Thursday, February 21, 2008

Savor Dallas announces 2008 Lone Star Award honorees

By Pegasus News wire

Savor Dallas will honor five distinguished leaders with the 2008 Lone Star Award for outstanding achievement in Wine, Cuisine, Spirits, Support of the Arts, and business practices exemplifying the Texas Can Do Spirit.

This year's winners are Chef Darren McGrady, Lone Star Award for Culinary Achievement; Kathryn and Craig Hall, Lone Star Award for Wine; Jimmy Bedford, Lone Star Award for Spirits; Howard Hallam, Lone Star Award for Support of the Arts and Dee Lincoln, Lone Star Award for Texas Spirit.

"We are extremely pleased to honor these incredible visionaries and pioneers in their fields," said Savor Dallas Founder Vicki Briley-White. "They exemplify the hard work and dedication necessary to excel, and make a lasting impact in our community, both locally and nationally."

Lone Star Award winners were officially announced and honored at a reception on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Dallas Fish Market, named one of the 2007 Best New Restaurants by the Dallas Morning News. Executive Chef Randy Morgan featured signature recipes and selections from Dallas Fish Market's new Sushi Bar menu. Special beneficiary for the event was the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Live music and a special appearance by the Dallas Stars Ice Girls rounded out the reception.

The 2008 Lone Star Awards will be officially presented at Savor Dallas' International Grand Tasting, hosted on March 8 at the Plaza of the Americas/Westin City Center Dallas.

About the 2008 Lone Star Award nominees:

Culinary Achievement: Chef Darren McGrady, "The Royal Chef," former chef to Diana, Princess of Wales. After 15 years of royal service to Queen Elizabeth II of England and Diana, Princess of Wales, McGrady is now employed as a private chef in Dallas. Since the Princess's death, he has devoted much of his free time working for causes she supported, including shelters for battered women, charities for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities and breast cancer charities. McGrady is a board member of the Pink Ribbons Crusade, a not-for-profit charity that promotes Breast Cancer awareness. All of his advance and royalties from his first cookbook, Eating Royally - Recipes and Remembrances of a Palace Kitchen, are being donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.

Wine Award: Kathryn and Craig Hall, HALL Napa Valley. Craig and Kathryn Walt Hall are the proprietors of HALL Wines. Kathryn has been involved in the California wine industry since her family first purchased a vineyard thirty years ago. She has had a distinguished career as a successful businesswoman, community activist (founder of the North Texas Food Bank), and most recently as the United States Ambassador to Austria. Craig Hall is chairman and founder of Dallas-based Hall Financial and along with his wife Kathryn owns HALL Wines in the Napa Valley.

In 2005, the Halls unveiled a state-of-the-art winery amid the legendary Sacrashe Vineyard in the hills of Rutherford that is dedicated to making single vineyard and limited-production wines. The Halls acquired the historic Bergfeld winery in St. Helena in 2003 and will merge history with innovation as ground has broken for an unprecedented Frank Gehry-designed visitor's center and winery, to be completed in 2009.

Spirits Award: Jimmy Bedford, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel's. Jimmy Bedford is only the sixth master distiller for the Jack Daniel Distillery. Like the others before him, he was born and reared in Lynchburg (pop. 361), Tennessee, site of the world-famous operation. He oversees the entire whiskey-making process of milling, yeasting, fermentation, distillation and maturation. Jimmy's celebrating his 20th anniversary of becoming distillery manager/master distiller for the oldest registered distillery in the United States. In addition to his duties as master distiller, Jimmy serves as an ambassador for the distillery, traveling around the world and talking with consumers, distributors, retailers, wait staff and media about the distillery and the process of making Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey.

Support of the Arts: Howard Hallam, Chairman of the Board, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation. The busy president of Ben E. Keith Company is also a tireless contributor to the arts in Dallas. Howard Hallam's résumé of outstanding community service is dominated by his devotion to the arts in Dallas. The Arts District Coordinator for the City of Dallas is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, serves on the Executive Board of the Dallas Symphony Association and is on the DSO's Board of Trustees. He has also served as Chairman and President of the Dallas Symphony Association, President of the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Treasurer of the Dallas Opera, on the Board of Trustees for the Dallas Museum of Art, and on the Board of Directors for the Dallas Zoological Society, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, Shelter Ministries and TACA.

Texas Spirit: Dee Lincoln, Founder and Vice President of Operations, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House. Dee Lincoln's life story is often described as epitomizing the American Dream. She oversees the operations of Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak Houses, a restaurant concept she co-founded two decades ago. She has earned award-winning professional milestones and is renowned across the nation for her philanthropic endeavors. Though her peers describe Lincoln as "one of the most down-to-earth people you will ever meet," she is recognized from Dallas to Wall Street as a national female powerhouse in the male-dominated steakhouse industry. Dee Lincoln was nominated as Restaurateur of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine alongside other world-renowned restaurateurs, and was named "Restaurateur of the Year" by the Texas Restaurant Association. From her roots in Louisiana, she is living proof that through values of determination, hard work and tenacity, one can embark on a fulfilling journey of success. Asked to define success, Lincoln says, "never rest on your laurels; don't become complacent. The fact will always remain that it's easier to get to the top than to stay on top."

Previous Lone Star Award Honorees include Chef Matt Martinez, Jr.; Tom Perini, Stephan Pyles, Dean Fearing, Robert Del Grande, Avner Samuell, Anne Greer McCann, Doug Frost, Andrea Immer Robinson, Tony LaBarba, Renie and Sterling Steves, Susan and Ed Auler, and Paula Lambert.

The complete schedule and tickets are available at the Web site.

Source: Savor Dallas

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Comments

Billusa99 Anonymous

I'm glad to see that this wasn't posted twice by 2 different people, like D's SideDish did yesterday.

They've pulled the second one now. Makes you wonder if they eat their own dog food, eh?

7 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )