The Big Taste 2015
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may have seen a few posts about the award I designed for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Houston for their annual Big Taste of Houston. It was a true collaboration between myself, my awesome mom sculptor Bridgette Mongeon and Joe from Carvewright. Through a FaceTime conversation with Bridgette and the wonderful folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Houston I came up with the below sketched design and then later did a very rough mockup in Illustrator.
From there Bridgette did her digital sculpting magic in ZBrush and created a 3D model of the award and Joe worked his craft and did some amazing things with his Carvewright and woodworking skills (you can see his whole process here, it’s pretty awesome). And well, then there was an award.
The three of us with the award at the event.
The Big Taste was this past Sunday and it was fantastic. I’ve coordinated and worked large events like this and I know how much time, energy, endless work, blood, sweat, tears, etc. goes into an event and the folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston did a stellar job.
More than anything I was reminded why I love this city, there is SO much talent and love and pride in this city that it’s overwhelming sometimes. The beginning of the event overlapped with the Rocket’s game and folks were glued to the nearest TV during the final minutes of the game. A guy from Dallas won the Audi that was raffled off, and everyone was a little upset about it. And the food, oh the food. There are some seriously talented chefs in this city.
Killen’s Barbecue presented a short rib [insert other fancy things I can’t remember] with a bleu cheese dumpling (see below). It was excellent. I could have eaten those pickled onions all by themselves. The basil lemon cheesecake from Red Dessert Dive in the Heights might just be my new favorite dessert of choice (and this is coming from a person who doesn’t really love sweets).
The winners of every award, Dish Society.
Equally as amazing is the organization the whole event benefited, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston. As a parent I couldn’t be more thankful for the friends and family who pour into my daughter’s life. The Bigs in this program are pouring into the lives of children who start out as complete strangers. I really believe that is the epitome of love, giving selflessly to a stranger. As the President of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston Pierce Bush said at the event, “I dream of a day where there is no need for this organization.” Until that day, Big Brothers Big Sisters will continue to do what they do, with the help of others in the community both as Bigs and as generous donors to the cause.
If you’d like to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston visit www.bbbstx.org and click the Houston button. For a list of all the Big Taste 2015 participants check out The Big Taste.