As always, the annual Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS Dining By Design benefit was a stylish outing for attendees Monday night at Atlanta Decorative Arts Center in Buckhead.

This year, Buzz was invited to sit at Atlanta caterer Tony Conway’s A Legendary Event table. Conway’s executive chef Lincoln Stevens and executive pastry chef Charles Barrett created the lavish menu for the evening. 

We snuck a few snapshots from our unique perspective for a Buzz-eye view of the evening for readers.

Atlanta catering company A Legendary Event's gorgeous "Feast in the Forest"-themed table at DIFFA Dining By Design Monday night at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. Photos by Richard L. Eldredge/AJC staff

A Legendary Event’s creative director Steve Welsh told us he was going for “romantic and comfortable” with his candle-lit woodsy theme complete with trees and real moss that covered the table. We happened to be seated next to Legendary Events floral director Kim Vasil who helped  to create the beautiful setting (”We completely washed all the moss used on the table so utensils could be placed on it at dinner,” she whispered to us about the crazy amount of prep work that went into the table). 

“We liked the idea of creating a quiet little getaway for our guests this year,” Welsh explained. DIFFA attendees always peruse Welsh’s creation each year as he attempts to top himself after creating a table made out of  chocolate a few years ago at the fund-raiser.

Joked Welsh: “People still talk about that table. It was a lot of fun but I don’t think I would do it again. The dry cleaning bills were too high!”

The menu for the evening was placed on each place setting.

The evening's first course, an artfully arranged appetizer consisting of black grape soup, black cod with hazelnut, a balsamic beet marshmallow, Maytag blue cheese ice cream, and heirloom tomato created by Lincoln Stevens.

The evening's entree was a marinated beef fillet with pureed purple sweet potato and purple broccoli and cauliflower.

The evening ended with a dessert buffet. Somehow pastry chef Charles Barrett shaved white chocolate into individual straws that rested atop each serving.

Our view from the back of the table peeking out through the forest at the other DIFFA diners.

Votive candles hung in sconces on the walls, creating an intimate atmosphere. Later, when Welsh smelled something burning he went around to the candles to ensure that his carefully constructed forest wasn't catching on fire. Thankfully, it was just one of the candles safely burning itself out at the end of the evening.