Winter 2014 - Les Dames d`Escoffier International

WINTER
2014
CULINARY
CROSSROADS
Austin Conference Issue
[ Deep in the Heart of Texas ]
IN THIS ISSUE
FEAT UR ES
WINTER•2 O 1 4
Preserving for Posterity
4 Welcome to Texas
5
Dames Across Texas
6-7 Pre-Conference Tours
8
Keynote Address
9-11Sessions
12-13 Partner Luncheon
14Sessions
16-17 Chapter Photos
18 Fiesta
20-22Sessions
23 Grande Dame Dinner
D EPART M EN TS 24-26Chapter News
28-29Member Milestones
31
Submission Guidelines
Cover: Top of Star: Margaret Vera, Kitty Crider, Johanna
Brown. Top row: Meredith Beeman, Tracy Claros, Susan
Auler, Denice Woods, Stephanie McClenny, , Carol
Huntsberger, Marla Camp. Middle row: Beth Pav, Gina
Burchenal, Cathy Strange. Bottom row: Michele Haram,
Sharon Watkins, Karen Farnsworth, Mary Margaret Pack,
Carla Williams, Foo Swasdee.
2014 LDEI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Beth Allen
Founder/President
Beth Allen Associates, Inc.
347 W 22nd Street, Suite #9
New York, NY 10011
(212) 206-1138
[email protected]
First Vice President
Lori Willis
Director of Communications
Schnuck Markets, Inc.
11420 Lackland Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63146
(314) 994-4602
[email protected]
2
Second Vice President
Braiden Rex-Johnson
Founder/Owner
Northwest Wining and Dining, LLC
98 Union Street, Suite 1009
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 233-9491
braiden@northwestwining
anddining.com
Third Vice President
Cathy Cochran-Lewis
Global Marketing, Programs
Coordinator
Whole Foods Market
11504 Sundown Trail
Austin, TX 78739
(512) 627-5599
Cathy.Cochran-Lewis@wholefoods.
com
My 95-year old Texas mother Carolyn Cheney was
flattered when a Dame at the Austin Conference asked
her, “What chapter are you from?” I brought Mom as
my guest, but if she could have
joined the Dallas Chapter when
it was formed in 1984, she
would have been 66 at the time.
The point is, whatever your age
when you become a Dame, you
will always be a Dame (as long
as your dues are paid!).
Sadly, some of our charter members have already passed
away, and the rest of us aren’t getting any younger. If we
don’t preserve our knowledge of the organization for posterity, we’ll lose a rich history of women’s culinary progress.
That brings us to the Quarterly. One aim of your two
editors, Susan Slack and me, is to capture LDEI history
as it happens. The Quarterly itself is an archive of the
organization. Helping us capture that history in this
conference issue are Dames from more than 20 different
chapters who reported on all the events and sessions. As
you page through this issue, note the bylines to see who
they are. Add to them many more Dames who sent in
photos, Chapter News, Member Milestones, and other
current information.
Next year at the Boston Conference, the New York
Chapter will be 38 years old. Our newest chapter, Birmingham, will be one year old. Older chapters have much
experience and history to share with new chapters and
those yet to be chartered. Let this be a call to all: Preserve
your history for posterity so the lessons of Dames who
have gone before can benefit those to come.
Thanks to all who contributed to this and every issue.
Keep the history coming throughout the year!
Oh, and back to Mom. She enjoyed her return to Texas
and the LDEI Conference. She learned a lot and enjoyed
meeting all of you. One of her questions went unanswered,
however. “How in the world do y’all eat so much food?”
CiCi Williamson, Editor
Winter Quarterly
The mission of the LDEI board is to foster the growth and success of the organization by
supporting the development of new and existing chapters. It provides guidance, education,
connectivity and effective communication among LDEI members.
Secretary
Maria Gomez
Manager, Global Accounts
HelmsBriscoe
11241 Avenida del Gatao
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 633-7515
[email protected]
Treasurer
Ann Stratte
Owner
My Personal Chef
100 Severn Avenue, #506
Annapolis, MD 21403-2622
(410) 903-2682
[email protected]
Chapter Board Liaisons
Hayley Matson-Mathes
Culinary Consultant
2333 Kapiolani Blvd #3516
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 941-9088
[email protected]
Deborah Orrill
Culinary Consultant
64 Vanguard Way
Dallas, TX 75243
(214) 343-0124
[email protected]
Stacy Zeigler, CMP, CPCE
Director of Sales
Bold American Events
877 W. Marietta Street NW
Studio K-102
Atlanta, GA 30318-5285
(678) 302-3232
[email protected]
Immediate Past President
Mary Ellen Griffin
Owner
www.myMEGusta.com
320 Strawberry Hill Ave., #58
Stamford, CT 06902
(203) 975 7610
[email protected]
Executive Director
Greg Jewell
President
AEC Management Resources
P.O. Box 4961
Louisville, KY 40204
(502) 456-1851 x1
[email protected]
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Exploring the Delicious Culinary
Crossroads across Texas
What a huge, Texas-size welcome we received while arriving in
Austin for our 27th Annual Conference during the last week in
October. Our Co-Chairs Gina Burchenal and Denice Woods,
Austin Chapter President Cathy Strange, and their committees of
hard-working Dames had promised the biggest, most exciting and
successful conference ever, with lots of Southern hospitality—and
that’s exactly what they delivered! You’ll find summaries and snapshots of happenings from more than 20 Dames in this issue.
The memories are nonstop! For many, the first day kicked off
early, with tours around and nearby Austin: an in-service experience
on national Food Day; visits to unique urban, locally owned farms;
tastes of some popular Austin food-truck treasures; and legendary
Salt Lick BBQ and Texas wines in the Hill Country.
Learning was nonstop, too. At our Chapter Leadership Forum,
we learned how to run our chapters like businesses and “speeddated” topics of importance to chapter leaders. At the Don’t Drown
in Digital workshop, we heard about “taking control and creating a
customized digital routine that works for you.” We were reminded
how to put the customer back into customer service… learned
from the pros how to craft your own cookbook… experienced,
step-by-step, turning a tamale into a “hero” at a professional foodphotography shoot… and tasted the unlikely pairings of beer and
cheese.
Networking with Dames was an added benefit for all, especially
during the fabulous events! We wined and dined at the Dames
Across Texas extravaganza… we took a trip South of the Border for
a fabuloso Fiesta, serenaded by a mariachi band (all ladies!)… and
then proudly toasted our 2013 Grande Dame, Dolores Cakebread, winemaking-and-culinary visionary extraordinaire, at the
celebratory dinner our last evening in Austin. A perfect ending to
our 27th Annual Conference!
Our thanks go
to our 19 partners who generously support
our organization
all year, especially at conference. Remember
them when
you’re writing an
article or blog,
or organizing
a local seminar
or fundraiser.
Thanks also to
our Partnership
Development
Director, Brent Frei, who secures and works with our partners
throughout the year. And, of course, our Executive Director, Greg
Jewell, and his colleagues at AEC Management who expertly
orchestrate our conferences, and keep the infrastructure of our
organization working professionally and smoothly, day by day.
Everyone on your LDEI Board of Directors is here, as close
as your phone or your computer, to keep all of our 29 chapters
connected and strong. We are always actively supporting
and expanding many programs, with the help of many of
you: our Green Tables and Global Culinary Initiatives;
our website and webinars; our M.F.K. Fisher, Legacy,
and Grande Dame Awards; and our member discounts
through our Affinity and Dame-to-Dame programs. And
this year, let’s all continue to focus on keeping our financial house in order by helping the Brock Circle grow.
I am honored to be your president and look forward to a
fabulous year!
