B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

Celebrated chef Roy Yamaguchi jetted into Newport Beach last week for

a star-studded evening at Roy’s of Newport Beach. The dinner was

organized to introduce Y Sake, an ultra-premium proprietary liquor that

Yamaguchi combined with a five course tasting menu.

Sixty “foodies,” invited for their culinary status on the social food

chain, filled Roy’s lanai with talk of everything from food and wine to

the lavish $5-million premiere of Disney’s “Pearl Harbor,” which some of

the guests had attended in Honolulu before coming to the mainland and the

dinner in Newport Beach.

Yamaguchi told the crowd how the Disney party had some 2000 guests

entertained by singer Faith Hill, Navy SEALS parachuting from a Black

Hawk helicopter and F-15 fighters flying “Missing Man” formations. The

USS John C. Stennis, the Navy’s nuclear powered air craft carrier,

arrived from San Diego and there were 20 minutes of massive nonstop

fireworks that coordinated with the Honolulu Symphony Pops Orchestra.

Then the film was shown on a six-story high screen.

Just your typical little movie premiere event. Surely some of our own

Newport event chairs will be outdoing the scenario at the next “Big

Edwards” premiere.

Randy Schoch, president and founder of Desert Island Restaurants,

which manages and operates Roy’s of Newport Beach, came in from his

Phoenix headquarters for the Y Sake dinner. Randy and wife, Cheri, along

with his two young children will be spending the summer on Lido Isle as

he moves his operations from the Phoenix heat for the summer season in

Newport.

Roy’s patrons are surely in for a summer of surprises and spectacular

food creations with the boss in town.

* * *

Other news in the world of food and wine revolves around the upcoming

summer solstice sponsored by a host of premiere vintners and restaurants,

which are coming together to help curb hunger in Orange County.

South Coast Plaza is behind this effort with all it’s retail might in

order to raise maximum dollars to be donated to the Second Harvest Food

Bank of Orange County and Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. The

two organizations together reportedly assist an estimated 400,000 men,

women and children in Orange County facing hunger each and every day.

The summer solstice, set for June 28 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at South

Coast Plaza’s Crate and Barrel/Macy’s Home Store Wing, will showcase many

local restaurants and will feature over 50 varietals of wine.

Tickets to the food and wine tasting are priced at $40 in advance, and

$50 at the door. Special discounts are being offered to groups of 10 or

more and to corporate groups or individuals helping to underwrite this

worthy cause. To purchase tickets or obtain more information, call

Jennifer Gordon at (714) 435-8517.

* * *

The very dedicated Women Of Vision, a program of World Vision, held a

recent fund-raising event at Bistango Restaurant in Irvine, attracting

more than 400 Newport-Mesa citizens.

Susan Champion reports that Betsy Tarbell served as honorary hostess

for the afternoon function, with major support coming from Judie Argyros,

Judy and Jim Bergman, Karen French, Rhodine and Jack Gifford, Lynn

Hirsch, Gayle and Peter Och, Beverly Peters, Amy Regan and Jan Vitti.

An impressive net amount of $135,000 was raised to support Women of

Vision projects including a US/Mexico home-building project, Parent

Institute of Orange County and Think Together/Shalimar Learning Center in

Costa Mesa. Some funds will also be channeled to projects in Africa,

Palestine and Peru, where Women of Vision aid women and children.

Others in the organization include Bobbi Dauderman, who chaired the

luncheon and gave the welcome speech to the crowd. Judy Sweeney, Lynn

Fowler, Binnie Beaumont and Lauren May were also involved.

* * *

Nearly 300 guests filled the Marrakesh Restaurant in Costa Mesa to

celebrate the Haute Wired Ball in support of Planned Parenthood in Orange

and San Bernardino counties. The evening featured ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll

tunes and plenty of interaction for the guests dedicated to teen

pregnancy prevention programs, including a telephone hotline called Teens

Ask Teens.

Funds raised will also support a new program called Male Involvement,

designed to educate male teens on the responsibilities of parenthood and

pregnancy prevention.

Event-committee members working on the party included Teddie Ray,

Katherine Sanderson, Darcy Lee, Sheryl Anderson, Paula Koll, Nancy Dahan,

Lisa Dwan, Ellen Gordon, Jill Johnson-Tucker, Barbie Knapp, Lisa Krey,

Dana Myerson, Ann Smyth, Judy Steele and Jennifer Van Bergh.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.