Smoking allowed at the Gentleman’s Smoker and Lobster Clambake

B.W. Cook

Renowned hotelier Henry Schielein, president of The Balboa Bay

Club Resort and Spa in Newport Beach staged the eighth annual

Gentleman’s Smoker and Lobster Clambake on the sand of the BBC beach

fronting the main channel of the Newport Harbor. The late summer

dinner and cigar extravaganza attracted 150 gentlemen from all over

Southern California.

The fraternal gathering was more than just a celebration of the

“good life.” Schielein and his staff, led by Kevin Campbell and

Dieter Hissin, raised more than $5,000 to be earmarked for The Balboa

Bay Club’s “1221 Club” College Scholarship Fund. Throughout the year,

the club sponsors a variety of events, including Schielein’s Smoker,

raising money that is added to the annual tally that ultimately

benefits a host of deserving students from the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District. The awards, which range from $100 to $5,000, are

merit-based scholarships bestowed upon students selected by a panel

of qualified local judges. Over the past seven years, the 1221

Scholarship Fund has granted nearly a quarter of a million dollars to

local youth.

The Smoker, a brainchild of Schielein, was reinvented by the

maestro in the early 1980s when he served as general manager of The

Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston. Schielein borrowed from the grand

tradition of the 1920s and established a modern day version of the

Gentlemen’s Smoker. His concept quickly caught on and spread across

the United States and around the world, bringing together community

leaders in a spirit of fellowship and with plenty of emphasis on fun.

In the 1990s, the Smoker evolved from just a fraternal gathering to

one where a social issue, such as the scholarship fund, lends

credence to an expensive “men’s night out” (Schielein Smoker’s

tickets were $250 each).

In an era that is very definitely antismoke, the gathering is a

rarified indulgence permitting plenty of puffing for those who still

enjoy a good cigar and a fine cognac. Schielein is the first to admit

that the world has changed considerably over his 50-year career as

the leader of world-class establishments from Switzerland to Hong

Kong to Hawaii to major destinations in the United States.

He is also the first, however, to reinvent the grand traditions of

the past within the context of modern social acceptability. In the

past couple of years, tuxedos have been replaced by navy blue blazers

and white slacks. The tie has given way to an open-collared Aloha

shirt. However, the food and spirits remain formal as well as

formidable, as guests’ expectations for the “best of the best” are

surpassed with each passing year. White-gloved wait staff poured GH

Mumm “Cordon Rouge” Brut Champagne as appetizer delicacies, including

smoked Scottish salmon, duck pate and seared Ahi tuna were shared

with gusto. A Skky vodka martini bar set up on the Bay Club

beachfront lawn offered its bounty as a select 2001 Sauvignon Blanc,

Chateau St. Michelle, from Horse Heaven Vineyard, accompanied

appetizer selections.

The Smoker attracted Lido Isle’s Ira Rosenstein and John Wortman.

Martin Rakowitz was in from Palm Springs for the affair, joining Bay

Club Terrace resident Lynn Jackson and his son Ron Jackson. Financier

Joe Girard came to Newport Beach from his home in Bel Air. Girard is

a regular at Schielein’s annual Smoker/fundraiser. Costa Mesa Ford

dealer Bob Robins joined his son Jim Robins and Mike Kowalczyk.

Prominent car dealer Gary Gray was spotted in the crowd with Arches

proprietor Dan Marcheano. Artist Michael Bryan generously donated his

work, as he has done in past years, to help raise auction dollars for

the Scholarship Fund. Bryan also created the smoker painting that

Schielein used on the cover of his invitation featuring legendary

cigar smokers of recent history including caricature portraits of

Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, W.C. Fields, Graucho Marx, John F.

Kennedy and even Fidel Castro.

A perfect summer evening provided the setting as the gentlemen

took their seats at round tables of 10 facing the harbor. White

starched linens, gleaming crystal and china set in formal dinner

service with centerpieces of verdant purple orchids created by

Leticia Rice, set the tone for the elegant affair. As music filled

the night air and the sun set to the west creating a spectacular

orange glow in the sky, seaweed steamed Maine lobster with drawn

lemon butter was paired with mesquite grilled filet mignon, garlic

wine steamed little neck clams, fresh grilled asparagus and twice

baked potatoes. A Maui onion and Roma tomato salad started the feast

that ended with individual chocolate berry tarts served to the

guests. A special selection of Rodney Strong, Chalk Hill, Chardonnay

2000 and McKeon-Phillips, Bailey’s Private Reserve, from Santa

Barbara County, vintage 1998, accompanied dinner and dessert.

Schielein, the official good will ambassador of the cigar, thanked

the many generous donors of both cigars and spirits that helped make

the evening a success. Guests were permitted to help themselves to a

selection of premium cigars that included such brands as A Fuente 858

Flor Fina, Bering Churchill , Hoyo Excalibur No. 1 and Ashton VSG.

Other local gents on hand for the celebration included Newport’s Kirk

Dawson of Fletcher Jones Motor Cars, local dentist Walt Havekorst,

Ron Gold, Ben Gehrman, Jim Eaton, Mark Thon, Rich Arons, Greg Lang,

Joe DeFranco, Dave Wooten and Orange County Supervisor Tom Wilson.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays. B.W. Cook is also

the editor of the Bay Window Magazine of the Balboa Bay Club.