in honor of julia

3 Houston A-list chefs headline fundraising dinner honoring Julia Child

Three of Houston’s best chefs are teaming up to pay tribute to a culinary icon. Chris Williams (Lucille’s), Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn, Navy Blue), and James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd will collaborate on a meal that honors the legacy of Julia Child.

Held on Thursday, February 8 at the historic Eldorado Ballroom, the dinner is part of a series being presented by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts as part of a tour that celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Julia Child Award, which honors “those who foster profound change in the way America cooks, eats, and drinks,” according to a release. Food writer and cookbook author Toni Tipton-Martin, who received the Julia Child Award in 2021, will co-host the dinner.

The meal will begin with Bludorn’s seafood gumbo. Shepherd will follow with a family-style platter of dishes inspired by both Child and Tipton-Martin that includes smoked ham ribs, chicken and rice flour dumplings, and two vegetable sides. Williams will close out the meal an allspice cake with spiked cream.

Shepherd tells CultureMap that Tipton-Martin’s participation is one of the reasons he agreed to participate in the dinner, which will raise funds for The Smithsonian Food History Project at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.

“Toni Tipton-Martin, I’ve looked up to her for a long time. She helped start Southern Foodways Alliance. I just asked her to be on the board of Southern Smoke,” Shepherd tells CultureMap. “When my cookbook came up for a Beard Award, hers beat me. She’s just such a great human being and a great advocate for food and foodways.”

Although Shepherd is known more for taking inspiration from Houston’s immigrant communities than French cooking, he cites Julia Child as an early influence on his decision to become a chef.

“Watching Julia Child every Saturday, it influenced where I wanted to go,” he says “I found myself in the kitchen reading cookbooks. Her words of food got me to where I’m at now.”

Tickets for the dinner, priced at $275 per person, are on sale now through January 31. The series will continue with dinners in New York; Chicago; Madison, Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles.

“It’s a privilege to honor the diverse contributions of 10 years of Julia Child Award recipients through a series crisscrossing the country," said Eric W. Spivey, Chairman of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. “Julia would be delighted by all the recipients' achievements and that we are bringing people together around the table to raise vital funds for the Smithsonian since she valued culinary history so highly.”

Courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

The dinner honors Julia Child's legacy.

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Shopping Fantasia

Houston Ballet’s Nutcracker preview party sets new donation record

Houston Nutcracker Market Preview Party 2025

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Houston Ballet Academy Dancers.

The Houston holiday season doesn’t officially begin until the Nutcracker Market throws open its doors, and this year’s Wells Fargo Preview Party felt like stepping into a snow globe set on extra. Like more is more.

Somewhere between the cheeky stocking stuffers and the Dior-kissed repurposed couture, guests needed an actual map to conquer the sprawling shopping fantasia.

Held November 12 at NRG Center, the 45th anniversary celebration of the Houston Ballet shopping fête welcomed more than 5,000 eager shoppers, all ready to sprint through aisles lined with more than 280 merchants. Helmed by chairs Susan Binney and Jennifer Kushner, along with preview party chairs Leslie Alston, Kaylon Phillips, and Casey Rowe, the evening shimmered with nostalgia. Guests showed up in themed attire ranging from glittery holiday chic to coordinated squads that looked like flash mobs armed with credit cards and a mission.

Houston Ballet’s new executive director Sonja Kostich arrived for her very first Nutcracker Market, greeting supporters and soaking in the community’s devotion to a beloved tradition that fuels the Ballet’s mission and scholarship programs. Houston Ballet Academy students glided through the party in costumes from Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, creating photo ops. Principal dancer Harper Watters and Houston Ballet icon Lauren Anderson also made appearances.

Festive cocktails, champagne flutes, and a parade of hors d’oeuvre and desserts satisfied while the David Caceres Band kept the energy high. By the end of the night, the Preview Party had raised nearly $1.5 million in ticket sales and commissions — a record for the Market.

Moreover, more than 104,000 shoppers showed up during the November 13-16 festivities. All in, ticket sales surpassed $24 million and raised more than $6 million to directly support Houston Ballet, its Academy and scholarship program.

Showing their holiday spirit were Kristy Bradshaw, Ann Bean, Wendy Burks, Anne Chao, Gay Currie, Tom DeBesse, Arcy Muñoz Marshall, Sharon Erskine, Ann Graham, Twana Griffith Faykus, Michelle Iversen Jeffery, Jay Jones, Julie Kent, Deborah and Edward Koehler, Chad Libertus, Desrye Morgan, Beth Muecke, Patti Murphy, Jennifer Sommers, S. Shawn Stephens, Allison Thacker, Cynthia Wolff, Deborah Duncan, Ghada Ali, Carolina Oliveira, Catarina R. Gonzales, and Miya Shay.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Houston Ballet Academy Dancers.

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