2014 GOVERNOR’S CULINARY CHALLENGE

Monday, April 28, marked the 2nd annual Governor’s Culinary Challenge and the first year since the Thea Foundation adopted the event from the Arkansas Culinary Federation. Nearly 150 people gathered at the posh Capital Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, to sample gourmet bites by eight of Arkansas’s most touted chefs, sip cocktails by two renowned mixologists and rub elbows with local celebrities and friends of the Thea Foundation. Chefs included Lee Richardson, Brian Deloney, Joël Antunes, Stephen Burrow, Donnie Ferneau, Matt Bell, Patrick Herron and Dan Capello; Lee Edwards and David Burnette served Palomas and Pea Tendril “Martinis.” The celebrity lineup included Chris Kane, Alyse Eady, Lisa Fischer, Danny-Joe Crofford, David Bazzel, First Lady Ginger Beebe, Pamela Smith, Renee Shaprio and Mary Twedt. Almost $6,000 was raised to benefit the Thea Foundation’s scholarship fund, which has awarded $2 million to 245 artistic students since 2002.