Right about the time galloped across the finish line on Saturday to win the 140th , chefs from seven Denver restaurants began their own Run for the Roses: preparing a three-course feast to be enjoyed by the 540 attending a dinner benefiting Invest in Kids.
As Ryan Little from kept a careful watch on the entrée — beef short ribs served atop scoops of English pea polenta — Trillium’s Ryan Leinonen assembled the salads, arranging picked shrimp, fennel, cucumber, watercress and dill around dollops of whipped horseradish cheese.
Meanwhile, Aniedra Nichols of cubed the grilled cornbread croutons that would be sprinkled on the she made for the dinner’s second course. top toque, Daniel Asher, portioned out slices of , then drizzled bourbon-butterscotch sauce over bourbon marshmallows and butterscotch crumbles before garnishing each plate with an edible flower.
As guests filed into the , decorated for the occasion by Luc Hughart of , they could enjoy mint juleps from and a variety of Kentucky-inspired appetizers.
Darrel Truett made bite-sized biscuits spread with bourbon-flavored mascarpone and pecans;Brandon Foster of offered griddled spiced ham on brioche, and Samir Mohammad of folded smoked pulled pork into biscuit batter and then topped the finished product with a glaze made from and honey.
Amy Butz and Jamie Dukehart-Conti chaired the gala that also celebrated the 15th anniversary of Invest in Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping stuggling families across Colorado become more stable. The was the presenting sponsor, anchor Anne Trujillo was mistress of ceremonies and provided the music for dancing.
Executive director Lisa Hill shared the good news that Invest in Kids, one of the Top Ten Nonprofits, was a finalist for a 2014 Classy Awards are considered the “Academy Awards of philanthropy.”
Hats Off to Invest in Kids was the gala’s theme, and guests included U.S. Attorney John Walsh; Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler; Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey; Gov. John Hickenlooper’s deputy chief of staff, Jamie Van Leeuwen; Sean Waters, chair of the Invest in Kids board; Bob Fanch, owner of ; Catherine Goodwillie; Dr. Dean Prina; artist Duke Beardsley and his wife, Tami; Bob and Laura Hill; Andrew and Jake Higdon; Brian and Lisa Zook; Patrick and Tricia Youssi; Eric Hilty, chief legal officer for the , and his wife, Sarah; Andrew Parr, CEO at ; and founder Jensen Cummings, who coordinated the evening’s menu.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: More pictures from this event denverpost.com/seengallery
Tea time for Circle of Friends
This auxiliary supporting the Colorado Children’s Campaign holds its annual membership tea at Jennifer Alvarado Geller’s (pictured) new home. Joanne Davidson has details blogs.denverpost.com/style
