Top Houston Chefs Pull Off Rocking $1.2 Million Dinner Nights — Raising Bread For Southern Smoke

Southern Smoke Foundation’s fabulous “Southern Smoke Decanted” fundraiser is poised to top the beloved Southern Smoke Festival as the nonprofit’s largest annual fundraiser with the two-night Houston event of exceptional dining and fine wines, raising a rocking $1.2 million. Funds support the foundation’s mission of providing emergency relief funds and access to mental health services for food and beverage workers nationwide.

The “Decanted: Yachty by Nature” themed event saw prestigious wine makers and tastemakers from across the country joining in support of food and beverage workers.

The remarkable fundraising began on a Thursday with “The Notorious Admiral’s Club” dinners for which four groups ponied up $50,000 each for an in-home wine-influenced dinner for 10. Among the chefs stirring the pot for these exclusive dinners were Ryan Pera of Coltivare, James Beard Award-winning chef Sarah Grueneberg, Chef Bailey Sullivan, Ryan Prewitt of New Orleans’ Peche Seafood Grill, Alexandra Pena of Bar Bludorn and Stephen Conklin of Uchi.

“When we launched Southern Smoke Decanted in 2024, we knew we wanted to grow the event to include in-home dinners,” Southern Smoke Foundation executive director Lindsey Brown tells PaperCity.

“They’re highly successful at other wine auctions around the country, and it allows winemakers to build personal relationships with the Houston community. It was our event chair Vanessa Ames’ idea to include the in-home dinners as part of the highest table tier, which made perfect sense to us.”

Ames along with her husband Chuck Ames chaired the successful two-tiered fundraiser, presented by Lexus.

The following afternoon for the “Decanted: Yachty by Nature,” foodies took over the historic Eldorado Ballroom for tastings from 45 vintners pouring exceptional wines and for selections from Houston’s six Michelin recognized chefs who provided their culinary specialties.

Contributors were Felipe Botero of Le Jardinier , Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó, Mayank Istwal of Musaafer, Felipe Riccio of MARCH, Luis Roger of BCN, and Will & Nichole Buckman of Corkscrew BBQ. During the live auction, Bobby Matos of La Lucha served additional bites.

Among the numerous wine and food and Napa Valley auction offerings was a special trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Classic with luxury accommodations and invitation-only VIP experiences.

“Fun fact: Chris Shepherd (Southern Smoke Foundation founder) is now ‘editor-in-chef’ at Food & Wine, a mentor role for the Food & Wine Best New Chefs, and that opens many doors for us in Aspen,” Brown shares.