‘Top Chef’ Stars Whip Up Four-Course Feast for Urban Harvest Supporters

‘Top Chef’ Stars Whip Up Four-Course Feast for Urban Harvest Supporters

Sasha Grumman, Evelyn Garcia and Dawn Burrell

THE CURRENT SEASON of Top Chef is filming all over H-Town, and 100-plus foodies had the opportunity to savor the talents of three local contestants — current competitor Evelyn Garcia, and past participants Dawn Burrell and Sasha Grumman — at The Butcher’s Ball benefitting Urban Harvest.


Under a large tent at City Place Plaza in Spring, decorated with flowers and farmhouse-style tables, the four-course dinner kicked-off with prosecco from Poggio Costa with chilled snapper, charred citrus and crispy plantains by Garcia. Grumman followed with the second course of smoked mushrooms and potatoes served with her namesake Sasha’s Focaccia. Burrell served up perfectly spiced beef cheeks with tomato and corn curry. And all three chefs collaborated on the grand finale: a berry crumble topped with sweet-corn ice cream and fish-sauce caramel.

Post-dinner, guests enjoyed whiskey from Still Distillers and Old Humble Distilling and stogies courtesy of an onsite cigar-roller from Lucho Houston. The dinner served as the kick-off event for the inaugural City Place HTX Whiskey Weekend, which featured tastings, meals and classes all weekend.

Urban Harvest aims to enrich the community by coordinating community gardens and farmers markers and educational opportunities for youth and adults. The evening’s proceeds will go toward furthering its efforts citywide.

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The Butcher's Ball Dinner Tablescape

Tommy Ralph Pace and Terrell Thomas

Evelyn Garcia serving attendees at The Butcher's Ball Dinner

Food

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Art + Entertainment

How did you get to where you are today? The present moment is a combined history of my family, my time as an athlete, my passion for learning, and my desire to see the world be better. I grew up as a successful springboard and platform diver, however, an injury caused me to seek alternative treatments to heal my body. In that process, I discovered the power of yoga, exercise, meditation, mindset, and nutrition. This holistic approach eventually led me to open a Pilates and cycling studio called DEFINE body & mind. I opened studios around the nation, and after selling most of my business between 2017-2019, I was ready to explore how I could make an even greater impact on the wellbeing of our community. In 2023, I started actively working on a brand new multi-family/apartment concept called, Define Living. The idea focused on offering health and wellness services within a beautiful apartment setting to increase the wellbeing of our residents. Having a strong sense of community is the number one factor in living a happy life, so why not build a community where daily fitness, cooking classes, and social connection are the norm? We opened Define Living in March of 2024, and we couldn’t be happier with how things are being received. We are already looking at building more concepts like this in the Houston area and beyond.

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