SCR/Party Play with Ann Conway

Chair Betty Huang, obviously delighted with Gala cuisine committee's ideas

Betty tells cuisine committee members about her recent trip to Shanghai

TASTY KICKOFF FOR GALA CUISINE COMMITTEE
By Ann Conway

SCR Gala Ball "Affair in Shanghai," September 8, 2007. Call 714-708-5504

With their hearts on SCR and their minds on both classic and modern Asian cuisine, members of the "Affair in Shanghai" Cuisine Committee met at the Newport Coast home of Danuta Schenke to begin to shape the dazzling menu that will be offered during the Sept. 8 Gala at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel.

Schenke, Committee Co-Chair with Gail Doe, welcomed guests who included Gala Chair Betty Huang (newly returned from a week-long trip to Shanghai, where she bought hundreds of chopsticks and elegant fans for the Gala) into her hilltop home for a champagne reception and a sit-down luncheon of frittata, tomato and feta salad, fresh fruit and cake.

"I want to thank Danuta for this wonderful luncheon — it was her idea and her hard work and generosity," said Doe, as she welcomed other Committee members who included Bette Aiken, Zee Allred, Tina Bunkis, Joyce Cathcart, Sandi Jackson, Twyla Reed Martin, Pam Muzzy, Jan Seitz Jashinski, Laurie Smits Staude and Elaine Weinberg.

And then the women got down to business, reviewing a list of culinary specialties provided by the luxe Ritz-Carlton, one of So. California's most elegant hotels. The consensus: the Committee wants to provide mouthwatering reception appetizers that are easy to handle and a sit-down feast that showcases both the best of the old and the new Shanghai cuisine. "Our Gala begins with a courtyard reception that reflects romantic Old Shanghai," Huang explained. "Guests will then be seated in a ballroom that mirrors Shanghai as it is today — a city on the cutting edge."

The group has already decided on a signature drink: Shanghai Kiss. The color? Shanghai red, of course. The ingredients? To be determined.

Pucker up and stay tuned.

Proceeds from the SCR Gala constitute the first and largest donation to the theatre’s Annual Fund, in support of education programs.

Tina Bunkis, Betty and Pam Muzzy "á la table."	Cuisine co-chair Gail Doe updates the committee
Betty shares samples of fabrics to be incorporated in the Gala decor with Elaine Weinberg, Bette Aitken and Tina Bunkis	A view along Newport Coast enjoyed by cuisine committee members