Royal Chef Darren McGrady drew quite a fashionable crowd at KidneyTexas, Inc.’s Fall Tea which was graciously hosted by Lauryn Gayle and Tom White at their wonderful Preston Hollow home recently.
The table was most elegantly set with a Royal Tea catered by Eating Royally and featured a feast of delicacies which were favorites of the Royal Family when Chef McGrady served as personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales and Princes William and Harry.
Natalie Taylor, a tea chair withSuzette Derrick andAndrea Weber, welcomed guests as she introduced Chef McGrady, who tempted the crowd with detailed descriptions of these gourmet delights, including Coronation chicken sandwiches, candied bacon sticks, Sage Derby cheese with Branston pickle sandwiches, cucumber and mint cream cheese sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, accompanied by Earl Grey and Darjeeling teas.
Andrea Alcorn, president of KidneyTexas, Inc., joined the ladies as they enjoyed the sumptuous offerings, followed by exciting announcements. Natalie thanked Lauryn Gayle for her generous hospitality with a lovely gift and introduced Christine Martin and Susan Russell, chairs of The Runway Report Transforming Lives, the 2017 Fashion Show and Luncheon.
They gave heartfelt thanks to sponsors and underwriters, including honorary chairs Linda and Steve Ivy, Barbara and Don Daseke for hosting the Patron Party, Dee Lincoln of Dee Lincoln Prime for her support in underwriting wines at all of the KidneyTexas, Inc. events and an Over-The-Top Award honoree, Gold Crown Valet, for sponsoring the valet services all year and Nerissa von Helpenstill and Dustin Holcomb of TOOTSIES, Over-The-Top Award honorees and for their sponsorship of the fashion show produced by the inimitable Jan Strimple. Special recognition also went to Sue Goodnight, the namesake of the Sue Goodnight Service Award and also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
They recognized beneficiaries Baylor Health Care System Foundation, which wasgranted $30,000 to fund their Hispanic Kidney Transplant Program to participate in a five-year study aiming to implement and evaluate a culturally competent transplant center program tailored to Hispanics to increase the rate of living donor kidney transplants (LDKT) within this population; Camp Reynal, which enables over 100 children to enjoy summer camp and is equipped to handle their medical needs, $19,500; Children’s Medical Center Foundation received $20,500 for hemodialysis and blood pressure machines; Parkland Health and Hospital Foundation was given $30,500 for a kidney dialysis unit; Texas Health Resources Foundation received $14,214 for a hemodialysis machine; UT Southwestern Medical Center received $29,925 towards kidney related research to Identify the role of FGF23 in cardiac function in states of hyperphosphatemia but with normal renal function.
President-elect Mary Lee Cox announced members of the incoming board which included the much anticipated chairs for the 2018 Fashion Show and Luncheon, Annalee Aston and Joanna Tollenaere, with Dr. Goran Klintmalm as honorary advisor.
Chef McGrady took the floor sharing anecdotes of his 15-year tenure with the Royal Family, including stories accompanying items which were also served today: Chocolate biscuit cake, which was Prince William’s Groom’s cake, Princess Diana’s favorite pastry, Scottish shortbread; and Queen Elizabeth’s favorite Strawberry lemon tartlets. He stayed afterwards chatting it up and autographing copies of his book, The Royal Chef at Home, Easy Seasonal Entertaining.
Membership in KidneyTexas, Inc. is open to the public and offers many benefits, including exclusive events in private homes such as this tea. Sign up through the website at at http://www.kidneytexas.org, contact 214-891-0896 or email kidneytexas@sbcglobal.net
Mission Statement: The purpose of KidneyTexas, Inc. is to provide funding to improve the methods of treatment, the search for a cure and prevention of kidney disease and other kindred or contributory diseases; and to develop more adequate provision for the care of persons suffering from such diseases.
Statistics: Debilitating kidney diseases impact approximately 20 million people in the United States today. Groups at high risk include African Americans, Hispanics, senior citizens and people with diabetes. In Texas, there are over 30,000 people on dialysis and 4,000 on a transplant list. The number of patients on dialysis is anticipated to double this decade.
History: Since 1999, the dedicated volunteers of KidneyTexas, Inc. have worked in tandem with our generous underwriters to raise over $3.1 million for local efforts to improve the ability to diagnose and manage kidney disease.
Each fall KidneyTexas, Inc. hosts its Fashion Show and Luncheon in an effort to raise money for designated beneficiaries and awareness for a disease that affects millions of people each year. The success of this event depends heavily upon the contributions and dedication of our Dallas business and community leaders, and we're asking for your support.
Photos by Dana Driensky.