Shelby's Social Diary
Three top toques — Del Grande, Fearing, Keating — reign in the kitchen, rule onthe dance floor
Tremendous wines, great food and three amazing chefs cum musicians — the ingredients for the annual Best Cellars Celebrity Dinner just couldn't get any better than they were Friday at River Oaks Country Club. RDG's Robert Del Grande, Dean Fearing of Dallas and Tim Keating of Lake Buena Vista, Fla., reprised for the third year their starring roles as toques extraordinaire at the range and as rocking country talents on stage.
One couldn't be sure whether the trio was having more fun in the kitchen exercising their culinary clout for the 300 dinner guests or on stage where they inspired a packed dance floor with their toe-tapping tunes, presented under their stage name — The Barbed Wires.
"It's everything you could want in life," Del Grande explained of his return engagement, "wine, food, music, beautiful women, handsome men."
With a streamlined program, stellar wines (no hotel ballroom swill, thank you) and a coterie of pretty people, the evening soared.
"And jewelry," Keating volunteered, before saying, "I wouldn't miss it. The great friends and it's in Houston where I spent 16 years of my life. I wouldn't miss it for anything."
With a streamlined program, stellar wines (no hotel ballroom swill, thank you) and a coterie of pretty people, the evening soared. Kudos to Best Cellars chairs Cathy and Dr. Gary Brock, Anne and Michael Stewart and Terrie and Mike Turner as well as to honorary chairs Jeanie and Jim Janke and representing the Nashville music industry Laticia and Dennis Lord.
Receiving toasts of praise were wine host chairs Franelle Rogers and Brent Sloan. They rounded up the generous oenophiles who opened their cellars to share their stock with the paying guests. Among those generous souls were Randa and K.C. Weiner, Cathy and Jesse Marion, Caroline and Gary Kenney, Steve Toplansky and Tricia and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
The evening is sponsored by the T.J. Martell Foundation of Nashville, which brings in country stars for celeb table postings. Friday's batch was comprised of Lee Ann Womack, Ryan Kinder, Rachel Bradshaw (daughter of retired NFL star Terry Bradshaw)and Anastasia Brown. The foundation has earmarked the $230,000 in proceeds for the Physician Scientist Program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Among those partaking of the stellar dinner were Terri and John Havens, Robert Sakowitz, Leisa Holland-Nelson, Dale Robertson, Karen and Mike Mayell, Susan and Norm Spalding, Hank and Maya Fasthoff, Cyndy Garza Roberts and Thomas Roberts, Dr. Madaiah Revana and Stephanie and David Baird.