Beth Allen
President, Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Front: Ann Stratte, Stacy Zeigler, Beth Allen, Lori Willis, Mary Ellen Griffin. Back: Deborah Orrill, Maria Gomez-Lorenz, Hayley Matson-Mathes, Braiden Rex-Johnson. Not pictured: Cathy Cochran-Lewis.
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 3
,
Welcome to Texas, Y all!
[ ¡Bienvenidos a Tejas! ]
From the time we passed through the Hyatt
Regency Austin’s doors--decorated with a double
Dames logo--to the last toast at the Grande Dame
Award Dinner, it was a conference packed with
Texas flavor. Here in these 32 pages, we have
given it our all, y’all, to boot-horn all the
tours, meetings, sessions, and fiestas
into the magazine you’re holding. And, by the way, in Texas
we never say goodbye. We say,
“Y'all come back again, soon,
ya’hear?”
Clockwise from top left: Gwen Trost
with California Fig Advisory Board
representative Maria Kniestedt
with gift bags of dried figs. LDEI
Past Presidents Pat Mozersky,
Abigail Kirsch, CiCi Williamson,
Beverly Soules, Renie Steves,
Sandy Hu, Teresa Farney, Katherine Newsll Smith, and Suzanne
Brown with LDEI Founder Carol
Brock. LDEI Past President Mary
Ellen Griffin, Valerie Broussard, Trace
Executive Chef Lawrence Kosureck, and
Conference Co-chairs Gina Burchenal and
Denice Woods. Holly Matson-Mathes with Kerrygold contest winner Chef Janelle Reynolds.
Carlos Arana, CEO of Hiro Sake, and Carla
Williams (Austin), Auguste Escoffier School of
Culinary Arts.
4
OPENING RECEPTION
By Anne Nisbet (Seattle)
Anticipation was high as the elevator rose to the Hyatt Regency’s 17th floor. It was the opening-night reception for the LDEI
annual conference and the excitement was contagious.
In the lobby, a gorgeous cascade of fresh golden and black figs
was the first thing to catch my eye. One of the evening’s generous hosts, the California Fig Advisory Board, offered the tender,
plump fruits for sampling and gave each Dame a handsomely
packaged gift of dried figs and a tote bag to take home.
Austin’s sparkling—and rapidly growing—skyline formed a dramatic backdrop for the Foothills Room, where Dames from all 28 chapters
gathered to kick off the festivities. A lively group
it was, comparing notes on appetizers offered by
three chefs and sipping cocktails from Hiro Sake
and wine from Wente Vineyards.
Kerrygold, one of the evening's other sponsors, challenged the chefs to use one of the company’s Irish dairy
products in a newly created recipe that was then judged by the
Dames in attendance. This was a great ice-breaker, with Dames
comparing notes and discussing their favorites.
I awarded my vote to the Smörbröd created by Libbey Goldberg
of Austin’s Salt of the Earth Foods. She blended Kerrygold’s delicate,
clean-tasting Pure Irish Butter with lightly smoked black cod,
spreading it on rustic rye for a clever and fresh-tasting combination.
Another Austin chef, Heather Nanez, from Bohanan’s Restaurant & Bar in San Antonio, created a visually stunning plate
with beef tartare and tangy Cashel Blue Farmhouse Cheese.
Janelle Reynolds, executive chef of @t large, a private-chef
services company, who also works with Mighty Bird, a rotisseriechicken restaurant, won first prize for her Kerrygold’s Dubliner
Beer Cheese Crostini with Sweety Pepper Relish. For her win,
Chef Reynolds will receive a six-month supply of Kerrygold
butter plus 20 pounds of Kerrygold cheese per month for six
months. All three chefs received a gift basket of Kerrygold products valued at $250.
This vibrant gathering featuring fresh figs, Irish dairy products,
Hiro Sake, Roland Foods, and Wente Vineyard wines, along
with a cavalcade of high-spirited Dames, set a convivial tone
from which to launch the evening and the entire Austin Culinary
Crossroads Conference.
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Dames Across Texas
By Kathy Shearer
(San Antonio)
From the bold Texas flavors of tamales, tacos,
and ceviches, to Texas wines and cheeses, to
delicious desserts, there was something to
please every palate at Dames Across Texas held
on Thursday night. The event was hosted by
the Austin Chapter as a scholarship fundraiser
and organized by Gina Burchenal and Denice
Woods. It was held under the beautiful Texas
stars in the courtyard of the
AT&T Hotel and Conference Center. Participants
tasted items from 32
venues, mostly owned or
operated by Dames from
the Austin, Dallas, and San
Antonio Chapters.
Five Texas Hill Country wineries were represented -- Becker Vineyards (Bunny Becker),
Fall Creek Vineyards (Susan Auler), Texas
Hill Vineyards (Kathy Gilstrap), Alamosa
Vineyards (Karen Johnson), and Stone House
Vineyard (Angela Moench). Away.com, part
of Orbitz Worldwide, named the Texas Hill
Country one of 10 “hidden-gem” wine regions
in the United States.
Sipping wine, one could stroll from table to
table in the cool evening air, enjoying Spanish chorizo, pulled pork, chicken, cheeses and
salumi, chips and salsa, chimichurri sauce, a
tasty poblano sauce, spring rolls, and other
delectable items. There was even a somewhat
“historic“ drink served—a Peach Shrub—with
a bit of Bourbon added to kick it up. One
highlight everyone was talking about was the
Chicken Poblano Tamales beautifully plated
and served by Lisa Wong’s Rosario’s Café y
Cantina. For dessert, there were Texas-themed,
artfully hand-decorated Lily’s Cookies from
Christine McCrae Kelly, and Tracy Claros’
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard Sauce.
Yum! The French-pressed and/or espresso from
Susan Jaime’s Ferra Coffee and specialty tea
from Amy March’s The Steeping Room were
the perfect compliments to the desserts.
The San Antonio Chapter added some pizzazz to their tables with fiesta-themed items by
using serapes, piñatas, papeles picados (tissue
paper with elaborate cut-out designs), and
candles. The Austin Chapter placed luminarias
around the courtyard to help set the mood. It
was a fabulous evening for the attendees, and a
successful fundraiser for the Austin Chapter!
Photos from top: Maple Pork Belly Tamales by Rosemary Kowalski's The RK Group. Photo by Susan Slack. Breville Coffee.
Lisa Wong. Sharon Van Meter and her culinary team. Susan
Jaime’s Ferra Coffee. Lily’s Cookies from Christine McCrae
Kelly. Tanya Holland, Nicole Quandt. Nichole Bendele of Becker
Vineyards. Kevin O’Neal, Lori Willis, Greg Jewell. Photos by
Susan Slack and Lori Willis.
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 5
Pre-Conference Tours
TOUR 1:
Green Tables Teams with
Food Day for “Day of Service”
By Kathy Gold (Philadelphia)
Dames from all over the country arrived
by van, car, and even in taxis straight from
the airport to prepare for the October 24th
Day of Service at the Sustainable Food
Center (SFC), in Austin. SFC’s mission
is to cultivate community by strengthening the local food system and to provide a
space where children and adults can grow,
share, and prepare healthy, local foods.
The sessions started with the entire
volunteer force—18 volunteers from
SFC—gathered for a hands-on knife-skills
class. After a taste of the “everything-intothe-pot” soup, the participants broke into
groups for a morning of delicious demonstrations, led by Dames.
Dames demonstration leaders taught the
volunteers how to break down a chicken,
pickle vegetables, roast vegetables and fruit,
make chicken salad, cook with grains,
plant herbs, and grow mushrooms from
spores in coffee grounds. As a bonus, we
also learned that, among other things, coffee grounds can help banish cellulite!
