Wine & Food Affair
Foodie furniture: Houston's top chefs and Mattress Mack mesh their talents for Sugar Land
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and his wife Linda welcomed Houston chefs and supporters of the upcoming 10th Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair to the Gallery Furniture Post Oak store Sunday night to launch the “Gallery Chef Collection." It's an assemblage of exclusive pieces from the HGTV Home Furniture Collection that will be on display through April 28 at the store.
Chefs Efisio Farris of Arcodoro, Philippe Schmit of Philippe’s Restaurant + Lounge, Robert Del Grande of RDG and David Cordua of Cordua Restaurants (Churrascos, Americas, Artista and Amazon Grill) each selected a dining room from the HGTV collection or the solid mango wood collection, both exclusively at Gallery Furniture, to decorate according to their own culinary point of view.
“She wanted to work even longer hours than I do, so she went into the restaurant business."
Guests enjoyed bite-sized delights, including those from a “Pipette Wall” by Cordua, featuring a variety of one-bite salad wonders. His table featured a vivid South American vibe, of course.
All proceeds from the Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair, which runs April 24-28 at the Marriott Sugar Land Town Square, support a permanent scholarship endowment at the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. The program is close to the McIngvale’s hearts because their daughter Laura attended the school.
“She wanted to work even longer hours than I do, so she went into the restaurant business,” Jim McIngvale said.
Hilton College Dean John T. Bowen was on hand to praise the McIngvale's support. "This event has enabled one of the largest endowments for the college," he said proudly.
Rosenberg Mayor Vincent Morales and Sugar Land city council members Himesh Gandhi, Harish Jajoo, Joe Zimmerman, Amy Mitchell and Bridget Yeung joined in the festivities, along with Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair director Krystal Peay and Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce president Keri Schmidt.
Also spotted in the crowd: Cleverley Stone, Mimi Del Grande, Billie Van Slyke, Paul and Mary Favre, Doug and Susie Goff, Lori Farris, Luciano and Ilaria Topi and Michael and Lucia Cordua.










