Last weekend’s Life Is Beautiful Festival was kicked-off by a dinner, the likes of which not often seen in these parts (or others, for that matter). A fundraiser for two of Las Vegas’ esteemed non-profit organizations – Three Square Food Bank and Communities In Schools of Nevada – the Take-A-Stand dinner brought fifty philanthropists to the home of Zappos founder Tony Hsieh (an estate I’ve dubbed Chez Hsieh, for obvious reasons, both alliterative and amusing).

There, guests including Nancy Houssels, Diana Bennett, Scott Menke, Susie and Dan Lee, Dawn Hume, Miles Dickson and Andrew Artusa, Mark Fine, and newlyweds Dena duBoef-Roth and Dr. Jeffrey Roth, were seated outside, at a long, communal table, where some of our city’s (country’s? world’s?) best chefs prepared some of the finest food ever to pass my palate – all coordinated and choreographed by restaurateur Elizabeth Blau and Chef Hubert Keller.

In a clever method that encouraged sharing and conversation among the guests, each course was prepared by two chefs – with each chef’s dish appearing at every other setting. So, for instance, I would receive one dish, while my table partners Elaine Wynn and Amy Rossetti received the other. This led to an enhanced feeling of community, epitomized by Elaine Wynn turning to me, and saying “Michael, before you put anything in your mouth, you must taste this…” and feeding me a bite of Chef Paul Bartolotta’s exquisite White Truffle-scented Langoustine. She was right, of course – it was one of the greatest bites of seafood I’ve ever eaten.

At the end of the evening, $150,000 had been raised for the two philanthropic organizations, and everyone was revved-up for the festival that would take Downtown Las Vegas by storm for the following 48 hours.

Check-out the slideshow, above, to see some of the delicious bounty upon which we supped. It should be noted that I didn’t include a photo of the pair of desserts (Chef Megan Romano’s Warm Lady Gala Apple Pie with Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pop; and Chef Francois Payard’s Rice Krispies with Crispy Chocolate Phyllo), NOT because I didn’t enjoy them (I did), nor because they weren’t photogenic (they were); but because by the time I remembered to take a photo, I’d devoured most of them. Sorry.

Take-A-Stand
a benefit for Three Square Food Bank and Communities In Schools of Nevada
presented by Elizabeth Blau and Chef Hubert Keller, at Chez Hsieh

Get into it!