Cecilia Nasti (Austin) did a superb job
of coordinating the day’s activities. Katherine Newell Smith, Susan Jaime, Molly
Thompson, Martha Pruitt, Kathy Gold,
Michele Haines, Sharon Van Meter, Adrienne Abramson, Stephanie McClenny,
Tina Wasserman, and Drew Faulkner were
all thrilled to take part in the day of service.
After each group of volunteers had the
opportunity to participate in all the demonstrations, the Dames re-boarded the van,
and went to the Auguste Escoffier School
of Culinary Arts, an LDEI Partner.
Joining them for lunch were Nancy Marr,
the school’s Special Events Manager; Mary
Chamberlin, a Trustee; LDEI Past Presidents Beverly Barbour Soules and CiCi
Williamson; and other guests. Chef Paul
Petersen and the Escoffier School’s “Farmto-Table” students prepared a sumptuous
four-course luncheon of locally sourced
ingredients under the expansive canopy
in the Escoffier Garden. Courses included
Arugula Salad with Smoked Grapes, Candied Pecans, and Texas Goat Cheese, and
Roasted Game Hen with Mushroom-Apple
Bread Pudding. After lunch, Dames strolled
through the vegetable garden and basked in
the sunshine under the big Texas sky.
Cornish hens.
Beverly Soules, Nancy Marr, and Mary Chamberlin.
Luncheon photo under the canopy.
Students and chef who cooked the lunch.
Photos by CiCi Williamson.
6
Three Little Pigs chef
with Pamela Morgan
and Pat Mozersky.
Cow Tipping Truck.
Cow Tipping Desserts.
Sugar Addict Foods.
Anne Nisbet with
a new friend.
TOUR 2:
Food Truck Treasures
By Kathleen Rule (St. Louis)
Austin Dames Kristi Willis and Denice
Woods hosted this wonderful culinary adventure cum city tour, sharing the history of local
food trucks of all sorts, including mobile,
stationary, and those used
by local restaurant chefs to
test recipes.
In North Austin at the
Sugar Addict Bakery, we
ate melt-in-your-mouth
beignets. At East Austin’s
Three Little Pigs, Chef
Raymond Tatum served crusty, muffin-sized
Cracklin’ Meat Loaves wrapped in crispy
bacon on cheese grits with savory black-eyed
peas, roasted beets, and collard greens.
West of the University of Texas campus, we
sampled highly rated Asian-Fusion cuisine
at East Side King at Hole in the Wall. Thai
Chicken Kara-age and Fried Brussels Sprout
Salad were both blended with spicy sauces,
herbs, and jalapeños.
It was a short walk to Cow Tipping Creamery, a family-run business offering artisan
soft-serve custards, homemade sauces, and
toppings. A specialty sundae was Taj Y’all—
soft-serve custard, saffron syrup, toasted
black-sesame seeds, and coconut dust.
The popular custard shop is named for “cow
tipping,” a purported prank of sneaking up
on an unsuspecting upright cow and pushing
it over. The practice is generally considered
an urban legend because cows do not sleep
standing up, and studies show it would probably take about five people to push over a cow.
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
TOUR 3:
Texas Wine with Texas Barbecue
By Renie Steves (Dallas)
Twenty Dames headed 15 miles west of Austin to the Hill Country to experience pairing Texas wine with authentic Texas barbecue.
Texans “grill” year-round—from appetizers to fruit—but barbecue is
slow cooking over wood, letting the hot smoke do the cooking. The
meat is the star, not the sauce.
Barbecue is a tradition—families celebrate and tailgate around barbecue smokers. Tourists swarm to famous barbecue joints where the
meat is piled high along with the requisite sides of coleslaw, potato
salad, a pickle, and sauce on the side.
The Texas Hill Country has the highest concentration of the state’s 275 wineries, making it a top wine
destination in the U.S. The region is also home to
one of the most famous barbecue joints in the nation: Salt Lick Restaurant, which opened in 1967.
While beer is often the beverage of choice with
barbecue, wines also pair well with the smoked
meats. To that end, current Salt Lick owner, Scott Roberts, planted
35 acres of wine grapes in 2006. Tempranillo was introduced in
2008. A year later, Salt Lick Cellars and a tasting room opened where
visitors can taste Salt Lick and other Texas wines.
During the tour, Fall Creek Vineyards owner, Susan Auler, graciously poured Fall Creek’s Chenin Blanc, which was smooth with a
hint of sweetness, and Tempranillo, a perfect red for barbecue with
its strawberry, spice, and tobacco flavors.
At lunch, Dames sampled nachos topped with chunks of well-done
brisket ends and grilled-shrimp appetizers with the Chenin Blanc and
Salt Lick’s BBQ White. The main course was paired with Salt Lick’s
GSM (a Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre), its
Sangiovese, and Fall Creek’s
Tempranillo. A spot poll of
the Dames showed wines with
some sweetness were preferable to balance the spiciness
of the barbecue sauce.
Then we tasted
six wines at the
nearby Duchman
Family Winery
housed in an impressive Tuscaninspired building.
The white wines
(2011 Trebbiano,
Vermentino, and
Viognier) had
good aromas but
were served too
cold, masking
the flavors of the
wines. The reds
(2011 Sangiovese
and Tempranillo) were deep in body and
slightly tannic. Canto Felice,
their semi-sweet wine, which
means “happy song” in Italian, was a perfect ending.
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Photos by Maika Hill Higgins.
TOUR 4:
Urban “Farm-to-Table” Excursion
By Lesley Hill (Hawaii)
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Austin when we toured three urban
farms. All within the Austin city limits, they appeared almost like
large, bountiful, home gardens—if you didn’t know they were operating as farms.
Rain Lily, our first stop, comprises four acres of mixed heirloom
vegetables and fruit trees including figs, olives, and persimmons. They
supply Farmhouse Delivery, a weekly delivery business that provides
milk, eggs, and produce to Austin homes. They also carry pastureraised meats, and deliver to Houston as well. Our
tour leader, Stephanie Scherzer, told us that the
farm hosts Shakespearean theater performances for a
month every fall in the shady grove at the entrance.
Buying an old farm that had deteriorated into crack
houses, Dorsey Barger has restored the two-acre
Hausbau Farm into a vibrant, totally sustainable, integrated property. She and her partner raise just about
everything, including donkeys, ducks, and rabbits that they feed recycled
fruit-juice pulp. The vegetables reflect the gentle care they receive by
growing vigorously. They have created a beautiful outdoor cooking and
dining area than can be used for demonstrations and classes. There is an
interesting aquaponics system that takes the fish manure from farmed
tilapia and, using bacteria-coated clay pellets, converts it into nutrients
for growing lettuce and other crops hydroponically.
They humanely harvest their own animals and compost the remains
using a soldier-fly composter. However, a neighbor complained of the
smell, so they are now in a bit of a battle with the city government and
may have to send the animals off the farm for butchering. Barger urged
us to voice our support by going to the urbanfarms.org website.
About five years ago, Springdale Farm was transformed from a
landscape nursery by Paula and Glenn Foore. Today, the farm produces a gorgeous array of produce and supplies Eden East, the small
food-truck-like restaurant in front owned by Sonya Cote. Eden East
served up a delicious lunch including Fresh Green Salad, Roasted
Chicken, and Meyer-Lemon Bars with slices of persimmons and
candied pears. The farm is a living classroom for nearby schools, and
a group of children was just finishing their tour as we arrived. The
children looked as if they had enjoyed the experience tremendously,
as did all of the Dame participants.
7
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
Texas Roots to
National Stage
By Shara Bohach,
(Cleveland)
Rosalyn (Roz) Mallet offered inspiring words about actively managing
your career and moving it forward
through instinct,
innovation,
mentoring, and
values-based
leadership. Overcoming odds as
a woman and a
person of color, Roz stated that you
never know what you cannot do
until you try. She spoke with passion
about opportunities in the restaurant
industry, asserting that if you work
hard, develop and believe in your instincts, and proceed with confidence,
you can do anything.
