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
A Joy Wallace Catering Production & Design Team's in-house floral department created a replica of a pair of shoes sitting on a decorative pillow out of flowers and foliage for the 2006 Key to the Cure kickoff party.
So Cool Events memorialized the event with an ice sculpture bearing the pink breast cancer ribbon, which was surrounded by clusters and vases of pink roses.
2Taste's "From Asia to Cuba" station featured Cuban-inspired cups of black beans, coconut rice, and guava-glazed pork accented with exotic flowers inserted into various-sized round glass bowls stacked with sheets of glass in between. Everything sat atop a custom-created wheatgrass tablecloth.
Shiraz FL artfully plated and served grilled mint and lime spiked shrimp accompanied by mint pesto and mango salsa.
Aaria's executive chef Ted Peters served Calabasas jam, ganache, and caramel dessert cups adorned with chocolate pieces that coordinated with a handmade and decorated white chocolate sculpture.
La Cofradia's white-and-black sesame seed-crusted seared tuna was accented by a floral arrangement from Beyond Details.
Kary & Y offered guests manchego cheese, guava, and duck prosciutto skewers and watermelon gazpacho with shrimp and yogurt served from square white trays displayed in tiers.
Mena Catering served mini beef burgers from an orchid-adorned, wheatgrass-covered station.
Newcomer Stella's Sweet Shoppe looked pretty in pink as it offered mini cupcakes topped with puffs of pink butter cream icing displayed on trays with mini marshmallows.
Miami's favorite diva, Elaine Lancaster, played DJ on the ground floor of Saks.
