Spectacular Dinner Toasts Rienzi’s Collection of Spanish and Mexican Decorative Arts May 20, 2019
The Mexican Room at Rienzi.
Chef Hugo Ortega. Photo by Chris Gillett
Photo: unknown photographer, MS32-109-07
Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts, opened to the public in 1999. Harris and Carroll Sterling Masterson donated their home, named after Harris Masterson's maternal grandfather, Rienzi Melville Johnson, in 1991, followed by the gift of their collection in 1997. The Mastersons’ prior gifts to the MFAH included extensive holdings of Worcester porcelain. Located in River Oaks on property sold to the Mastersons by Ima Hogg in 1952, Rienzi served as a hub of the city’s cultural affairs. Harris Masterson III and Carroll Sterling are pictured here at their January 1951 wedding with Carroll’s children, Bert and Isla.
On Tuesday, May 21, guests experience the complex flavors of mezcal and Oaxacan cuisine at a historically inspired dinner. Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts, hosts “From Peasant to Artisan: The Rise of Mezcal and Oaxacan Cuisine.” The four-course meal, prepared by James Beard Award–winning chef Hugo Ortega, expertly pairs Oaxacan dishes with mezcal samplings and mezcal-based cocktails.
The Culinary Connection
This unique dinner event connects Rienzi founders Carroll and Harris Masterson and their affinity for entertaining with their expansive decorative-arts collection. The collection includes Spanish paintings and architectural elements, Mexican viceregal decorative arts from the late 17th to early 19th century, and Mexican silver of the early 20th century. These objects are prominently displayed in Rienzi’s Mexican Room, an intimate entertainment space designed by the Mastersons. In fact, Carroll Masterson’s connection to Mexico began before marrying Harris Masterson, as she and her two children lived in Mexico City for more than six years.
► “From Peasant to Artisan: The Rise of Mezcal and Oaxacan Cuisine” takes place at Rienzi on Tuesday, May 21. Tickets for the event are available online.
