For the eighth year, Saks Fifth Avenue Bal Harbour and Mercedes-Benz USA invited local socialites, celebs, fashionistas, and friends to the kickoff event of the Key to the Cure charity shopping weekend, so the guests could eat, drink, and shop their way through Saks. Two percent of the proceeds went to the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to help cure breast cancer.Led by honorary chairwoman Irma Braman, key sponsors and committee members included well-known Miami locals such as artist Romero Britto, Tracy Mourning, Ocean Drive's Jerry, Sandi, and Jacquelyn D. Powers, Karla Dascal of Karla Conceptual Event Designs (who provided numerous floral arrangements and decor pieces), public relations pros Dindy Yokel, Amy Zakarin, Corina Bitton, and others. For three hours, restaurants, caterers, and bakers created miniature versions of their best dishes for patrons to sample as they shopped for the cause.
Sophistication and style filled the store—and that had nothing to do with the clothing. Florida's finest culinarians not only provided food that tasted great, but proved they had good taste too, setting up sumptuous settings from which to serve. Platinum sponsor A Joy Wallace Catering Production & Design Team served mini butternut squash ice cream sandwiches, presented in individual spoons and set atop clear display units filled with pink flowers. The in-house floral design department went the extra mile and created a purse, a pair of shoes that sat on a decorative pillow, and a pair of sandals all made completely out of pink flowers and foliage. So Cool Events offered an ice sculpture bearing the famous pink ribbon, further adorned with bunches and vases of pink roses. Wheatgrass was a common theme: 2Taste Catering served black beans, coconut rice, and guava-glazed pork with Szechuan pepper, which sat atop a custom tablecloth made of wheatgrass. Mena Catering used a covering of wheatgrass and orchids to camouflage a round silver serving terrine filled with mini burgers.
Shiraz FL presented grilled mint- and lime-skewered shrimp with mint pesto or mango salsa in a sleek square tray, enhanced by a single calla lily curled around the inside. The caterer also offered crudite in glass vases of varied heights and sizes. Karu & Y also chose square white serving trays and filled them with watermelon gazpacho with shrimp and yogurt and skewers of manchego cheese, guava, and duck prosciutto. Both boasted sleek style and crisp presentations.
The third floor housed mostly sweets, including We Take the Cake's colorful designer cakes in all shapes and sizes; and new kid on the block Stella's Sweet Shoppe showcased mini cupcakes in lamp-shaped displays, in tins, and in multitiered serving pieces.
Other edibles included dessert squares from Nobu, presented on bamboo mats and adorned with orchids; Gourmet Food & Services strolled with trays of sushi; and the Capital Grille showcased basil-marinated scallop with mango and avocado salsa on baby sugar-cane skewers.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein