Something in the Air

New restaurant chefs spice up the competition with top honors at festive Curry Crawl

As veteran chefs duked it out for top honors at the fourth annual Straits Restaurant Curry Crawl, it was relative newcomer Omar Pereney of Peska Seafood Culture and chef of soon-to-open Pour Society Matthew Lovelace who tied for first place. Pereney wowed judges with his Deconstructed Curry Apple Pie and Lovelace with his Green Chicken Curry with Dumplings.

More than 200 curry fans turned out to vote for their favorite among the spicy contenders that included Commonwealth, Cloud 10 Creamery, Hugs & Donuts, Jonathan’s the Rub, Radio Milano, Spice Runner, The Tasting Room and Woodrow’s Heights. In the end, it was Tasting Room-Uptown chef Brittany Eaden who won the People’s Choice Award for her Red Curry Compressed Beef Short Rib.

Curry Crawl activity, benefiting Spaulding for Children, spread through the CityCentre restaurant and spilled over onto its two patios.

Judging the entries that ranged from ice creams and kolaches to stews and tacos were CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler, Houston Press’ Phaedra Cook, Houston Restaurant Weeks founder and CBS Sport Radio 650’s Cleverley Stone, femme foodie Mai Pham and ABC 13’s Katherine Whaley.

Casting their votes for the People's Choice Award were guests including Candice Taylor, Sam Mendicino, Amy and Adam Johnston, Anyoleth Sanchez, Jake Schiffer, Brad Garner, Lenny Jimenez, Alycia Schramm, Steven Jin, Kourtney Phan and Ben Wu.

Peska chef Omar Pereney, flanked by his team, ties for first place in Straits Curry Crawl Competition.

News, Shelby, Curry Crawl , June 2015, Peska Seafood Culture Team

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Peska chef Omar Pereney, flanked by his team, ties for first place in Straits Curry Crawl Competition.

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sowing seeds

Houston billionaire bids record-breaking $1 million for rodeo's champion lamb

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo grand champion lamb 2026

Courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Regan Miller, center, exhibited the record-breaking lamb on Friday, March 13.

A Houston billionaire paid tribute to his daughter with a record-breaking bid at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Oil and gas entrepreneur Jeffery Hildebrand and his family paid $1 million for this year’s Grand Champion Market Lamb.

The bid, which doubled the highest price ever paid for the Grand Champion Lamb, was placed in honor of Hildebrand’s daughter, Brittany Ann Hildebrand, who died last year at the age of 34. With an estimated net worth of $10 billion, Hildebrand ranked as the No. 341 wealthiest person on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List for 2026.

“We are sowing seeds,” Jeffery Hildebrand said in a statement. “This is a wonderful place, and kids like this are getting the chance to move on, advance, and grow. These are the kids who are going to save America.”

Reagan Miller of Seagraves, Texas exhibited the winning lamb. Per HLSR rules, she will receive $45,000 to continue her education. The rest is included in HLSR’s education fund, which will contribute more than $30 million to students statewide in 2026.

In addition to Miller’s lamb, the Grand Champion Market Goat also set a new record at $450,000. The donor group included Tea and Bill Pinkley; Anne and Chris Richardson; Skip Avara; and Fire Safe Protection Services LP, represented by Lizzy and Stephen McKinney.

The Reserve Grand Champion Lamb, exhibited by Raider McPhaul of Big Lake, Texas, also set a new record at $310,000. The Reserve Grand Champion Goat set a new record at $250,000.

The auction was held on Friday, March 13, at Houston's NRG Arena.

“The ‘why’ of this committee is the incredible kids and their projects and how we hope to shape their futures,” added Scott Townsend, chairman of the Lamb and Goat Auction Committee.

Upcoming auctions include Poultry on March 14, School Art on March 15, Barrow (pigs) on March 20, and the Steer auction on March 21.

houston livestock show and rodeo fundraisers auction