In her 10 tips for outstanding leadership, she included “seek mentors
and seek to mentor.” The giving back
is equally, if not more important.
With the help of mentors at every
step of her career path, Roz went
from working summers in college
as a restaurant cashier to high-level
positions with restaurant brands
we all know, to becoming the first
African-American woman to lead
the National Restaurant Association (only the third woman to chair
the board during that organization’s
96-year-long history).
Always a well-prepared risk taker,
Roz left a highly successful corporate
career to start an entrepreneurial
business. And, at the start of a
recession, no less! She succeeded in
building PhaseNext Hospitality, a
multi-brand, franchise-operating
company, with outlets in nontraditional foodservice locations,
such as airports and military bases.
She consistently seeks out unique
opportunities, and creates businesses
from them.
Roz encouraged Dames to “learn
the bad lessons very, very well, because those are the most important,
and allow someone to ask you what
could you have done better.” These
are the insights that will guide you
toward your next success.
Carol Brock, Roz Mallett, Beth Allen. Photo by CiCi.
8
Takeaways from the 2013
Leadership Forum
By Braiden Rex-Johnson (Seattle),
LDEI Second Vice President
The 60 Dames who participated in this year’s Thursdayafternoon Chapter Leadership Forum (CLF) agreed that it
was one of the most useful sessions at the 2013 Conference.
The CLF is open to chapter presidents, presidents-elect,
and any chapter members aspiring to leadership roles. The
gathering gives presidents and officers
a chance to share their chapter issues
and find support and answers. This year,
attorney Jacqueline (Jackie) Hanson
kicked off the session with a one-hour
PowerPoint presentation entitled, “Running Your Chapter Like a Business, Part
Two.” Key points in her speech, which
focused on successfully managing, optimizing, and sustaining nonprofit status, included the following:
• Mission is the touchstone.
• Educate your Board of Directors, officers, and staff.
• The two fiduciary obligations for Directors are a duty
of care and a duty of loyalty.
• Directors are charged with safeguarding the organization’s assets.
• Know and abide by the laws applicable to charitable
organizations.
In underscoring the importance and vital work of volunteer, nonprofit organizations such as LDEI, Hanson said,
“Noah’s ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built
by professionals.”
Takeaways from the CLF’s first-ever “speed-dating”
session, moderated by LDEI Board members, included:
• Establish a mentorship program for your Chapter’s
scholars to observe and measure the progression in their
careers.
• The St. Louis Chapter held a successful fundraiser with
the theme, “Best Dame Tacos in Missouri.” Tailor this
idea to the food you are selling and your state or region.
• Immediately after an event, follow up with your current
partners and sponsors. Inform them that, “We will be
looking to you for support again next year.”
• Appoint a “Member Liaison” to deal with difficult
members and/or members who aren’t engaged.
• Organize a “Dîner en Blanc” (Dinner in White), a
worldwide trend in fundraising that originated in Paris.
• Hold raffles at your monthly meetings, with funds
raised used to send Dames to Conference based on a
point system (à la Atlanta).
• Hold a Dessert Dash (full descriptions in the Member Center, “Document Groups/Chapter Fundraising
Ideas” section of ldei.org).
• Encourage new members to sign up for a Committee,
which builds friendships, gets them involved, and helps
identify potential leaders.
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Session 1:
Feeding Your
Community
By Cindy Jurgensen
(Minneapolis)
Six wonderful panelists espoused their very
different, yet related, experiences in food and
agriculture. Author/Activist/Farmer Wendell
Berry’s quote “Eating
is an Agriculture Act,”
the quote that inspired
Michael Pollan, was
central to the session.
Food and agriculture
affect everything and the
idea that individual eaters
have a responsibility to grow good, healthy,
nutritional food to feed current and future
generations was also a key theme. Each panelist emphasized that growing healthy food takes
time, bridge-building, is costly, and is all about
relationship building.
State Representative Eddie Rodriquez said
that growing healthy food starts with good
policy. He feels his job is to identify the
hurdles farmers have, then help them. He
discovered government is often in the way,
particularly for urban farmers. He started a
“farm-to-table” caucus and found food to be a
non-partisan issue.
Mayor Marc Holm strove to figure out what
assets his town, Elgin, had. The town’s rich
agriculture tradition, with Austin right next
door, formed a built-in market! People said
agriculture couldn’t be a driver of economic
development, but he persevered. When a college moved to town he got them to include
sustainable agriculture as one of the major
courses of study.
Former Chef Elizabeth Winslow, co-founder
of Farmhouse Delivery, wants to make good
food accessible to all. Now, as communications
manager for the Sustainable Food Center, she
said that the Sustainable Food Center holds
four weekly farmers’ markets in Austin, helps
people connect to affordable food, hosts Community Gardens, and teaches gardeners how
to use what they grow. “Food can bring people
together across the political spectrum.”
Carla Williams is the Farm-to-Table
Curriculum Coordinator for Escoffier Schools
in Austin and Boulder, where three-week farm
externships are built into the curriculum. Students get a different perspective (they’re loath
to waste) on where their ingredients come
from, how hard farmers work, and how much
better local tastes.
Inspired by Grande Dame Alice
Waters’ book, Chez Panisse, Chef Sonya
Cote’s mission is to educate people on
how to eat local and how to engage with
their food. She wants to open as many
restaurants as possible on farms and has a
good start—her Eden East restaurant is located
on the grounds of urban Springdale Farm.
Farmer Paula Foore’s urban five-acre Springdale Farm is three miles from the Texas state
capital, a city block surrounded by homes, and
a school. Since it’s a challenge to be financially
successful, “it’s important to diversify,” she
said. Hence, Sonya’s restaurant on the front
end. Paula and Sonya work jointly with culinary students, interns, and school groups; sell
at twice-weekly farm stands and to restaurants;
and host weddings in the farm’s pecan orchard.
“Use every chance to educate the good, bad,
and ugly of farming.”
This session brings full circle my first experience with LDEI. Long before I was a member,
I flew to Phoenix with Mary Evans (Minnesota) to visit Hallie Harron, chef/owner of
the restaurant Quiessence at the Farm at South
Mountain. We helped prep for her local news
program, and we cooked a sumptuous, locally
foraged meal for an LDEI Board dinner meeting. Hallie was feeding the community long
before it was the trend. “Quiessence was surely
one of the first to ‘go local.’ It was easy! We
grew the carrots—I served ‘em!”
Session 2:
Beer & Cheese: Find Your Inner Pairings
By Gwen Ashley Walters (Phoenix)
After the beer-and-cheese session, I overheard a Dame
exclaim, “Forget wine, I’m all about beer-and-cheese
parties now!”
It’s safe to say the rest of the near-packed room for this
eat-and-drink session felt similarly, based on the final
applause and the line of Dames waiting to purchase
a copy of Janet Fletcher’s (San Francisco) new book,
Cheese & Beer (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2013).
Cathy Strange (Austin), Global Cheese Buyer at Whole
Foods Market and New World President of Guilde des
Fromagers, introduced the all-star panel, including two
cheesemakers, two cheese experts, and a female brewer.
Cathy led us through a series of four cheeses paired with
four beers, and then encouraged us to explore further
pairings among the options in front of us.
Peggy Smith, founder of Cowgirl Creamery, provided
an organic triple-cream Mount Tam cheese, and Austin
Independence Brewing brewer/owner Amy Cartwright
selected her Stash IPA to pair with it, to highlight a
contrasting flavor pairing (buttery, creamy cheese with
citrusy, bitter beer).
