show some respect

Chris Shepherd invites Houston wine lovers to an epic rosé-fueled party

Respect the Rosé has come a long way since its first year.

Courtesy of Chris Shepherd

It’s hot, it’s rainy, and we are just at the beginning of that beautiful part of the year we call summer in Houston. There are two things that I think of that can help us get through — rosé wine and a party.

Not just any party but one that lets you get loose, dress for an occasion, and celebrate life’s great days together. Luckily, I know of one of these amazing days. They don’t come along very often, but I have one that you cannot miss. This party is somewhat of a revival in many ways. Here are all the ways that this party — we call it Respect the Rosé — is amazing.

First, we are bringing back the Respect the Rosé crew of chefs. Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer from Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Hog & Hominy, and other amazing restaurants in Memphis; Ryan Prewitt and Stephen Stryjewski from Peche, Cochon, and other fine restaurants in New Orleans; and Victoria Dearmond and myself (I get to do a course!) from Southern Smoke and the crew from Brennan’s of Houston! We have been doing this dinner for more than seven years together and every one is better than the last.

Respect the rose chefs These chefs like to party — and drink rosé.Courtesy of Chris Shepherd

The idea for this dinner was born back in 2016 when Michael, Andy, Ryan, Stephen, and I were all at an event, and we kept finding ourselves sitting back and enjoying some rosé. Keep in mind that rosé all day was not a thing back in 2016, so believe me when I say we started the trend! This is something to be celebrated!

Second, we are reviving your Derby day outfits as this year’s party has been deemed

Run for the Rosés! The chefs will do our takes on classic Kentucky dishes like tea sandwiches, the Hot Brown, Derby Pie, and more. Is porchetta a classic Kentucky dish? I don’t think so, but Andy and Michael make an outstanding one, so that’s what you can expect from them.

For the wine, well, you guessed it! We’ll be pouring rosé from some of our favorite producers like Hirsch, Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Handwritten Wines, Simon, Raventos, Robert Mondavi Winery, Cruse Wine Co, Rumor, Miner Family Vineyards, and more! It’s not just going to be all rosé but red wine and other libations, too!

You can check out some new cars from our presenting sponsor Lexus with fun activities like making your own flower bouquets and posing for vintage photos. Our friends at OpenTable, Tabasco, and Pellegrino will be there, too!

The third revival is a personal one for me. I get to come back to the place that really set me on my way. I get to go home for one night to Brennan’s of Houston where I worked earlier in my career for nine beautiful years. I learned so much from my time there that absolutely put me on my path. I learned how to cook there, how to be an organized cook, a thoughtful cook, a cook that learned seasonality and how to source locally. I learned how to apply a gentle steady pressure on myself to be better.

Chris Shepherd Brennan's Nice hat, Chris.Courtesy of Chris Shepherd

I had the chance to work for seven years in the kitchen and run the wine program for the last two. The family at Brennan’s embraced my desire to learn more and be more. I will forever be grateful for my time there and the friendships I made there.

The fourth and final revival is that of an industry. This dinner is a big fundraiser for the Southern Smoke Foundation, which is building a safety net for the food and beverage industry that has seen a lot of turnover in the last few years. People found other careers because when times got tough, they got really tough for the restaurant industry. We need to rebuild it brick by brick — when affordable health care is available or when there is enough money in the bank account to be able to refill a refrigerator when unexpected storms come through our area leaving homes and restaurants without power, we will no longer be needed. Let’s be honest. That’s not happening anytime soon, so we all have to come together to do our best to take care of those farmers, cooks, waiters, bussers, bartenders and everyone else that helps to put food and beverage on the table, makes your cup of coffee or works those long lines at Chick-fil-A.

Yes, Southern Smoke helps to provide emergency relief and access to no cost mental health counseling across the nation in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Since 2017, Southern Smoke has granted over $12 million and provided access to over 5,000 mental health counseling sessions. It’s doing the actual work, and the team is not slowing down. Southern Smoke has granted more than $260,000 just to those in our area affected by the Derecho storm last month and is still funding. We haven’t even gotten into the season that we don’t talk about.

So what does all this mean to you? If you skipped all the way to the bottom of this or you actually read it (I thank you for that), then I’ll tell you. You get to dress up and have a party! You will eat some amazing food from some amazing chefs. You will drink some absolutely fantastic wines from some fantastic vineyards. You will get to support an industry that needs it more now than ever and here is the bonus — you can get all this and a tax write off! It’s an absolute WIN WIN! I will see you there!

