SPEAKER_01: 0:08

Welcome to the Bevel Lounge. I'm Martha Jackson, and today we're talking about a night that brings together some of the very best things Dallas does so well. Incredible food, world-class wine, and a community that shows up when it matters most. Potecourt has become one of the most anticipated culinary and philanthropic events of the year. I am so excited to be partnering with the American Heart Association, who is hosting this event. I am telling you, this is one of the most over-the-top culinary experiences you could ever have. If you love food and wine, this is a must-attend event for you. And the good news is the$4 to$5 million raised from this event goes to the American Heart Association for Prevention and Education to Stop Heart Disease, which remains the number one killer in the U.S. Joining me today are two of the key voices behind this year's event, Chris Clark, the 2026 event chair, and Chef Richard Chamberlain, the culinary vision leading the menu. And we're going to talk about what makes this weekend so special, what guests can expect, and why this celebration goes far beyond the ballroom. You are going to love this episode, and I cannot wait to see you on April 24th and 25th at the Omni Hotel. Gentlemen, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here today.

SPEAKER_02: 1:20

Thank you for having us. We're happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01: 1:22

Well, we have a big event coming up this spring, one of Dallas's favorite weekends of the whole year. And I am so excited to be a part of it. And I can't wait to hear all about it. I hear you guys can fill us in on the lowdown. Tell us all you can.

SPEAKER_02: 1:36

Absolutely. What it's it's one of the most exciting weekends for me as well. Uh my, me and my staff look forward to it and all the chefs that participate. The great, one of the great things about Cote de Corps is it's a surprise every year. So many of our guests have been attending for well over 20, 25 years. And uh and every year we put together uh a new theme. And imagine the best chefs from Dallas, seven, eight, nine of the best chefs coming together to produce some of the best food you've ever had, and some of the best wineries from around the world, Napa Valley, France, all over, coming in, 35, 40 wineries, a whole weekend of events, starting with an incredible Friday night where you literally get to meet winemakers, they pour table side. Uh, it's about 500 people. Uh, and uh my restaurant, Chamberlain's, does the food for it, and we have food stations all over. That's just the start of the event. And then we roll into the Grand Gala on Saturday night, where you have an incredible reception with um literally hundreds of bottles of wine from you know 750 to giant methuselas of wines to buy and to bid on. And as you're doing that, uh you're drinking craft cocktails, champagne, um, appetizers being passed, caviar. And then you might walk into this giant ballroom and see a lady on a trapeze pouring Moet Shandon upside down in your glass. It goes on and on. You never know what you're gonna get. And then, of course, we love to finish the evening after a multi-course dinner with, again, the best wines in the world with an after party. And the after party is probably gonna be a band that has 12, 13 members, horns, multiple singers, and you're just gonna dance the night away, probably in flip-flops that say the American Heart Association on it. So it's truly one of the best events in the country. And uh the largest event in the country for the American Heart Association in one night. So not only is it a lot of fun, it benefits a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01: 4:05

Not just locally, but nationwide. You serve the nation as well, right?

SPEAKER_02: 4:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 4:10

I almost hate referring to it as a gala because it's really not a gala, and I think sometimes galas have negative connotations, you know, you're kind of stuffy, maybe for chicken type type of dinners, you know, with with with cheap wine, but it is really an experience. It's a it's a party. And for food and wine lovers, there's no you know, better event to go to. The the grand tasting that Chef Chamberlain referred to earlier, which is on Friday night, April 24th, at the Omni, 40 plus wineries there. It's like a a trip to Napa, all of Napa, but at the Omni. Sonoma in in one night, you know, because you've got 40 wineries there and you've got your wine glass and you can go around and and try uh um as much as you want. And then that leads into that amazing event that was described, uh, just a fantastic uh dinner with the best chefs in in DFW. Uh, so it just really is uh an experience, a one-of-a-kind experience.