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Paula Lambert’s (Dallas) Mozzarella Company Queso Blanco with
Chiles and Epazote was paired
with Jester King Brewery’s Le Petit
Prince Farmhouse Table Beer, an
example of a complementary flavor
pairing (mild cheese with mellow,
low-alcohol, slightly effervescent beer.)
Cheesemaker Judy Schad (Chicago), co-owner of
Capriole Farms, brought a tangy, Bourbon chestnut-leaf
chèvre, which was paired with Jester King’s cedar-aged El
Cedro for another complementary pairing. Finally, multiaward-winning Rogue River Blue from Oregon, whose
cheese makers David Gremmels and Cary Bryant were in
attendance and christened “Dames for a Day,” was paired
with Oatmeal Stout, a deeply roasted malt beer with
chocolate and coffee notes from Independence Brewing
Co. This provided another contrasting pairing.
One attendee posed the sticky question, “Is cheese better with beer or wine?” Dame Fletcher answered, “I’ve
never met a cheese I couldn’t pair with beer, but I can’t
say the same with wine.”
Amy Cartwright, Peggy Smith, Judy
Schad, Janet Fletcher, Cathy Strange.
Photo by CiCi. Janet Fletcher. Photo by
Susan Slack.
9
Sessions
Session 3:
Don’t Drown in Digital. Build a Toolkit Instead
By Kathy Moore (Kansas City)
Are you drowning in technology and social
media? Follow these tips!
Kristi Willis, of Kristi’s
Farm To Table, recommended cloud technology
so you always have access to
everything you need. Don’t
buy every tool and app. To
find your best tool, outline your work and
identify the most painful spot, then find a tool
to ease that task. She recommended Evernote
(which allows users to create then synchronize
Session 4:
Mixology
10
text and photos across all devices), Office 365,
Dropbox, and Google Drive (Google Docs).
Natanya Anderson, Social Media Director
of Whole Foods and President of Austin Food
Bloggers Alliance, recommended we stand out,
engage, and create community on social media. To determine the best outlet, identify your
audience and goals and evaluate your time and
comfort level. Facebook is great for establishing your brand and sharing your expertise. For
best results, spend 30 minutes daily and post
once or twice each day.
To optimize Twitter, spend about an hour
daily and respond to tweets within one-half
By Grande Dame Abigail
Kirsch (New York)
Our anticipations were high as we
entered the fascinating seminar on
mixology. It was fun, it was color-
day. You can post the same topic on Facebook
and Twitter, but personalize it. Instagram is
more important than Twitter, so if you must
choose, pick Instagram over Twitter. Pinterest
allows you to show your expertise, but don’t
just pin your own content. Use LinkedIn if
your business targets other businesses.
The women cautioned against giving total
control of social media to interns as you must
be the voice of your brand. Also, during times
of national disaster, Whole Foods goes dark,
and it may be wise to follow this lead in your
own business.
ful, and it was a learning experience that sent our
taste buds into orbit.
Our expert corporate mixologist, Chef Caterina
Miltenburger, of Glazer’s Wholesale Distributors,
introduced us to “shrubs.” No, not green hedges,
but artisinal drinking vinegars. We learned that
over 1,000 years ago, people used the same recipe
we use today, as a fermenting process in their
ancient way of preserving fruit.
Today, we know that craft
bars use shrubs with alcohol
in uniquely shaped glasses
and carved ice cubes. You can
find shrubs today in flavors
including strawberry, mixed
berry, raspberry, pineapple,
and even passion fruit.
With our newfound knowledge of shrubs, it was our turn
to create contemporary drinks.
We were instructed to fill the
punch bowls in front of us
with an aromatic mixture.
To share with you an approximate idea of a recipe,
we made a quick shrub purée
by mixing 2 ounces of Very
Berry Shrub with 6 ounces of
powdered sugar and oneCaterina Miltenburger. XX, Deborah Woehler, Stacey
quarter ounce lemon or lime Mixologist
Adams, Janet Burgess. Photos by Susan Slack.
juice in a small glass jar.
Cover tightly and shake vigorously until the sugar has completely mixed
with the juice. You may have to add more juice to achieve the right consistency. Add fresh fruit, such as sliced pineapple, apple, orange, or berries.
Then add seltzer and fruit juice. No, we did not forget the Vodka, which was
added by Dames, who religiously believe in generous pours.
I must admit that the shrub punch we created was so tantalizing, it accompanied me into the Partner Luncheon for additional enjoyment!
Good news is that you can purchase Shrub Drinks Artisanal Drinking
Vinegars by accessing www.shrubdrinks.com, created by Cathy Tarasovic
and Cynthia Guido (San Antonio).
Cheers!!
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Session 5:
Session 6:
Chili, Kolache, Cornbread, and Collards:
A Look at Central Texas Foodways
Effective PR &
Marketing on a Budget
By CiCi Williamson
“Central Texas Foodways” carried
out the conference theme to a T (as in
tamale). Culinary historians M.M. Pack,
Toni Tipton-Martin,
and Dawn Orsak
delivered a complex
dish of food knowledge. Pack said 200
Texas Indian groups
traded foods such as mesquite beans,
prickly pears, mustang grapes, dewberries, game, chilies, and pecans. Native to
Texas, the pecan (from an Indian word
meaning “requiring a stone to crack”)
was growing 8,000 years before seedlings
were introduced by Indians and traders
to East Coast states such as Georgia.
A progression of immigrants settled
in Texas: 26 major nationalities from
Belgians to Wends (Slavs). But Germans
made up the largest group of Europeans
to immigrate to Texas and, even now,
make up 17% of the population. Pack
said they brought pickling, sausage,
barbecue, and schnitzel, which morphed
into “chicken fried steak.” Wine grapes
were planted in Texas 100 years before
they were planted in California. Chili
came in with cowboy cooking, and
“chili queens” sold the dish first in San
Antonio.
Toni Tipton-Martin is Founder/Director of the nonprofit SANDE Youth
Project that promotes the connection
between cultural heritage, food, and a
healthy environment. She spoke about
how African Americans passed down
recipes orally. They tended small garden
plots and cooked “parts massa didn't
want. But Blacks left us much more
than collards and swine.” Her book, The
Jemina Code, to be published in 2014,
expounds on this.
Tex-Czech and Czech-Mex foods were
explained by Dawn Orsak, Lone Star
Foodways. “Texas has the largest number
of Czech immigrants in the U.S.,” she
said. The Czechs contributed noodles,
cucumber salad, potato dishes, sauerkraut, strudel, and kolache (pronounced
CO-lahsh—silent “e”). An example of
Czech-Mex food is sausage with jalapenos. Orsak quipped, “Everything has an
end, but sausage has two.” She translated
a Czech phrase that means “When there
is good cooking, there is happiness.”
Orsak indeed facilitated attendees’
happiness by serving several kinds of delicious, authentic kolaches she had made.
Lori Willis (St. Louis), Director of
Communications, Schnuck Markets,
Inc., attended this session and wrote,
“After 12 years as a grocer, I am always
moved by how important traditional
ingredients and foods are to those who
have traded their homelands for new
territory. The ladies in this seminar emphasized this point many times. It’s not
just the recipes that are handed down
through generations; it’s the memories of
home, families and traditions.”
Toni TiptonMartin, Dawn
Orsak, and Mary
Margaret Pack.
Photos by CiCi
Williamson
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 By Patty Erd (Chicago)
This seminar was a panel moderated by Cathy
Cochran-Lewis (Austin), Global
Marketing, Whole Foods Market,
and consisted of local PR experts
Elaine Garza of Giant Noise PR,
James Moody of Guerilla Suit
Marketing and Kathryn Hutchison of Greenling.
Ideas and suggestions flew
throughout this session. So many ideas were shared.
Here are a few.
• Do not assume a PR agency is going to fix everything, or turn everything around for you.
