This week's roundup includes oversize "flowers" made out of shoes in Washington State, a buffet for dogs in Chicago, a menu made entirely out of chocolate in Austin, Texas, and an artful seafood dish in Hong Kong inspired by Monet's "Water Lillies."
Costume designer Janie Bryant hosted a launch party for Shoes of Prey, a company that lets consumers design their own shoes, at Nordstrom in Bellvue, Washington, on November 20. The event featured flowerlike sculptures made out of carefully arranged shoes, and guests could test out the service on digital tablets.
From our look back at the fall season's benefits: Ballet Austin's September 20 event, held at the W Austin hotel in Texas, had a Beauty and the Beast theme. Referencing tropes from the fairytale, the decor included roses and ornate mirrors. The Mandarin Design Lab handled flowers.
On November 14, Pets Are Worth Saving hosted its annual pet-friendly gala, the Fur Ball, at the Drake in Chicago. The event had snacks for humans as well as for the four-legged guests, and a "Dog Buffet" offered crystal goblets of boiled chicken and rice and pureed carrots and green beans.
Here's an idea for an art-inspired dish: Belgian surrealist René Magritte was the focus of a major Art Institute of Chicago exhibition this year as well as the inspiration behind the decor and food of the museum's Woman's Board and Board of Trustees gala on June 20. Matching HMR Designs' visuals for the event, the institute's in-house caterer, Bon Appetit Catering, provided whimsical offerings. That included a first course of king crab, lobster tail, cauliflower, baby zucchini, squash blossom, sweet corn, and lobster essence, which referenced the famous Magritte quotation "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (or, "This is not a pipe").
Here's another arty dish: As part of its involvement with Art Basel Hong Kong, the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong's executive chef, Uwe Opocensky, created a series of dishes inspired by iconic works of art. That included the Lily Pond—Alaskan king crab, scallop, dashi, and frozen grapefruit—designed as an ode to French impressionist Claude Monet's "Water Lilies."
Chicago catering firm Blue Plate is serving the inventive Into the Woods cocktail this season. The drink combines Reposado tequila and lemon with unusual ingredients including pecan-spiced maple syrup, port reduction, and 2010 Vintage Caramel Dream Pur-Eh tea. The garnish is fresh thyme.
Here's an unexpected sweet treat: Austin, Texas-based Delysia Chocolatier creates personalized solid chocolate menus that can serve as replacements to traditional paper ones and be used as guest favors. Pricing starts at $19.50 each for a minimum order of 25, with a setup fee of $200.
Another unusual treat: For the opening of its Midwest flagship store in Chicago in December 2011, Kiehl's created an on-site carnival with molecular gastronomy treats, such as pieces of paper that tasted like cotton candy, by Moto chefs and Top Chef: Texas contestants Richie Farina and Chris Jones.
Here's a festive dish to to inspire guests to eat, drink, and be merry at a holiday celebration: fontina and sage grilled cheese on sourdough, by Between the Bread in New York.
Miami-based caterer and event designer Karla Conceptual Event Experiences is using unrefined coconut oil and raw cashew cream to create a new kind of comfort food. "I am seeing the Miami client beginning to lean away from the trendy heavier foods like fried chicken, pork belly, creamy grits, and short ribs," says owner Karla Dascal. One example from Dascal's catering menu is a green risotto with coconut oil, toasted garlic, and ginger, garnished with raw cashew cream, pickled radish, and crispy sweet potato.
