Dish-Houston

Monday night saw some of Houston's culinary stars come out for a celebration if giving back thanks to CNN 650's resident foodie, Cleverley Stone. Hosted by Pappas Bros. Steak House, Houston Restaurant Week founder and chair, Cleverley Stone, announced that a record $240,000 was raised for the Houston Food Bank during the 2009 event. Eighty-four restaurants participated in the city-wide culinary event, held Aug. 10–23; 64 restaurants extended their special menus through Aug. 31 following the success of the first two weeks of the event. Participating restaurants offered three-course gourmet dinners for $35 per person and pledged five dollars from each special meal sold to the Houston Food Bank.

“My most heartfelt thank you goes out to participating restaurants, Houston Restaurant Week sponsors, the event committee, the Houston Food Bank and the 48,000 Houstonians who joined in the effort to fight hunger in our city. Without the support of our generous community, we would not have been able to raise a record-breaking $240,000 to make the 2009 event the most successful to date,” said Cleverley Stone, founder and chair of Houston Restaurant Week.

“This event provided a great opportunity for everyone in the community to support the Houston Food Bank and at the same time have a fine dining experience. We sincerely appreciate the time, effort and expertise of Cleverley Stone, and we can’t thank her enough for her leadership and generosity in organizing the event. We’re so pleased with the results and are already looking forward to another successful Houston Restaurant Week next year,” said Brian Greene, president and CEO of the Houston Food Bank.

Established in 2003, this year’s Houston Restaurant Week raised more than three times last year’s total of nearly $80,000. Approximately 48,000 Houstonians dined at 84 participating restaurants throughout the greater Houston area; last year’s event attracted 53 participating restaurants. To date, the event has raised more than $356,000 to support hunger relief in Houston.

Seen in the crowd: Cleverley Stone, Kim Padgett, Kimberley Park, Edward Sanchez, Dr. Roland Maldanado, Ashley Allen with The Health Museum, David Cordua with Cordua Restaurants, Arthur Mooradian with Del Friscos