• Educate yourself so that you understand the
landscape.
• You need to roll up your sleeves and block out
the time to do the work yourself.
• You NEVER want to farm off social media to an
intern.
• Good social media interaction requires you make
a daily commitment.
• Media would rather hear from you the person,
rather than a press release.
• Start your social media campaign months before
starting your business.
• Make sure you create a voice consistent with your
business. Reporters need a two-month lead time.
• Do not attempt SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on your front page; this needs to run
through the back end of your website.
• Make some crossover from the digital world to
the physical world, press some flesh.
• Consider removing print advertising from
your budget, it is expensive and readership has
decreased. Facebook analytics are free and do not
require an agency.
• You do not have to sign up for a whole year as
PR firms would like. So many ideas were shared;
it would be worth your while to listen to the
Podcast posted at www.ldei.org.
11
[ Round 'em Up ]
Partners!
By Brent T. Frei, LDEI Director
of Partnership Development
Although not the Chisholm Trail, which passed
through Austin beginning in the 1860s, all paths in the
Hyatt Regency Austin led to the “feed lot.” Delectable
aromas enticed Dames to a grazing lunch where 15 of
LDEI’s 19 official 2013 partners showcased tastings, products, special offers, and other information at this year’s Partners
Showcase Luncheon in Austin on October 25, making this muchloved annual event one of the largest in LDEI’s history.
Photos by Susan Slack
Silver partner Kikkoman Sales USA,
represented by chef and manager of
culinary development Helen Roberts,
offered beef crostini featuring thinly sliced
roast beef, sliced onion, fresh parsley and
grated Parm atop sliced Italian bread that
had been brushed with a blend of olive
oil and soy sauce before toasting. The
delicious bite got its meaningful umami
flavor kick (without all the salt) thanks
to Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce.
www.kikkomanusa.com
Kerrygold, which upgraded to Bronze
from its Friend-level partnership in 2012,
showcased several of its top-selling signature
cheeses (all made exclusively from the milk
of grass-fed cows) via a cheese board that
included Cashel Blue, Dubliner, Skellig,
Dubliner with Irish Stout and Cheddar
with Irish Whiskey, along with nuts, dried
fruits, chutneys and breads. Additionally,
an onion/fig tart featuring Cashel Blue was
the talk of the event. Icing on the cake, so
to speak, was a block of Kerrygold Salted
Butter on each tabletop, served European
style. This year, besides representation from
Sandy Hu, on hand were Roisin Hennerty, president of Kerrygold and the
Irish Dairy Board, and Molly O’Loughlin, Kerrygold’s marketing director.
www.kerrygoldusa.com
A glorious variety of fresh and
dried figs starred at returning
Bronze partner California Fig
Advisory Board’s station, at
which Karla Stockli and her
agency representative, Maria
Kniestedt, served pork tenderloin with fig-cocoa sauce, a
signature recipe from Houston-based celeb chef Robert
Del Grande. Additionally, the
board displayed a cascade of California figs and fig products with fine cheeses
from fellow LDEI partner Kerrygold. www.californiafigs.com
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Chef Neil Doherty returned to the LDEI Conference
for a second year representing Bronze partner
Sysco Corporation, and like last year, brought with
him Shelley Carr, senior director of culinary development. Gwendoline Peters of Sysco-European Imports
also helped serve from the lavish display, which included seared Certified Angus Beef tenderloin, carved
to order and plated with a tossed-to-order salad of
Brussels sprouts, kale, and red quinoa brightly dressed
with a splash of citrus, and an array of imported cheeses
produced by women cheesemakers along with classic
charcuterie: pâtés, terrines and sliced cured meats, all accompanied by a variety of condiments. www.sysco.com
Bronze partner Wente
Vineyards, represented
by Amy Hoopes and two
of the winery’s managers, (Nicole Quandt
shown here), poured
tastings of entwine by
Food Network—a 2010
California Merlot and a
2011 California Pinot
Grigio. Morning Fog
Chardonnay 2012, Livermore Valley; Riva Ranch
Chardonnay 2012,
Arroyo Seco, Monterey;
Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011,
Livermore Valley; and
Murrieta’s Well The Whip 2012, Livermore Valley, were
also enjoyed by Dames.www.wentevineyards.com
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Returning Copper partner Alaska
Seafood Marketing Institute,
represented by Claudia Hogue,
foodservice director, and Karl Uri,
marketing specialist, offered freshfrom-the-sea Alaska snow-crab
claws with a trio of dipping sauces
featuring Kikkoman products:
soy-ginger sauce, hoisin ranch
dressing and Thai chili mayonnaise. www.wildalaskaflavor.com
Dedicated students enrolled in the
culinary-arts program at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary
Arts in Austin represented new
Friend partner Escoffier Online
International Culinary Academy
by serving tastings of goose confit
with roasted-pumpkin/pecan purée;
a tart with mushrooms and JBG
first-of-the-season parsnips; and
Auguste Escoffier’s signature classic
dessert, Peach Melba. Students’ involvement and efforts were organized
by Nancy Marr, special-events manager at the school, who also represented the partner and its parent company, Triumph Higher Education
Group, at the station. www.escoffieronline.com
Breville USA, a returning Copper
partner represented by national
sales manager Amy Billetz and
beverage-category manager
Stefanie Tiong, served affogatos—shots of espresso over Amy’s
Mexican-Vanilla Ice Cream—with
assistance from Maria Gomez’
husband, Dean, and Dame Susan
Jaime of locally based Ferra Coffee. www.brevilleusa.com
The James Beard Foundation, a
first-time LDEI partner at the Copper level, offered information on
exciting new programs of interest to
Dames, particularly in the areas of
women’s issues and environmental
sustainability. Shelley Menaged
was on hand to answer Dames’
questions about the Foundation’s
philanthropic and other efforts.
www.jamesbeard.org
Inspired by the upcoming Thanksgiving
holiday, Debbie Wheeler of returning
Friend partner Mahatma Rice wowed
guests with her cranberry/brown-rice
dressing featuring Mahatma Whole
Grain Brown Rice. Mahatma is the
No. 1 rice brand in the United States,
and through this dish, it was easy to see
why. www.mahatmarice.com
Some of the New York Dames at the 2013
James Beard Foundation Gala, "Women
in Whites": Carol Brock, Mary Ellen Griffin,
Dorothy Hamilton, Pam Morgan.
Friend partner American Roland
Food Corp.’s booth was represented
by Lisa Kartzman, director of public
relations, and Lisa Ekus, president
of The Lisa Ekus Group, LLC, with
help from volunteer chef Bernadette Diaz, a recent graduate of the
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary
Arts. Roland served up a wildly popular farrotto (creamy farro) featuring
the following Roland products: farro,
dried mushrooms, olive oil and fine
sea salt. Additionally, the trio served chicken breast marinated in
Roland’s sambal oelek sauce. www.rolandfood.com
LDEI welcomed Cakebread Cellars
as a returning Friend partner from
2011, which allowed attending Dames
to greet and congratulate Dolores
Cakebread, recipient of this year’s
Grande Dame Award. Dolores and her
local distributor rep poured tastings of
2012 Chardonnay Napa Valley, 2011
Pinot Noir Anderson Valley and 2012
Sauvignon Blanc. www.cakebread.com
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Returning Friend partner Peter’s
Chocolate, represented by Julie Martin and Angela Weidner for Courtney
LeDrew, offered fine confections to
satisfy Dames’ après-meal
desire for a scrumptious
taste of exquisite-quality
chocolate.
www.peterschocolate.com
Lesley Hill said she was pleased with
the way Chef Paul French of the
Hyatt Regency Austin executed her
fresh Hawaiian heart-of-palm salad,
which offered an exquisite balance
of chile, lime and agave flavors from
the Wailea Agricultural Group
station. WAG returned in 2013 as
a Friend partner of LDEI. www.
waileaag.com
Volunteer Chef Rosa Vera of the Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary
Arts in Austin contributed her carving
talents by slicing beef brisket to order
for sliders on pretzel rolls with wholegrain mustard, horseradish sauce, Dr.
