Bon Vivants Shore, Child to Be Honored

Last year it was Ed McMahon. The year before it was Robin Leach. And come Nov. 22, Dinah Shore--songbird/golf buff/gourmet--will receive the Bon Vivant Award from the Ritz-Carlton hotel’s management during its World of Wines festival Nov. 19 through Nov. 22.

“We wanted to honor Burt Reynolds,” said a hotel spokeswoman. “But he was busy filming. He recommended Dinah.” Shore, you may recall, was once the main squeeze of Reynolds, star of the TV hit “Evening Shade.” (If you were reading the “columns” in those days, you’ll remember pictures of Shore cooking up specialties for Reynolds in her commodious gourmet kitchen. This Southerner can cook .)

Shore will be honored at a $85-per-person brunch that will feature seven Tete de Cuvee champagnes--Laurent Perrier, Moet & Chandon, Louis Roderer, Perrier-Jouet, Mumm, Krug and Veuve Clicquot. Ritz-Carlton vice president Henry Schielein will preside over the festivities, which are open to the public.

Same day, same place, gourmet chef and cookbook author Julia Child will be honored at a gala dinner-dance sponsored by Bon Appetit magazine. Six of America’s top French chefs will create the menu. This $150-per-person event is also open to the public.

Bon appetit.

*

A Salute to Escoffier: The food just kept coming at the Ritz restaurant in Newport Beach on Sunday when Fair Share 502 staged a dinner on behalf of Share Our Selves, a facility that serves 24,000 meals per month to Orange County’s homeless and medically indigent.

First came the smoked sturgeon and caviar (served up with a shot of Stolichnaya Vodka Cristal), then came tiny stuffed quail birds, a medley of shellfish, a noisette of lamb, a salad with cheeses and a hazelnut souffle. All with coordinated wines, of course.

The food-stuffed event (which also celebrated the restaurant’s 10th anniversary) seemed incongruous, admitted Jean Forbath, the saint of a woman who founded Share Our Selves.

Here, after all, were 402 people stuffing their mouths with glorious food while others in the community were making do with far less.

“The incongruity bothers me a little,” Forbath said of the $502-per-couple affair. “But I really feel very good about this dinner. With their generous donations, these people are here to help people in need. They’re not here to make a big splash, be seen. They care.”

Murray Korda and his Monseigneur Strings serenaded guests as they dined and Ritz owner Hans Prager table-hopped, making sure everything was perfect .

Prager admitted he hadn’t had time to eat. And he wouldn’t even try. “Tonight, I’ll be watching the presidential debates at midnight--my wife Charlene and I taped it--and having a hotdog, my favorite!”

Chef Michael Kang, owner of Five Feet restaurant in Laguna Beach and Five Feet Too restaurant in Newport Beach, helped coordinate the culinary effort with chefs Guadalupe Camarena (of the Ritz); Alan Greely (the Golden Truffle); Jean Pierre Lemanissier (Antoine); John McLaughlin (J.W.’s); Pascal Olhats (Pascal); and Christian Rassinoux of the Ritz-Carlton.

Donors of $25,000 to help underwrite the event were Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, Fair Shair 502, the Fieldstone Foundation, George and Patty Hoag, the Irvine Health Foundation and the Ritz Brothers. Among guests: Kathryn Thompson and Gus Owen, Walter and Gerry Schroeder, Mary and Carl Raymond and Mike and Lauri Mendenhall.

*

Barclay bash: Guests partied in the Barclay Theatre courtyard on Saturday night before filing into Cheng Hall to watch blues great Joe Williams perform. Guests paid $100 each to sip libations and dive into tasty tidbits whipped up by Trees, Zuni Grill and Ciaomein restaurants. Frank and Marilyn Lynch were honorary chairmen of the benefit. On the committee: Marta Brennan, Donna Brownell, Thelma Friedel, Nancy Hegness, Jane Martin, Ginny Metz and Joy Owens. Also helping coordinate the benefit were Charlene Pasko, Rudy Pollak, Kara Robinson, Wilhelmine Sciullo, Phyllis Shafer and Carolyn Williams.