It was a full house at Chef Norman Van Aken’s Coral Gables restaurant, NORMAN’S on January 22nd for the ninth annual Pleasures of the Palate, an elegant wine dinner that benefited the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI). More guests than ever before, nearly 150, attended, and before the evening was through, their contributions reached approximately $175,000. The event’s combined total raised for the cause is $1 million since inception.

Chef Norman Van Aken accepted an award of appreciation from event hosts Doug (far left) and Sue Gallagher, Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) Scientific Director Camillo Ricordi, M.D., and DRI Foundation President Robert A. Pearlman (far right).