MICHAEL DOUCETT Kevin Kent, aka Mabel Dean, has been part of the Teatro ZinZanni cast since the show opened in October 1998. Mabel, the host "dreamer" of Teatro ZinZanni Dinner & Dreams (it's her tent!), has been away since Christmas. But now she’s back, and she’s not the only new dish at the tent. The Tom Douglas- designed menu has gone all fall with braised off-the-bone short ribs, roasted butternut squash soup, smoked-salmon salad with roasted apples and more. We talked with Mabel/Kevin to do a little dishing of our own, and get a few tips.

Q: What's your best host/hostess tip?

Mabel: I say a big smile, no matter what happens.

Kevin: Come late. Leave early. Bring a gift.

Q: What's your favorite champagne?

M: Oh gosh, there's a champagne that's the name of a woman, Louise. Oh, the bubbles are tiny, and the taste is sweet. I've often thought of myself as a bubble in champagne, but, I tell ya, the glass would overflow. Big girl, big bubble.

K: It actually is a champagne called Louis Roederer. But Mabel always calls it Louise. She thinks it's better if it's named after a woman.

Q: How do you pamper yourself?

M: Rotisserie by poolside, and a boy to turn it.

K: Quiet time in New Mexico, emphasis on quiet.

Q: How does one be the perfect dinner guest?

M: Eat everything in sight, burp and thank them. That would be a burp with meaning, a full-belly burp.

K: Offer to help out in the kitchen.

Q: Do you have a really good, yet gracious, rebuff for an obnoxious guest? Something Miss Manners would approve of?

M: Get off me! Now kiss me!

K: I probably wouldn't invite them in the first place.

Q: What one thing can you not live without?

M: There are about 130 things I can't live without, but top of the list is my tent, TZ.

K: Mabel.

Q: Do you have one important fashion tip?

M: Sparkle.

K: High waters are OK.

Q: Do you have a skincare/beauty tip?

M: There's a little German regimen that I use. It involves sandpaper and lard.

K: I actually do use a German product, Dr. Hauschka. And it costs an arm and a leg. When I first started doing the show, my skin reacted strangely due to all the makeup all the time. I got a facial, and the woman who did it recommended it. Since then, I've told other drag queens about it and they use it religiously.

Q: What is the biggest difference between Kevin and Mabel?

M: She's loud and big, and he's quiet and small.

K: Boy, girl.

Q: Mabel: Are those yours?

M: Of course! Who else's would they be?