Put a handful of top toques in the same kitchen at the same time and you're guaranteed to have a splendid dinner. That's the thinking behind the Houston Food Bank Chefs' Dinner, which raised a record $283,000 Wednesday night at The Houstonian.

Applause, applause for dinner chairs Bonner and George Ball and Carol and Michael Linn, who pulled in a heavy-hitter crowd not only to raise the big bucks but also to celebrate completion of the Food Bank's capital campaign. As a very pleased Houston Food Bank board chair Scott McClelland announced to more than 300 dinner guests, the recently-completed effort raised $56.4 million, well above the $55 million goal.

Those funds will allow the Food Bank to fulfill its plans for handling 120 million pounds of food by 2018. In July, the non-profit moves into a spanking new 308,000-square-feet warehouse, which triples the size of the service area. McClelland also announced that this year the Food Bank surpassed Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in number of volunteers, a milestone that earned big applause in the ballroom. The agency and its volunteers serve 137,000 people each year.

Chefs participating in the 11th annual benefit dinner were RDG's Robert Del Grande (asparagus soup with Gulf crab), Lakeway Resort & Spa's Jeff Axline (roasted Texas quail), Olivette at The Houstonian's Jeffrey Everts (seafood salad), Mark's American Cuisine's Mark Cox (roasted veal rib-eye) and Olivette's Catherine Rodriguez (caramélia namelaka tart). The chefs donated not only their time and talents but also the food and specially-paired wines, which were remarkable for a charity fundraiser.

Sitting down to the five-course feast were notables including Laura and John Arnold, Neil Bush, Welcome Wilson (celebrating his birthday), Soraya McClelland, Gracie Cavnar, Dancie and Jim Ware, Ellie and Michael Francisco, Beverly and Jim Postl, Ileana and Michael Trevino, Corina and Armando Perez and Houston Food Bank president and CEO Brian Greene.