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    Shelby's Social Diary

    Buttoned-up image is a goner

    Shelby Hodge
    Nov 17, 2009 | 11:09 am
    • Bobby and Phoebe Tudor steal a kiss at Bobby's 50th birthday celebration.
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • Party on the Moon
    • A party tent to die-for by Rebekah Johnson
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • Melissa and Michael Mithoff
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • Dancing to the sounds of Party on the Moon from Atlanta
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • Oliver Halkowich, left, Beth Sanders Moore and Terry Wayne Jones
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • A close-up of some fancy footwork
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio
    • Fantastic ice-sculpture bar
    • Phoebe Tudor
    • Guests dancing the night away
    • Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
      Fulton Davenport: PWL Studio

    Don't let the investment banker moniker fool you. Bobby Tudor, Tudor Pickering & Holt CEO, can shake his booty.

    Just ask the the 250 guests at his 50th birthday bash on Saturday night. The towering, one-time pro basketball player never left the dance floor in his "Club 50" party tent at Hermann Park. We attribute the boogie fever partly to the band — Atlanta's hot, hot, hot Party on the Moon — and partly to the fact that the investment banker was born in Louisiana, where juking and jiving come naturally. Phoebe Tudor, the birthday boy's wife, also a Louisiana native, did her share of uninhibited booty shaking as well.

    The riotous partying came after a genteel start to the night that saw the Tudors welcoming a heady contingent including Andrea and Mayor Bill White, the Baker Institute's Ed Djerejian and wife Francoise, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal and husband Gary, Kinder Morgan honcho Rich Kinder and wife Nancy, Rice University board chair Jim Crownover and wife Molly, social icon Lynn Wyatt, the Menil Collection's Vance Muse and Houston Ballet's C.C. Connor.

    It was a no-expense-spared evening with the tent fantastically decorated by Rebekah Johnson and a staggering array of scrumptious food stations by Jackson & Co. Each place that Bobby Tudor has lived was represented in food and decor, overseen by culinary maestro Jackson Hicks.

    Houston, of course, had Tex-mex offerings and lamb chops while the food station for Nantucket (where the Tudors summer) featured lobster, oysters and clam chowder. New York was represented by beef tenderloin and the trimmings, London — bangers and mash. Fried oysters, shrimp creole and crawfish reigned at the Louisiana destination. And from Austria, where Bobby briefly played basketball, there were apple strudel and Sacher torte with requisite whipped cream. Need we say that everyone waddled home.

    Of course, there was so much more to the energized birthday bash including a massive globe-designed cake. But did we mention the 24-foot in diameter ice bar where half a dozen bar tenders served every libation imaginable? Or the video of the birthday boy? Or the fantastic fireworks display over the lake?

    As Sallie Ann Hart noted, "I'm so glad to see this party because I thought there was a recession. Obviously, not. I was worried."

    The long list of celebrants included Janet and Paul Hobby, Liz and Tom Glanville, Mimi and Harold Vance, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Kate and Steve Gibson, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, George Lancaster, Soraya and Scott McClelland, Jay Baker, Kathryn and Jeff Smith, Kate McConnico and Karen and Mel Payne.

    Making their mark on the dance floor were the Tudors three model-perfect children: Caroline, 19; Margaret,18; and Harry, 15.

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    Michelin Stars

    Superstar Spanish chefs return to Houston for dinners with a purpose

    Joel Luks
    Dec 19, 2025 | 10:30 am
    Hope and Opportunity Dinner Texas Children's Hospital
    Courtesy of Texas Children’s Hospital
    Jordi Roca, Ignacio Torras, and Joan Roca.

    Leave it to Houston to blend avant-garde gastronomy with generosity, stirring up a one-two punch of flavor and philanthropy.

    Over two intimate evenings, Isabel and Ignacio “Nacho” Torras opened their private home for the Hope and Opportunity Dinners,an affair that embraced the neurodiverse community with epicurean delight.

    The dinners, limited to 100 guests per night, were a collaborative recipe honoring the missions of Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute and The Genuine Cup, the nonprofit arm of The Genuine Foundation. With a thematic throughline of “Hope” and “Opportunity,” guests were treated to a nine-course menu..

    The culinary talent? Flying in from their famed El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, Michelin-starred brothers Joan Roca (head chef) and Jordi Roca (pastry chef), along with sommelier Marta Cortizas, teamed up with chef Luis Roger of Houston’s Michelin-starred BCN Taste & Tradition. The menu, a poetic composition of bold Spanish flavors and delicate textures, was elevated further by thoughtful wine pairings.

    Far from a solo act, the Roca brothers worked in sync with some of Houston’s culinary luminaries: Felipe Riccio (March), Mayank Istwal (Mussafer), David Skinner (Eculent), Felipe Botero (Le Jardinier), Mary Cuclis (Kriti Kitchen), and Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemó). Service each evening was led by 27 young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, supported by 10 coaches.

    One dinner honored Whitney and Jim Crane, whose Astros Foundation has become a pillar of Houston philanthropy, and Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, whose groundbreaking neuroscience work continues to shape the future of medicine. The second dinner spotlight fell on Laura Arnold, co-founder of Arnold Ventures LLC, and Dr. Debra F. Sukin, president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital, both champions for equity and innovation in their fields.

    The evenings ended with cookbook signings by the Roca brothers, a fitting souvenir from two nights where food was both an experience and a vehicle for change. The events raised more than $400,000.

    Showing up for science and inclusion were Monica and Yordon Alvarez, Cathy and Joe Cleary, Carlos Correa, Molly and Crownover, Paula and Reginald DesRoches, Pam and Keith Fullenweider, Adrienne and Jared Crane, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Phoebe Tudor and Tudor, Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught, and Penny and Paul Layne.

    Hope and Opportunity Dinner Texas Children's Hospital

    Courtesy of Texas Children’s Hospital

    Jordi Roca, Ignacio Torras, and Joan Roca.

    fundraisershospitalstexas children's hospital
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