SPEAKER_01: 5:10

Well, I have been watching a lot of interviews and a lot of videos about the event, just so I can kind of get a feel from it. I've literally literally have never seen anything like this before. What you're describing with these wine bottles, it looks like they're stationed all around the room. And I assume you walk up and bid on them. And I literally have never seen anything like this, and I can't wait. When someone you love needs help at home, trust matters more than anything. Cambridge Caregivers is known for care that feels personal, consistent, and genuinely supportive. Here's one family's experience.

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SPEAKER_01: 6:39

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SPEAKER_02: 6:57

That's right. Every year is uh a little different. It could be 900 people, it could be 1,200 people. Uh, we've had the room so full that uh it's just incredibly uh synergistic and amazing. But yes, coordinating the food is is takes literally months. We start the menu planning with the wine pairings uh months in advance. Um we assign each chef a very, very high-end protein. It could be lobster, sea scallops, locally raised wagyu beef, but it's the best of the best. You know, a lot of events. I do a lot of events in this city, a lot of charity events. And um, you know, often you find less than grape food. This food is amazing. It's the best food you'll attend, you'll have at any event like this, I can promise. And so as we as we challenge the chefs every year with amazing proteins and then they wrap their their love around it, you know, all the all the sauces and the drizzles and um well that's that's months in the making. Um, and then of course the week of is about bringing the products in. They have to arrive here, many of them by plane, and they, you know, feeding a thousand people, you know, a thousand giant scallops from Maine isn't the easiest thing to come across. Right. And you better have extra, you know, if you don't want to run out. Um, but all this stuff, you know, uh lands at the hotel and uh and all the chefs converge on it the day of, and uh and we cook together. And uh, you know, we we steam the lobster, we sear the scallops, we grill the meats, and uh, and then we we uh we work with the chefs at the Omni. And let me tell you, the team of chefs at the Omni to put the food out. And we're talking about putting a thousand, seven courses for a thousand people in about an hour and 50 minutes. So you think about the math there, it's just scary. I don't even know how it happens, to be honest. Uh but um, you know, I'd love to take you back into the kitchen and I will sort of um just describing it. But, you know, just imagine uh about 40 chefs on five different lines of tables, and there's these little mini conveyor belts that are bringing these plates down, and one chef is just putting a puree of truffled potato, and then one chef is fanning out a little duck breast, and another person's putting a little salad, and then another person's drizzling some 40-year-age balsamic vinegar, and it just rolls down this assembly line and right out into the room by literally hundreds of servers, and somehow it all happens perfectly. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01: 9:54

Well, I definitely went a special pass to get into the kitchen because I need to see this. I mean, this sounds like such the spectacle.

SPEAKER_02: 10:00

We should sell passes to that.

SPEAKER_03: 10:01

Yeah, that would be fascinating. It made me think last year you've you've been to uh Parigi.

SPEAKER_00: 10:07

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 10:08

Um, so uh Chef Provost is is there, and last year she served her Brussels sprout salad that's that's so fantastic.

SPEAKER_02: 10:15

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_03: 10:16

I can't remember how many pounds of Brussels sprouts he says you have to shave to be able to serve a thousand people. I thought she was there all day doing that.

SPEAKER_02: 10:27

Yeah, and and yeah, uh she does a wonderful, she does this uh this br shaved Brussels sprouts salad with a grilled scallion vinaigrette, Marcona almonds, just amazing. And um, yeah, every chef just they know how important this is and what the expectation is, and so they they bring their best.

SPEAKER_01: 10:48

Well, it sounds like just a huge honor to be invited and to be a part of this event. Absolutely as a chef, I would be in heaven. I would love this.

SPEAKER_02: 10:56

Well, and like I said earlier, um, yeah, the chefs are so excited. And the and the guests, you know, again, we have we've we have guests that have been attending for almost 30 years. They don't miss it.

SPEAKER_01: 11:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02: 11:07

They come back, and uh that's and and of course their their expectation is really high every year, and uh and we make it happen.

