Lunching at , the award-winning restaurant in the , is always special. Especially when executive chef Simon Purvis is cooking for a good cause.
Spring Summer 2014, presented in two sold-out seatings on April 17, was a benefit for Brandon Center, a shelter for homeless women and their children operated by . It also was an opportunity for Purvis and pastry chef Ryan Schmitt to debut some new menu items and for guests to enjoy informal modeling of seasonal styles from the LoHi boutique, .
The Four Seasons hosts similar events from time to time throughout the year, and when president Barb Goettelman learned this particular one would raise money for Brandon Center, she wasted no time in re-scheduling a meeting of the VOA Guild so that more members could attend.
“She moved the start time to 9:30 a.m. so that all those who wanted could make it to EDGE in time,” explained Michael James, VOA’s director of development.
About a dozen guild members were on hand for the event, including Goettelman and past presidents Emily Tarleton and Herminia Vigil.
Realtor Andi Leahey was there with a group of co-workers from ; Cori Streetman and Sarah Hogan were taking a break from meetings with clients of their ; and new mom Jill Hodges Moreno invited her friend, Ellen Marchman Larkey of , to enjoy some catch-up time before Larkey headed to Get Ink’s second office in Miami.
Lunch plates were set with miniature cast iron tureens of heirloom tomato soup garnished with arugula pesto and shaved Pecorino; artichoke bruschetta topped with a slice of mozzarella; and pan-seared Alaskan halibut served atop slices of honey-grilled peaches mixed with lavender butter. Dessert was a peanut butter mousse bar served with a dollop of espresso Anglaise.
A bevy of professional models, whose hair and makeup had been done by staff from the hotel’s , showed spring-summer looks from such designers as Helmut Lang, Rachel Comey, Lauren Nevada, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent and . Twitt, who hails from Australia and now lives in Denver, attended the show.
Guests were encouraged to buy the clothing and accessories literally off the models’ backs; an incentive was that 20 percent from each sale would be given to VOA.
Others taking part in the fundraiser were Barbara Brooks, director of client success at ; columnist Robyn Vie-Carpenter; Blake Communications’ chief engagement strategist Stephanie Blake; Radhika Black, marketing director for ; the Fred Churbuck; and Carmel Koeltzow, who is with .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: More pictures from this event denverpost.com/seengallery
In good taste: DAM Uncorked
The annual DAM Uncorked wine tasting and dinner raises $560,000 for the Denver Art Museum. Joanne Davidson has details in the Mile High Style blog: blogs.denverpost.com/style
