En Pointe! Houston's Best Chefs and Ballet Dancers Pair Up to 'Raise the Barre'

MONTROSE HOT SPOT Bludorn was in full bloom for the Houston Ballet's Raising the Barre dinner. Decked out with colorful springtime arrangements of roses, lilies and more, courtesy of Central Market, the restaurant hosted around 150 dancers and diners for the annual event.

Four of the city's most beloved chefs were paired up with Ballet dancers to create and execute dishes inspired by their backgrounds and stories. The night began with a tasty artichoke-and-asparagus salad from Hugo Ortega and his "sous chef," dancer Rafaela Henrique. Chris Shepherd and demi soloist Syvert Garcia followed up with Alaskan king salmon sinigang, and the main course — veal tenderloin with English peas, morel mushrooms and veal jus — was created by Aaron Bludorn and principal dancer Beckanne Sisk.

Pastry chef Rebecca Masson and first soloist Chandler Dalton created a S'mores Tart with graham cracker ice cream for dessert — and Masson's Fluff Bake Bar also provided sweet treats to-go in the form of a chocolate-chip-cookie party favor.

The night brought in nearly $100,000, which will go toward the Houston Ballet's educational programming, among other causes.

Akemi Saitoh, Reiko Smith, Simone Acri

Tom and Martha Paterson

Inside Bludorn

Tammy and Wayne Nguyen

Chef Hugo Ortega and dancer Rafaela Henrique

Tami Hiraoka, Lou Borrego

Ortega and Henrique's artichoke and asparagus salad

Chef Aaron Bludorn and dancer Beckanne Sisk

Chef Rebecca Masson and dancer Chandler Dalton

Ross and Caroline Smith

Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell, Heidi Smith

Christine Underwood and Phyllis Mandola

Marc and Duyen Nguyen

Hallie Vanderhider, Bobby Dees

Kristy Bradshaw and Lindsey Brown

Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones

Jessica Trincanello, Brett Stephenson

Joe and Jeni Matula