SPEAKER_01: 11:14

Oh, I know this crowd. I know they have high expectations, don't they? Well, Chris, let's get to you. Let's talk more about the American Heart Association. It's uh Heart Month this month being February, and also it's the perfect tie-in. I want to hear more about your involvement. There's so many organizations, especially in Dallas, to be a part of. What made you want to be a part of this?

SPEAKER_03: 11:35

I've spent most of my career in the in the healthcare industry. So that was probably the the initial tie, but I had an opportunity to begin serving on the board of the Dallas Division of the AHA and really began to to fall in love with the organization, not just because of of what they do, but the way that they engage the community. Um and there's a lot of important stuff that they do in terms of of research and awareness and and education. But one passion for me is is community impact. And in working with the American Heart Association, I've been able to um really feel like I I'm making a difference in the community because I'm seeing the funds that I'm contributing or that my company's contributing uh to the organization have a real impact on the the Dallas community. And I'll give you a uh a brief example. One of the things that's important to me is is food insecurity. And there's uh, you know, in in a in a city as wealthy and as successful as is Dallas, to me, it's a it's a shame that we've got pockets of our city where you know people go uh without. Uh but we've worked with the American Heart Association to fund uh refrigeration units for places like Bontan Farms or Uncle Bill's Helping Hands that have allowed them, those organizations to make sure that fresh fruit and vegetables are available to uh people in in need. And so it's real meaningful, tangible things like that that we've been able to support through the American Heart Association and through Code Dakota. Uh so that's really the kind of why behind my involvement.

SPEAKER_01: 13:14

Sounds like a good reason to me. And um uh heart disease is the number one killer, right? It is.

SPEAKER_03: 13:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 13:21

And we all have a heart, so I mean, this sounds like the perfect.

SPEAKER_03: 13:24

It's a universal event that everybody can get behind the cause. Um last year uh we were able to celebrate uh a survivor story of a a young lady who happened to be the the daughter of of one of my clients uh who was born with congenital heart defects and had had a heart uh and liver and kidney transplant um in response to that. Um and when you hear those stories and you begin to understand how uh the the funding that comes through the AHA for for research and and other initiatives and how that has a direct impact on helping people to survive and making a real difference in people's lives, it just makes the event itself that much more meaningful. Not only are you having a really good time, but you're making a huge difference in the process.

SPEAKER_01: 14:15

Well, I like I like you sharing that story because so often when you go to these events, you don't really have that personal connection. You don't know where all your money is going. And hearing firsthand of somebody that you helped, I think that that really means a lot and has a big impact.

SPEAKER_03: 14:29

It's meaningful for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 14:32

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SPEAKER_03: 15:26

I'll take a shot at it, Jeff, and then you can you can clean me up a little bit. But you're gonna arrive at the Omni and you're gonna go up to the second, third, third floor up the up the escalator.

SPEAKER_02: 15:35

First of all, just book a hotel for the weekend.

SPEAKER_01: 15:37

It sounds like that's the smart way to much easier, trust me.

SPEAKER_03: 15:40

It's uh it's a much easier commute back to the hotel room than back to your home after after the weekend. Uh, but you'll arrive at the event, uh, you'll be greeted by um uh members of the American Heart Association with with champagne. Um and then before the the ballroom doors open, there's uh the the lobby area where we're uh you can uh take a look at the the auction items. Uh you get to enjoy the wine that's being served by the wineries that we mentioned uh earlier. Uh there's entertainment. Uh this year we're gonna have the Texas Valley Theater and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is gonna have some representatives there to entertain us. You're gonna walk into the ballroom, and I think you'll be shocked when you walk into the ballroom. I mean, it is uh uh an impressive scene when you walk in to see the decorations. One of the things that we're doing this year that I'm excited about is just highlighting the city of Dallas. So if you look at the theme of of our event, when you see the invitations and you see the decorations, we're really embracing the city of Dallas this year and including some of the entertainment that we'll have there that's uh that that's from Dallas. So it's uh it's truly going to be a one-of-a-kind Dallas experience this year.

