In 2011, we developed a fundraising concept for Livestrong Foundation that was a blast to produce. In a nutshell, it was a lucky group of 20 to 30 guests invited to an amazing dinner with Lance + a world-renowned chef in a cool setting. We called it the Celebrity Chef Dinner Series. First, we found a generous donor that was willing to open their home to host the dinner. Next, we found celebrity chef that was willing to create and prepare the menu. Lance has great relationships with some amazing chefs, so they were more than willing to be involved, which made that ask easy.

Craven + Co. worked closely with the host to decide the best way to set up the dinner and logistics in the easiest way for them. It was a high priority to make it fun for the host as well as the guests they invited. We were beyond grateful to the guests for taking an evening to learn more about the Livestrong mission + Lance’s vision for changing the world of cancer.

This dinner was in Aspen, Colorado. Michael Goldberg, owner of Belly Up Aspen, opened his home without hesitation. Our chef was renowned celebrity chef and restauranteur, Wolfgang Puck. I think Wolfgang was a celebrity chef before we even had the term "celebrity chef." He brought his amazing staff from Spago in Beaver Creek. The team took over the kitchen and blew the guests away with every course.

I worked closely with Wolfgang’s right hand man, Tom Kaplan, to design a menu and make sure we had everything Wolfgang and his team needed. Tom has been working with Wolfgang for over 40 years now. The two of them have worked side by side to take the company from a few restaurants in 1982 to the mega brand it is today. Tom is incredible to work with. He is generous, creative and was key in helping me get the entire celebrity chef dinner series off the ground.

Wolfgang came out of the kitchen to describe each course for the guests, and to explain why he chose the menu he did for the group. We also had the incredible winemaker (and former race car driver) with the infectious laugh, Randy Lewis, in the house. Randy took the floor to explain the wine pairings he had made especially for Wolfgang's menu. Lance has been friends with Wolfgang and Randy for a long, long time, and their friendships brightened up the night and made the speeches worth a listen.

We designed keepsake screen printed, stainless steel menus that were autographed at the end of the night by Lance, Wolfgang and Randy. Our hand-calligraphed numbered wine tags helped guests keep track of the which wine went with which dinner courses. We know that guests can lose track as the courses (and lots of wine) tick by, so we like to be there to help out.

With Aspen Mountain as our backdrop, we didn’t need much in the way of design. Nature had that handled for the most part. We added gorgeous floral from Mountain Flowers of Aspen. Then we finished out the tablescape with bold black glass candles by Dayna Decker with her signature wide wooden wicks in our modern glass and chrome hurricanes. The combined generosity of everyone from Wolfgang to Randy Lewis to Michael Goldberg and all guests created an unforgettable night for Livestrong.

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♥️ TC xx

CELEBRITY CHEF SERIES: WOLFGANG PUCK