsoring National Kidney Foundation know.
Not sure what this says about manners — or karmic payback — but two well-known eateries gave no warning that they flat out weren’t going to show for the benefit held last Tuesday night at EXDO Event Center. No phone call. Not even a text message. And an excuse that basically amounted to a shrug of the shoulders when one of the organizers finally reached one of the chefs on his cellphone.
“It does put us in a bind,” admitted Judy Norman, the NKF’s regional vice president, as the first of the 300 guests arrived.
In the end, serving sizes were adjusted, and everyone seemed to get a taste of the entrees and desserts from the restaurants that did honor their commitment: Bistro One, Baur’s Ristorante, the Corner Office, Denver ChopHouse, Happy Cakes, Hard Rock Cafe, Jonesy’s EatBar, Second Home and Wystone’s World Teas.
Veterinarian Kevin Fitzgerald, along with Molly Hughes of CBS4 and Terry Vitale of Colorado Expression magazine, awarded the prize for best entree to Bistro One; Denver ChopHouse was rewarded for best dessert, and Second Home received the nod for best appetizer and best overall presentation.
David and Michelle Livingston (he’s the Denver president of United Western Bank and she is treasurer of the NKF board) chaired Great Chefs of the West, while Jim Guttau headed Young Professionals for NKF, an organization that held four mixers in the year leading up to the benefit in an effort to generate support from the 20- and 30-something crowd.
Board member Louise Rouse and her husband, Flip, filled their table with such friends as First American State Bank chairman Jay Davidson and his wife, Kristina; Lynnette Morrison; Jackie Rotole; Kathy and Stuart Zimmerman; and BAXA Corp. founder Brian Baldwin with his wife, Ann.
The event is expected to raise about $80,000 from sponsorships, tickets, a silent auction and the sale of the fresh fruits and veggies that BJ Dyer and Guenther Vogt of Bouquets had made into table centerpieces. “They can’t take the containers, but for $20 guests can buy an eco-friendly fabric bag and fill it” with apples, peppers, lemons and oranges.
Those dining for a cause also included Dr. Adolfo Villar, president of the NKF board; transplant surgeon Larry Chan and his wife, Cynthia; transplant recipient Keith Ashby and his wife, Michele; Jan and Mark Bundy; sisters Kasia and Ania Iwaniczko; Georgia Gallagher; Dana Berry; Anne Donley; Jill Hodges; Jessica Hood; Jenny Salimi; Lissy Garrison; Sue and Steve Shaffer (he’s chief development officer for Quizno’s); Phil and Corry Doty; and Dr. Carol Goldberg.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson @denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