SPEAKER_01: 16:51

Has the theme been announced yet or is that coming on the invitation?

SPEAKER_03: 16:54

Enriching our communities is our theme this year.

SPEAKER_01: 16:57

Oh, I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_03: 16:59

A lot of the Dallas skyline uh in a lot of our decor.

SPEAKER_01: 17:04

Chef Chamberlain, I know that you're stretched thin. I know you get invited to a lot of different things. I've seen you at Cattle Bearns, I've seen you around town. Why are you involved with American Heart Association?

SPEAKER_02: 17:15

Well, almost 30 years ago, I was asked to um to really kind of recreate Cote de Cor. At the time, it was a it was really a great event that was founded by uh some local doctors, uh cardiologists who wanted to bring uh great collections of their wine to be auctioned off and shared with people. It started very small. And the year that I attended, um, it was at a hotel that I won't mention, but as I walked in, uh I saw all these beautiful wines on the table. And I was like, this is gonna be a great event. And then when our entree was served, it was very dry chicken breast. And I said, we need to fix this. And so literally the very next year, I I called on um six or seven of my dearest chef friends and I said, Would you, would you help me with this? And of course the answer is yes, because they're also giving. And um, and so uh that was the year that uh that we you know brought uh sort of a new level of food to uh this this event and and these types of event uh events around Dallas. And um, but really the I guess the reason my my heart uh what told me to get involved, because there's many things to get involved with, as you said. Uh my dad died very, very young. I was 12 years old. And I remember before that, uh, you know, he was overweight, uh, smoked, uh, did all the things that you shouldn't. Uh but they didn't know at the time. This was the, you know, the early sixties. Right. And so for me, seeing my dad take nitroglycerin tablets and he was in his late thirties at my little league baseball games uh was you know traumatizing. And then having him die, uh it was really for me, education was the key. Knowing that the American Heart Association is out there uh teaching uh young people, old people, everybody, how not to die of heart disease. And uh so that was my real passion for getting involved in the uh with the uh American Heart Association and and Coach DeCor.

SPEAKER_01: 19:35

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SPEAKER_03: 20:46

Yeah, we usually raise$45 million uh each year with each of these events. Um and and that's that's meaningful money, and you can do a lot with it. Um, I think everybody's heard of the American Heart Association, but not everybody knows what the American Heart Association does. But they really are instrumental in pushing forward the science that helps address heart disease or heart defects. They're key in um education and helping people understand some of the the risk factors that exist, how to identify when you might be having a heart attack or stroke, um and and really are at the forefront of hands-only CPR education, which is huge. Uh one of their campaigns is called Nation Nation of of Life Savers, which is designed to help everybody learn how to do hands only CPR. And you you think of all these events that you hear happen, uh not just with with older people, but with with young children or teenagers uh having cardiac events at a at a football game or at school. The AHA is at the forefront of making sure that Uh fewer people die as a result of those events. And the key to that is hands-only CPR education. So the great thing about uh Coat Decor is we're raising a significant amount of money that funds all of these initiatives. And um, that's where the celebration comes in. You know, we have a lot of people who give to the event, we have companies who sponsor the event, and I look at Cote DeCorps as a celebration of those contributions and all the things that we are able to do together because of the funds that we're able to raise.

SPEAKER_01: 22:32

You know what we haven't talked about? We've talked about the food, the wine, all the people that go, the music, everything, but we haven't gotten to the specifics about the auction items. And I know you guys have some amazing things out there. Tell us what you got.