Pepper BBQ sauce and house pickles at newcomer and Friend partner
WÜSTHOF’s station. The chef ’s
assistance allowed WÜSTHOF rep Lori
Vinz to offer incredible discounts on
quality cutlery and knife sets as an exclusive opportunity for Dames
attending the conference. www.wusthof-foodservice.com
13
Session 7:
So You Want To Write A Cookbook?
I decided that this breakout session would be a
good place to start some serious thinking about
writing my own cookbook.
As a former pastry chef that
has created hundreds of recipes, I have many times been
told by friends, family and
clients “you should write a
cookbook.” It seemed to me
that it wouldn’t be that difficult a project because
all of my recipes have been tested and used 100’s
of times in the bakery I created. After listening to the panelists and moderator, I now have
second thoughts. It is not just about recipes.
The panelists ranged from writers who created their own recipes for their own cookbooks
to writers who worked with chefs on the chef ’s
Session 8:
Texas Tamale Shoot
By Carol Fenster (Colorado)
14
Tracey Maurer, Nancy Fitch,
Debbie Wheeler, Lisa Wong,
Kris Ackerman, Julie Hettiger,
Carla Buerkle. Photo by Lori
Willis. Bottom: Rosario’s
Corn, Poblano & Crab Tamales. Food styling by Julie
Hettiger and Carla Buerkle;
photo by Tracey Maurer.
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The Texas Tamale Shoot team—Commercial Food
Photographer Tracy Maurer (San Antonio) and Food
Stylists Julia Hettiger-Nelson (Houston) and Carla
Buerkle (Houston)—showed us how to transform the
typically humble, mundane tamale into a work of art
with five delectable examples.
The team’s challenge was to meet
the goals of its client, Chef Debbie Wheeler (Houston), with five
unique images featuring the flavors
of Sweet, Seafood, Vegetarian,
Pork, and Beef. The team’s main
message: Your image is your brand,
and people eat with their eyes, so it
is important to present your food in the best possible
light. The best way to do this is with professional food
photography.
We sampled delicious, beautiful tamales created by
Lisa Wong (San Antonio), owner of Rosario’s Mexican Café y Cantina, and Iliana De la Vega, owner of
El Naranjo, that drew us in and urged us to “become
one with the tamale.”
The Culinary Institute of America San Antonio and its
students, as well as Nancy Fitch (San Antonio) and Kristine Ackerman (Dallas) helped make the shoot a reality.
Especially helpful was an actual “set-up” of a shoot,
complete with lighting, props, and a real, fresh tamale.
A table of all the possible props that were considered
for the shoot proved that there are many possible approaches to consider.
When the team was asked about using natural, outdoor
light to do food photography (for people who don’t have
a studio set-up), the advice was to photograph in the
shade so the sun doesn’t blow out the details.
cookbook - Paula Disbrowe, Jessica Dupuy,
June Naylor, Shubra Raminen, Patricia Sharpe
and Ellen Sweets. We were also able to get some
inside tips from Lisa Ekus.
It was interesting to discover how similar and
different the process was for all in getting the
final books published. Each had a story to tell,
from starting the process with a basic outline and proposal, testing recipes, finding the
money to finance the project, getting an agent
to handle the business needs, photography,
getting it published, and the importance of how
each part of the project had on the final book.
It would have been interesting to learn what
one can expect to receive for the advance and
how profitable the book projects were. After
listening to these women tell their story, I am
rethinking the idea of my own cookbook.
Broc
By Barb Pires (Atlanta)
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Putting the Customer Back Into Customer Service
By Marje Bennetts
(Los Angeles/ Orange County)
Dames heard what is new, what is relevant,
and what needs to be revisited when looking to revive
the energy, enthusiasm,
and methods of making
customers the focus of good
customer service. The topic
was presented to a full house
by Sharon Watkins (Austin), owner of the host city’s successful Chez
Zee American Bistro. She talked basics, how
and what is relevant today, and how to achieve
good customer service.
Sharon founded Chez Zee in 1989 and the
restaurant continually receives rave customer
reviews. Sharon explained, “It doesn’t come
without attention.” Some of her favorite train-
l
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c
r
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ing methods utilize training tools/materials
created by Zing Train, a training business developed for businesses to adapt to all organizations – from restaurants and caterers to banks,
schools, and more.
Highlights included:
• Stay current. If customers demand to take
photos of each and everything on a plate,
deal with it. Make it work.
• Get over being right. Embrace doing it
right. No need to debate an issue and look
at what you believe was right; instead,
make it right NOW for customers.
Acknowledge their opinion; let them be
heard.
• Train executives, managers, and all employees
in customer service. Practice good hiring.
Make the right choices early with employees
who are trainable and sustainable, and keep
it going. Training and communicating
expectations needs to be forever.
Sharon concluded with reminding all to keep it simple, with great
customer service the goal with tools
to achieve this goal. This creates
recommendations, return visits, and
ultimately success.
Sysco Delivers...
Quality, Integrity, Services,
Austin Dames Kavita
Patel, Kitty Crider, and
Kate Rowe offer great
customer service at
the registration desk.
Sharon Watkins
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Brock Circle
Adds Five
Chapters at
Conference
At the annual Council of Delegates
meeting in Austin, a very exciting challenge was posed. Alice Gautsch Foreman promised to pay for the secondyear, $1,000 installment for up to five
chapters if they committed to join the
Brock Circle yearly pledge. The following five chapters accepted her offer and
joined the Circle:
• Austin
• Boston
• Philadelphia
• St. Louis
• San Francisco
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Freshness, Value, Comfort.
Chicago and Seattle have since joined
and become our 9th and 10th chapter
members. The other chapters who are
members of the Brock Circle are Atlanta,
Dallas, and Houston. Including 25 individual Dames, the Brock Circle currently
totals 35 members. For the complete list
of current Brock Circle members, please
go to ldei.org.
15
Chapter Photos
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CiCi Williamson, Katherine Newell
Smith, Linda Joyce Forristal, Stacey
Adams.
6. NEW YORK Front: Nancy Jessup,
Margaret Happel Perry, Mary Ellen
Griffin, Carol Brock, Beth Allen,
Pamela Morgan, Suzen O'Rourke.
Back: Joan Bloom, Patricia Cobe,
Marsha Palanci, Vanessa Trost, Liz
Young, Regina Ragone.
7. MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL Merrilyn
Tauscher, Cindy Jurgensen.
8. PALM SPRINGS Nancy Cohee,
Zola Nichols.
9. ATLANTA Front: Stacy Zeigler,
Amy Crowell, Gena Berry, Shelley
Pedersen, Becky Minchew, Debi
Loftis, Virginia Willis, Suzanne
Brown. Back: Vicky Murphy,
Allison Palestrini, Tamie Cook,
Holly Chute, Kathleen Perry, Mary
Moore, Barb Pires, Lenada Merrick.
10. NORTHEAST Barbara Spencer,
Candace Karu.
11. MIAMI Dorothee Rubin, Priscilla Bittson.
12. COLORADO Marcia Kramer,
Teresa Farney, Carol Fenster, Holly
Arnold Kinney.
13. BRITISH COLUMBIA Cate
Simpson, Susanne Ross, Becky
Paris Turner.
14. LOS ANGELES Marje Bennett,
Nancy Eisman, Janet Burgess,
Maria Gomez-Laurens.
15. LONDON & PHOENIX Sue
Carter, Eileen Spitalny (holding
drawing of Gwen Ashley Walters).
