The Edit by Brett Graff
A snapshot of the week's social scene
Bacardi Center of Excellence Dinner
Bacardi USA and FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management held a decadent dinner to celebrate a $5 million donation from the spirts company. The gift creates the Bacardi Center of Excellence, which will provide student scholarship opportunities, create partnerships, and expand the curriculum to include a management track and micro-credentialing. The gift also expands programming at FIU’s CasaCuba, a think tank seeking to provide a dynamic home for the discussion and study of Cuban affairs – history, policy and business – and the celebration of Cuban culture.
“At FIU we are proud to partner with Bacardi, a company with deep roots in our community and a legacy of success that goes back to Cuba more than a century ago,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.
The dinner proved the alliance is powerful. Held at SGWS Wynwood, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits’ private event space and hospitality showcase facility, there was a cocktail pairing with each course. The burrata with smoked beets and calvisius caviar was served with Oxley Gin mixed with St. Germain Elderflower, lemon, passionfruit. The Lobster Ravioli came with a Grey Goose Vodka martini and the plates of braised short robs with polenta and mushrooms arrived with a Bacardí Reserva Ocho Rum mixed with D’USSE, Amontillado Sherry, Bénédictiné. Notable attendees included Lee Brian Schrager, Wayne and Alene Chaplin, Jen and Peter Carr, Ryan Bibbo and Amanda Greenspon, Maria Carla Chicuen and Ray and Liana Rodriguez.
Aston Martin Residences Unveils Luxe Kitchen with British Chef
Aston Martin Residences unveiled its luxury kitchen amenities on Tuesday with a tasting event headed by acclaimed British chef Justin Brown. The award-winning chef held a cooking demonstration and prepared a selection of plates historically served to the royal family, including fresh salmon confit with garden herb salad (the appetizer at Prince William’s wedding,) 10 Hour Slow Roasted Pork Belly (the main course at Prince Harry’s wedding) and Sticky Toffee Pudding with Clotted Cream (a favorite of Her Majesty The Queen.)
“I’m delighted to mark my debut in Miami by this most unique collaboration with Aston Martin Residences,” says Chef Justin Brown. “I chose a series of classic British meat and fish dishes that have been served and enjoyed as favorites of the royal family for generations. I also wanted to demonstrate the true character and essence of English culture and how you can really feel at home with your own comfortable style of cooking in the brilliance of an Aston Martin Residences Kitchen.”
Among the invited guests were a series of Miami’s most distinguished food writers including Linda Gassenheimer, Sara Liss, Jen Karetnick.
Coral Gables’ Tour of Kitchens
Congratulations to the Coral Gables Community Foundation on its most successful Tour of Kitchens to date. It’s Miami’s most luxurious kitchen and home tour, showing off the latest in design while local restaurants offer indulgences along the way. This year, things kicked off at the INFINITI of Coral Gables showroom with breakfast, coffee and mimosas. Over 600 Tourists drove or biked around the City Beautiful visiting ten homes and stops, including the Java Head estate and Kinu Grinders owner Michel and Norka Nedeff’s landmark coral rock home. The conclusion: a closing event hosted by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery, where tourists were treated to BBQ by Lynx Grills, exquisite tastings by Chef Matthew Kaskey, the Tank Brewery beers and champagne as well as a variety of desserts from Sugarbud, Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida and The Biltmore’s Executive Chef Enrique Villardefrancos. Proceeds from the Tour of Kitchens benefit the Coral Gables Community Foundation and its Culinary Arts Fund, which provides support and scholarships for the Culinary Arts Program at Coral Gables Senior High School.
The 2020 Frost Science Awards Honorees have been announced! They are The Everglades Foundation, For excellence in scientific research, environmental literacy and public awareness of America’s Everglades and Swanee and Paul DiMare, for unwavering commitment to Frost Science and the South Florida community.
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
