Dinner at Mary Anne Koda-Kimble’s Home

I just had the most amazing dinner with the dean of the best pharmacy school in the UNIVERSE, Mary Anne Koda-Kimble. As an effort to raise money for community outreach activities, Mary Anne has been offering 12 dinner tickets every year during the School of Pharmacy’s Spring Auction. Last spring, I was one of those lucky 12 who paid $70 for a seat at her dinner table. It was one of the best $70 that I have spent thus far in life. In fact, I would venture to say that was one of those priceless memories you can rarely buy with money, but Mary Anne's generosity had made it possible for me to do so.

Despite her extremely crazy schedule as a dean, a healthcare provider (and who knows what other leadership activities and personal projects she manages to squeeze in with her time), MARY ANNE KODA-KIMBLE made us a uniquely delicious gourmet dinner at her cozy and artistically decorated home!

The night started in the living room, an additional unit built on top of a roof, so we enjoyed a panoramic view of the city, including the famous Golden Gate Bridge, as we mesmerized at the beauty of the high rises, lit by the golden late afternoon sun. While chatting about school, we were served drinks of our choices (including red and white wines) and a few rounds of hors d'oeuvres infused with Mary Anne's originality, such as the create-your-own type of appetizer, where you can choose from the homegrown and homemade fig or quince jellies and three different cheeses to top a paper-thin wafer cracker. The textures of the different ingredients and sweetness of the fruits complimented each other perfectly. Figs also tasted surprisingly sweet when wrapped by thin pieces of smoked salmon. Another one of my favorite appetizers was the cream puff with cheese, which was baked to crunchy, creamy and buttery perfection. I could not help but reached for more of the cute tiny treats, even though I wanted to save room for dinner.

Dinner was a buffet-style meal with a selection ranging from bread, salad, chicken, prime rib, Morrazella cheese and stuffing, each uniquely and deliciously created and made by Mary Anne. I wanted to try everything so I took a little bit of each (and went back a second time for another helping). As someone who has been in the work force, I was able to pay for some expensive meals, but never had a better gourmet dinner. All of the dishes were wonderful, but my number one choice was the salad, made with a mixture of green leaves, walnuts, pears and pomegranates in a light and slightly sweet vinaigrette dressing. I have never seen, or even though of, making salad with pomegranates before! What a clever idea and great combination of antioxidants to balance out the meat dishes! We sat around the candle-lit dinner tables, listening to Mary Anne and her husband, Don Kimble, tell stories about the pharmacy school experiences and love life while savoring the mouth-watering food on our plates.

Dinner would not have been complete without Mary Anne’s special dessert using apples from her own backyard as the main ingredient. The apple cubes were baked with crispy macadamia nuts and caramel on top and served with a scoop of homemade ice cream. Although my intestinal tract had not gotten a chance to process all the hors d'oeuvres and the generous dinner portion, I managed to clean up my dessert plate.

Everything was wonderful about the night: the ambience, the food, the city view and the soft music playing on the background as we talked throughout the evening. Most of all, what I will remember are the interactions with my classmates, who are intelligent and caring individuals, and the honor to be present at Mary Anne’s house, talking to her and calling her by her first name (which she had insisted on ever since our first day at UCSF). As a first-generation immigrant and a first generation in college, I had never even dreamed of socializing with so many well-educated and genuine people. The evening was so real and unreal at the same time. It is DEFINITELY an experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life.