SPEAKER_03: 22:44

It's huge, and probably second to the food and wine is the the auction experience. So um we'll have eight to ten live auction items that are truly experiences. And they're they're a little bit different every year, but generally relate to food and wine experiences. Uh Chef Chamberlain and some of his colleagues are always um generous enough to auction off their time and and their talent uh for some uh uh chef uh curated events. Uh I had a I bought an auction item last year that was a fantastic experience uh for for my wife and I and our and our friends. Uh Gamba Vineyards was a new participant in the event last year, and they auctioned off um an opportunity to go to San Francisco, which is where they met us. They picked us up in a boat in the bay, and we spent the afternoon sailing around uh San Francisco Bay. After we finished that up with a nice lunch on the boat, uh they drove us up to their vineyard. We spent the night there, had a private uh tasting and and tour of the vineyard. Um, we rode around the vineyard in uh one of their uh vintage Range Rovers, uh just a truly personal experience. And it's um and if you've been to Napa, you you may have experienced this before, but when you can get a winery owner or a winemaker alone, you know, and with some free time, and we were able to do that on this experience, they start going to the back and opening up the good stuff and sharing you stories about vineyards and about the wine, and it just was a truly one-of-a-kind uh experience for us. That's just a taste of the type of uh items in our auction.

SPEAKER_02: 24:25

Yeah, and I'll mention uh another auction item that we have every year, uh, or as long as I can remember, uh, Dr. Pedro Noznick has one of the probably top 10 wine cellars in the country here in Dallas. He has more wine than you could ever drink in many lifetimes. And he auctions off a dinner in his private cellar. And our chef Dan Landsberg usually uh does the the chef cooking for the night. And it's a Michelin type deal. I mean, there are wines that you can't find on any list in the world that he donates for that night. So that's a just another example of something you can bid on.

SPEAKER_01: 25:04

Oh my gosh, these are amazing. I love this. So he's just a big collector, it sounds like.

SPEAKER_02: 25:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 25:10

Well, chef, tell me about this. You know, these chef shows are so popular on TV right now. My husband is very addicted to one in particular. Why do you think people love these so much?

SPEAKER_02: 25:20

Well, um, you know, it's it's the uh the chase of excellence, right? Because every chef, uh every chef that I know wants to be the very, very best that they can be. And they wanna they want to serve the the very best food. They want to create experiences for their guests, things that they can't do at home, think that things they've never done before. Um my wife and I back in early November did a trip to uh Portugal in Spain, and uh, and of course, I'm looking for dishes that I might be able to maybe recreate for Cote de Cor. And so just a little a little tease for this year. I found this dish that I'm doing this year. Well, I I say I found a dish. I I found an idea for a dish that I that I recreated, and it is spectacular.

SPEAKER_03: 26:13

Can I just say real quick? So last year I got to experience uh Chef Chamberlain developed a menu for Cote DeCor, and it was fascinating to watch how his mind works and how he looks at what each of these chefs does the best and puts together, you know, a six-course meal that just flows. Uh and and we and each of the chefs puts a different spin on it. So it's not just what you're gonna get in the restaurant, it's what they do well with a coat de corps layer to it.

SPEAKER_01: 26:43

Well, they're true artists, right? You know, they are. They really are. So, gentlemen, you have done such a good job of painting such a beautiful picture of this weekend. I literally cannot wait for April. And I appreciate you joining us so much today and spending time with me. How can people get tickets and sponsorships?

SPEAKER_03: 27:00

Well, we would love to have um more folks join us this year, especially if they haven't attended the event before. So you can buy individual tickets to the event uh by going to uh Dallaswineauction.com. There's also sponsorship opportunities for uh companies, and uh you can also connect with the AHA at that same website. So that would be a great place to start. Grand Tasting is April 24th, and uh the big event is April 25th, both at the Omni Downtown.

SPEAKER_01: 27:29

And as always, I will include a week a link to that website so you don't have to remember it. Well, guys, thank you again. Looking forward to it. Can't wait for the big day.

SPEAKER_02: 27:38

Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_01: 27:39

That's been another episode of the Bubble Lounge. I'm Martha Jackson, and I'll see you next time.