Party Watch

Fab female chefs serve up divine dishes for Houston women's group's birthday bash

I'll Have What She's Having IHWSH fall pop-up Geri Vine MD, Sidra Unas MD, Adrian Harvey Mass MD, Candice Perfetto MD

Geri Vine, MD, Sidra Unas, MD, Adrian Harvey Mass, MD, and Candice Perfetto, MD

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

What: I’ll Have What She’s Having "Happy Birth Day" Pop-Up

The scoop: I’ll Have What She’s Having, the local organization that unites doctors with people in the restaurant industry to promote women's health, celebrated its first anniversary with this one-night only pop-up under the chandeliers at The Dunlavy. The event raised $8,500 for Shades of Blue Project, a local non-profit committed to helping uninsured women gain access to the psychiatric help they need when dealing with post-partum depression. This illness affects as many as one in four minority women, according to organizers, and bringing awareness is near and dear to IHWSH.

The event paired non-alcoholic beverages with each course to celebrate WellWeek, IHWSH's spotlight on mental health. The mocktails were incredibly creative and flavorful, including the Crystal Visions (blackberry, kaffir lime) by Anvil bartender Kehlen Scott and the Smoked Cocoa (coffee, hickory salt, and vanilla).

Chefs Jane Wild (The Dunlavy), Jill Bartolome (Aqui), and Dawn Burrell (Kulture) prepared an impressive, seven-course meal. Our favorites savory dishes included Wild's heirloom okra with honeycrisp apples, squash, cinnamon, and shallot and Burrell's jerk lamb with rice and peas. Bartolome, who earned the CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Best Pastry Chef in 2018, stunned the crowd with her poached pair with milk chocolate, caramel, and lemon cake.

The recent event is one of three components of WellWeek. Events also include Sunday's Depressed Cake Shop, which raised $11,000 for The Montrose Center and National Alliance for Mental Illness - Greater Houston, and a citywide program of special non-alcoholic cocktails and desserts being served by bars and restaurants such as Anvil, Public Services, Coltivare, UB Preserv, and more.

Who: Ryan Pera and IHWSH founder Dr. Lori Choi, Lucy Puryear, Shades of Blue Project founder and CEO Kay Matthews, Claire Smith, Kate McClean, Otto Sanchez, Cat Nguyen, Erin Smith, Jody Stevens, Carla Gomez, Nuray Taylor, and Chelsea Padon.

-----

Mary Clarkson is the co-owner of Avondale Food & Wine in Montrose and a frequent co-host of CultureMap's weekly podcast, "What's Eric Eating."

This event raised $8,500 for the Shades of Blue Project.

I'll Have What She's Having IHWSH fall pop-up Dunlavy crowd

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

This event raised $8,500 for the Shades of Blue Project.

fundraisers charity chefs

Raising Expectations

3 nights of Michelin-starred cuisine fuel Houston nonprofit’s mission

Genuine Cup Hope and Opportunity Dinners 2026

Photo by Jenny Antill

This team came together to execute the Hope and Opportunity dinners.

Fine dining dished with purpose? We’ll have seconds, please.

The Genuine Cup’s second annual Hope and Opportunity Dinner Series brought three evenings of Spanish-inspired hospitality to Soleil June 11-13, raising $665,350 to expand employment pathways and opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Co-founders Ignacio Torras and Lorna Ortiz welcomed approximately 300 guests across three sold-out dinners for a culinary collaboration featuring Spain’s celebrated Roca Brothers of El Celler de Can Roca alongside Houston chefs who lead four of the city’s six Michelin-starred restaurants — Felipe Botero (Le Jardinier), Felipe Riccio (March), Mayank Istwal (Musaafer), and Luis Roger (BCN).

Attendees began with Spanish-inspired bites and wine pairings before settling in for a multi-course tasting menu accompanied by Edward Grigassy’s live Spanish guitar performance, creating an evening that felt more Barcelona than Boulevard.

“This event is about more than raising funds — it’s about raising expectations,” said Torras. “Every individual deserves the opportunity to contribute, succeed, and be recognized for their talents. Through hospitality, sport, and community, we are creating pathways that help make that possible.”

The program spotlighted the Genuine Cup’s mission through remarks from Senator Ted Cruz, Commissioner Lesley Briones, and Robert Rule, whose story as a Genuine Cup athlete and Rocambolesc employee reinforced the importance of meaningful employment opportunities for neurodiverse individuals.

Throughout the dinners, members of the Genuine Cup community played active roles in the guest experience.

Funds will benefit the Genuine Cup, an international soccer tournament that will bring together athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Houston from July 27 - August 1. In total, teams from 50 countries will participate in the event, which is being held at Rice Stadium.

On the scene were Anne and Karl Stern, Ivan Perez, Kathleen Sledge, Tony and Francis Buzbee, Daniel Briones, Albert and Anne Chao, Sammi and Mithu Malick, Michael and Megan Bartz, David and Laura Piccione, William and Constanza Restrepo, Neil and Elizabeth Chapman, Kyle and Erin Cummings, and Heidi and Senator Ted Cruz.

Photo by Jenny Antill

This team came together to execute the Hope and Opportunity dinners.

chefs fundraisers