Buy tickets ($500 each) at the Southern Smoke website.

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Contact Chris via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $12 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2.

fundraisers wine chefs

eating for a cause

3 more Houston restaurant charity dining events raising money in August

Photo by Marco Torres

Ceviche clasico is a signature dish at Pacha Nikkei.

For food-obsessed Houstonians, August provides the opportunity to “dine out and do good” by scheduling a meal or two at establishments participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks, the annual charity dining event with almost 300 participating locations.

Building on that event’s success, other restaurants are holding their own charity dining events next month, including a new offering from one of Houston’s most successful hospitality groups. Here’s a quick look at these three initiatives.

Pappas Restaurant Weeks

For the first time ever, Pappas Restaurants has launched its own charity dining initiative that includes its more than 80 locations in eight states. From August 1 to September 7, every Pappas restaurant — a network that includes everything from 24-hour diner Dot’s Coffee Shop to the Michelin-recognized Pappas Bros. Steakhouse — will run specials with corresponding donations to that market’s food bank.

For example, Pappasitos Cantina, the company’s popular Tex-Mex concept, will serve a three-course, $40 menu that includes a $5 donation to the food bank. The menu includes choices such as tortilla soup, chicken fajitas, pork carnitas, and tres leches. Diners can upgrade to beef fajitas or add an order of queso for an additional charge.

Both Little’s Oyster Bar and Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen, the company’s fine dining seafood and Greek restaurants, are serving three-course, $65 menus that include an $8 donation to the Houston Food Bank. At Little’s, the menu includes options such as shrimp cocktail, clam chowder, Gulf grouper, Texas redfish, and flourless chocolate tort. At Yiayia’s, diners may select dolmades, eggplant dip, hummus, chicken souvlaki, pastitsio, and the signature baklava cheesecake.

Pappas Bros.’ menu costs a hefty $90 per person, but carnivores may choose from an eight-ounce filet, 14-ounce, dry-aged New York strip, or 16-ounce, dry-aged, Prime ribeye. The menu also includes a choice of salad or gumbo with key lime pie, cheesecake, or sorbet for dessert.

Even the company’s more casual restaurants are participating, with Pappas Bar-B-Q donating $1 from a $15 sandwich meal, Dot Coffee Shop donating for every $6 dessert sold, and Pappas Burger donating $1 for every milkshake sold.

"Giving back has always been part of who we are as a family, and we wanted to create a program that every Pappas brand could be part of," Pappas CMO Christina Pappas said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment about the new initiative. "Pappas Restaurant Weeks brings all of our concepts together to support local food banks in the communities we serve. With more than 80 restaurants across eight states and 10 brands, this gives us the opportunity to make an impact in every market where our guests and employees live and work. What I'm most excited about is that guests will be able to visit our website and watch the total raised grow each day. They'll be able to see the difference they're making just by dining with us."

National Deli Month

As it has since 2016, Kenny & Ziggy’s is participating in this event that celebrates Jewish delicatessens in the U.S. and Canada. The restaurant’s three-course, $48 menu includes classic Jewish fare such as matzo ball soup, kishka, chopped chicken liver, Hungarian goulash, braised brisket, and Roumanian steaks. Entrees are paired with sides such as kasha varnishkas, noodle kugel, mashed potatoes, fries, and onion rings. Finish the meal with cheesecake, rugelach, or 7-layer cake.

Kenny & Ziggy’s will donate 10-percent of each meal sold to the Holocaust Museum Houston. In addition, each diners who orders the Deli Month menu will receive a ticket to Anne Frank: A History for Today, an exhibit developed by the Anne Frank House (Amsterdam) that will be on display at the museum from August 14 through January 31, 2027.

Dining for Venezuela at Pacha Nikkei

The West Houston restaurant is donating five percent of all food sales from August 1-31 to World Central Kitchen’s disaster relief efforts that are feeding people who suffered loses during the recent earthquake. Led by chef-owner Masaru Fukuda, the restaurant is known for ceviches, sushi rolls, and entrees such as lomo saltado and arroz con mariscos.

“This cause is especially meaningful to me because I have family living in Venezuela, and seeing the devastation has been heartbreaking,” Fukuda writes on Instagram “Venezuela has also shown so much love and support to Pacha Nikkei over the years, and we are incredibly grateful for all of our Venezuelan guests who have become part of our restaurant family. As chefs, we believe food has the power to bring people together—and in times like these, it can also bring hope.”

Photo by Marco Torres

Ceviche clasico is a signature dish at Pacha Nikkei.

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