Culinary stars shine bright at Southern Smoke kickoff

How do you start one of the most delicious gourmet events in Houston? Of course with dinner attended by the biggest names in the national food scene.

On friday night Houston Hut Nani Epic and culinary star stud kickoff for 2019 Southern Smoke held at the Manor House at Houston Hotel, Club & Spa. This dinner, attended by 120 people, was used as a gourmet prelude at the Southern Smoke Festival on October 6, and among 24 cooking stars cooked by 10 James Beard Award-winning chefs, one of the most anticipated meals in the city. Will be one. An explosion organized by the founder Chris Shepherd.

From welcoming Krug champagne glasses to the final nibble of Masala Munchies' Indian sweets, guests were treated to a three-course dinner showing Houston's cultural diversity. The shepherd organized the course jointly with the chef and restaurant, and his noble cuisine was originally celebrated at Underbelly Restaurant and UB Preserv.

Dinner served in a family style is a tasty tapestry of tastes obtained from Houston's immigration culture. Fish with sugarcane shrimp and a fish sauce of Saigon Pagol Rock; Curry goats, saag pineners and fried okra from London Sizzler; Hummus Pomegranate Molasses Beef Shank Of Al Aseel. These three restaurants are one of Shepard's favorite restaurants and were featured in his new cookbook "Cook Like a Local."

LOCAL FLAVOR: Chris Shepherd Celebrates Houston's Cooking Department in "Cook Like a Local" Cooking Book

Sold out dinner, like Southern Smoke, was a fundraiser that benefited local smoke from the Southern Smoke Foundation. The Houston people had the opportunity to meet and eat with many famous chefs who cook on Sundays. Attendance: Chef Ashley Christensen of Poole & # 39; s Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina; Pizzeria Bianco's Chris Bianco in Phoenix; Donald Link, Ryan Prewitt and Stephen Stryjewski by Herbsaint, Cochon and Peche in New Orleans; Sarah Grueneberg of Monteverde in Chicago. They joined BBQ Sam Sam at Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville, North Carolina and Pat Martin at Bar-B-Que Joint at Martin in Nashville. One of the chef guests was Chris Cosentino, who opens Rosalie Italian Soul at C. Baldwin Hotel, and Aaron Bludorn, a Café Boulud alumni who opens his own restaurant in Houston next year, and Yehuda Sichel of Abe Fisher, Philadelphia. Everyone cooks at Southern Smoke.

Dinner was an opportunity for Shepard to summon his favorite chef from all over the country and from his adopted hometown of Houston. He has raised more than $ 1.4 million since 2015 and is grateful to everyone who helped make the fifth year, Southern Smoke.

The shepherd set a high bar, announcing he would raise $ 500,000 at a Sunday event. "But we think we can do that." "Everything we do is together."

Southern Smoke tickets are still available. $ 200 from southernsmokefestival.org.

Greg Morago writes about food in the Houston chronicles. Follow him on facebook or Twitter. Send news tips to greg.morago@chron.com. To learn about BBQ culture in Houston and Texas, listen to him in the BBQ State of Mind podcast.