Fine silver and china were brought out to serve Darjeeling tea and Manzanilla sherry.
Hicks held the gathering at his historic Greek Revival home.
Guests chose from petits fours, egg salad ovals, and cucumber-and-cream cheese sandwiches.

Jackson Hicks is rather more than a caterer. He's an orchestrator of Cecil B. DeMille-style extravaganzas at which bigwigs are beguiled and lavishly entertained. Hicks, who studied music at Baylor University, launched Jackson and Company in Houston in 1981 and quickly earned a reputation as Texas' most sought-after party machine. And in his almost 30 years of party planning, he has refined his annual tea party so that it is the invitation his friends look for every year.

Just 24 hours before his guests arrive, Hicks, dressed in a seersucker suit, sits with me in his kitchen sharing his wisdom on how to plan a perfect afternoon tea. Three weeks earlier, Hicks mailed invitations to a diverse mix of women ranging in age from 19 to 82. "The group will be small -- not more than 50 ladies at a time -- I don't want the party to feel like a crowded charity event," he says.

Not a chance. Hicks is entertaining the women in his historic, century-old Greek Revival home. Surrounded by stately oaks, the house looks like a stage set, even as an army of gardeners works overtime planting hundreds of flowers to ensure that the exterior is flawless.

Inside, the tea table is set with empty silver trays and the silver service. Hicks selected each piece and inspected the linens. "I'm nuts about my napkins," he says. "They must be flat-pressed with a touch of starch and must have a soft fold."

There are other rules to be followed as well, specifically, rules about sandwiches. They cannot be soggy, the watercress cannot be wilted, and they must be made the same day and not before.

On the day of the party, scones emerge from the oven as guests arrive. Banana nut bread is offered, along with two recipes from Hicks' grandmother -- Highland shortbread and itty-bitty sugar cookies. A true-blue Southerner, he offers classic cakes -- chocolate, pound, and lemon -- as well as the familiar tea offerings,