Cooking up a storm

Not old enough to vote or drink, but kids sure can cook: Young chefs display talent in culinary competition

It was no mere pizza pie for the very young chefs that gathered at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel to showcase their cooking skills. Think polenta ravioli with braised veal cheeks, smoked saltimbocca with spaetzle and gnocco fritto with prosciutto. And then there was the lavish cannoli dessert.

The Italian Cultural & Community Center hosted the "Tutti ai Fornelli de La Piccola Cucina," a cooking competition comprised for four teams of junior chefs, aged 3 to 13, each paired with an executive chef of Italian heritage. Each team prepared a dinner course for the evening that served as a fundraiser for center programs.

Leading the cooking teams were Maurizio Ferrarese of the Four Seasons Hotel, Alberto Baffoni of Mascalzone, JohnMicheal Lynch of Hotel Granduca's Ristorante Cavour and Fabio Potenzano, a resident of Palermo, Italy, and a member of the Italian National Culinary Team.

It was Potenzano's team that received top honors for their dessert course — cannolo layers with mixed berries, almond cookie with passito sauce and pistachio semifreddo with Modica chocolate sauce.

“It was an evening of education and fun for a great cause,” said Tiziana Triolo, director of programs and marketing for the center. “I’m very proud of my students, not only for their culinary abilities, but especially for their support to the center. When I designed the program, I had only one thing in mind: Teaching Italian language and culture to young generations of all nationalities."

The team of judges, chaired by chef and food expert Renato De Pirro, was as impressive as the young culinary stars. They included the cultural attaché from the Italian Consulate in San Francisco Paola Ebranati, food and wine writer and journalist Mike Ricetti, Dr. Cristiana Rastellini, and Salvatore Albelice, owner of Sunbelt Inc. and Fellini Caffé.

Donning chefs toques for the evening were Pier Francesco Papi, Veronica Pascucci, Giulia Sdringola, Ludovica Duchini, Emilio Fronza, Domenica Sepe, Diego Sarmiento, Antonio Vetrini and Robert Wood, Chiara Cattano, Camilla Manning and Sadie Weller.

Cannolo Team members Pier Francesco Papi, from left, chef Fabio Potenzano, Veronica Pascucci and Giulia Sdingola.

158 Cannolo Team from left Pier Francesco Papi, Veronica Pascucci, Executive Chef Fabio Potenzano and Giulia Sdingola at Tutti ai Fornelli de La Piccola Cucina March 2015

Photo by © Roswitha Vogler Photosbyrovo.com

Cannolo Team members Pier Francesco Papi, from left, chef Fabio Potenzano, Veronica Pascucci and Giulia Sdingola.

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Healing Through Expression

Poetry and purpose align at The Jung Center’s Houston celebration

Photo by Katy Anderson

Wayne and Judy McConnell with Heidi and Marcus Smith.

The River Oaks Country Club played host to a night that married introspection and inspiration as The Jung Center welcomed guests for “An Evening with Clint Smith” on March 18. The intimate affair celebrated the transformative power of art, language, and healing, a signature cocktail of the beloved Houston institution.

Chaired by Heidi and Marcus Smith and Judy and Wayne McConnell, the soirée spotlighted Mathieu JN Baptiste, the Haiti-born, Houston-based artist whose work offers lyrical meditations on the resilience of oppressed populations. Known for painting, drawing, sculpting, and creating large-scale installations, Baptiste’s polymathic artistry has earned him a global audience and a prominent place in The Jung Center’s orbit, where he’s exhibited three times.

The evening marked the presentation of the Carolyn Grant Fay Humanitarian Award to Baptiste, named for the center’s founder. With this tribute, the organization honored his embodiment of the Jungian spirit: Layered, courageous, and rooted in the unconscious drive toward healing.

The keynote came from Clint Smith, the poet, scholar, and New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. With poetic grace and pointed clarity, Smith reflected on how writing enables him to hold space for contradictions — joy and sorrow, pride and pain — echoing Baptiste’s own multi-textured narratives and The Jung Center’s mission to help people examine the internal landscapes that shape their external lives.

Houston holds a chapter in Smith’s story. He spent his senior year at Awty International after evacuating New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, a stop along the path that eventually led to college and a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Since the pandemic, The Jung Center has tripled its mental wellness and creative programming for adults and children, a demand echoed by communities across Houston, all while celebrating the 50th anniversary of its gallery.

Among those savoring the heartfelt moments were Dr. Crystal Walter, Lynn Baird, Ginger Blanton, Yvonne and Rufus Cormier, Emily Croswell, The Jung Center’s executive director Sean Fitzpatrick, Ann and Kenny Friedman, Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro, Necole Irvin of the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs, board chair John Price with Leila-Scott Price, gallerist Heidi Vaughan, Anita and Gerald Smith, former First Lady Andrea White, and style maven Vivian Wise.

Photo by Katy Anderson

Wayne and Judy McConnell with Heidi and Marcus Smith.