16. DALLAS Front: Karen Cassady,
Sally Bolick, Renie Steves, Sharon
Van Meter, Kris Ackerman. Back:
Deborah Orrill, Mary Kimbrough,
Paula Lambert, Susan Auler.
17. ST. LOUIS Front: Lori Willis, Judith Bellos, Kathy Rule. Back: Mary
Sutkus, Cecily Hoffius.
18. HOUSTON Front: Lisa Cox,
Julie Hettiger, Sarah Finster,
Deborah Woehler, Marian Tindall,
Chara Gafford, Diane Adams.
Back: Janice Hays-Cavada, Debbie
Wheeler, Barbara Cook, Carla
Buerkle, Shubhra R, Molly Kaminski, Yvonne Sternes.
19. PHILADELPHIA Front: Linda
Joyce Forristal, Kathy Gold, Lynn
Buono. Back: Adrienne Abramson,
Dorothy Koteski.
20. CHARLESTON Front: Danielle Wecksler, Nathalie, Susan
Slack. Back: Susan Wigley, Deidre
Schipani
21. SAN DIEGO Front: Janet Burgess, Dana Chaldekas, Marie Kelley. Back: Maria Gomez-Laurens,
Sharon VanMeter.
22. KANSAS CITY Kathy Moore,
Kimberly Winter Stern, Martha
Morgan Pruitt.
23. CLEVELAND Front: Crickett
Karson, Molly Thompson, Shara
Bohach. Back: Carol Hacker, Beth
Davis-Noragon.
24. SEATTLE Front: Alice Gautsch
Foreman, Braiden Rex-Johnson,
Katherine Kehrli. Back: Marilyn
Carlson, Patricia Gelles, Anne
Nisbet.
25. MONTEREY BAY Front: Nancy
Marr, Mary Chamberlin. Back:
Karla Stockli, Sharon VanMeter.
26. HAWAII Front: Soleil Fusha,
Hayley Matson-Mathes, Cheryl To.
Back: Lesley Hill, Nancy Edney.
The Austin Chapter is pictured on the cover.
ircle
kC
Broc
1. SAN FRANCISCO Front: Peggy
Smith, Sandra Hu, Elaine Corn,
Dolores Cakebread, Eileen Spitalny
Back: Tanya Holland, Amy Hoopes,
Chef Helen Roberts, Sue Conley.
2. SAN ANTONIO Front: Kathy
Shearer, Pat Mozersky, Linda
Triesch, Leslie Horne Back:Lauren
Browning, Christine Kelly, Nancy
Fitch, Tracey Maurer, Kim Mauldin,
Maureen Weissman, Lisa Wong,
Di-Anna Arias, Susan Jaime .
3. CHICAGO Front: Patty Erd,
Linda Avery, Sara Reddington,
Donna Pierce. Back: Sharon Olson,
Shannon Kinsella, Jean Marie
Brownson, Jennifer Lamplough,
Veronica Hastings, Karen Levin,
Toria Emas, Judith Schad.
4. BOSTON Front: Isabel Chesak,
Guida Ponte, Winnie Williams,
Lucille Giovino. Back: Gwen
Trost, Toni Manning, Lee Napoli,
Lisa Ekus.
5. WASHINGTON, DC Front: Theresa Morrison, Linda Roth Conte,
Drew Faulkner, Ann Stratte, Judy
Rusignuolo. Back: Teresa Farney,
L
D
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Broc
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W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 17
Friday is for
Fiesta!
By CiCi Williamson
(Washington, D.C.)
Ahhhhh, ha! Lively mariachi music beckoned Dames to stroll into the Friday-night
Fiesta! down the street from the conference
hotel at The Long Center for the Performing Arts. But to our delight, the music was
emanating from an all-female group, Mariachi Las Coronelas. Las damas were clad
in slinky, red-satin dresses, their trumpets,
guitars, violins, and vihuelas (high-pitched,
five-string guitars) at high
volume.
Strung around the room were
colorful papeles picados (perforated, rectangular paper banners).
Many tables, and, yes, even a
bicycle cart, of food waited to
be dipped, sipped, slurped, and
spooned. Offered on los bufés
draped with colorful cloths were
nopales (cactus paddle)-andjicama salads, lamb barbacoa,
beef brisket, chicken al carbon, spicy salsitas
in paper cones, handmade tortillas, and
of course, bowls of guacamole and salsas
with piles of chips. Restaurants providing la comida (food) included Al Alma, El
Naranjo, Fresa’s Chicken, and T1 Tequila
Uno. White luminarias (perforated paper
bags) filled with paper flowers comprised
the dining table centerpieces.
Bar service included tequila-spiked,
tropical-fruit punches served in glass jars
(just like street vendors in Mexico serve
them); margaritas; Real (Royal) ale; and
Wente wines. Para los postres (desserts), one
could choose from frozen ice creams and
sorbets kept cold in the bicycle cart. Flavors included café con leche, tres-leches cake,
mint-chocolate chip, Mexican goat’s milk,
and coconut sorbet provided by Fresa’s.
At the far end of the room, Dames could
have group photos taken at Smilebooth con
muy guapo (with very handsome) Cowboy
Kyle. As the event wound down, it was
¡Buenas noches con mucho gusto!
Top photo: Washington D.C. Dames with Cowboy Kyle. Back: Stacey Adams, Katherine Newell Smith, CiCi Williamson, Ann Stratte,
Theresa Morrison. Front: Judy Rusignuolo, Drew Faulkner, Carolyn
Cheney (CiCi’s Mom). Middle photo: Molly Thompson, Crickett
Karson. Bottom photo: Judy Schad, Cathy Strange.
18
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Serving Local Foods
for Everyday Meals
By Molly Reams Thompson (Cleveland)
and Heather Hunter (San Antonio)
What if one conversation could literally change the course of
a community environmentally, socially and economically? This
year’s national Green Tables (GT) Committee set out to do
just that by serving up a generous helping of sustainable-food
conversation at the conference breakfast on October 26.
This year’s theme, “Serving Local Foods for Everyday Meals,”
was established by committee members Wendy Taggart
(Dallas), Molly Kaminski (Houston), Shubhra Ramineni
(Houston), Julia Rosenfeld (San Antonio), Heather Hunter
(San Antonio), Drew Faulkner (Washington, DC) and Molly
Thompson (Cleveland), who also served as the morning’s moderator. Others who were integral but worked behind-the-scenes
included GT Chairs, Linda Geren and Lynn Fredericks, as well
as Ashley James (creator of the GT blog and Pinterest sites).
The event featured four stars of Texas—one shining example
from each of the
Texas chapters:
Following the panel, there was an outpouring of interest and
support. One Dame was so moved, she wrote a check to support Silbia Esparza’s Time Dollar Community Connections in
San Antonio.
As arbiters of excellence in fine food, beverage, and hospitality,
it is incumbent upon us as Dames to be champions of change
in the food communities in which we live. Hungry for more?
Please visit the Green Tables page and the new blog on the
LDEI website at ldei.org.
now playing at
wusthofedge.com
Chef Katherine Clapner
Dude, Sweet Chocolate, Dallas, TX
13628_4293_LDEI ConfrenceAustin_3.7917x5.0498.indd 1
9/24/13 5:48 PM
Handcrafted
Premium Sake
from
Niigata Japan
Image by Timothy Hogan
• Wendy Taggart,
(Dallas) and cofounder of Burgundy Pasture Beef,
demonstrated the
power of producing
a dry-aged beef as
well as networking
with other local
producers to offer
a range of superior
products for everyday meals.
Jeannette Ferrary was honored to have her Belmont Farmer’s
Market photograph selected the winner of the LDEI Green
• Heather Hunter
Tables Eating Real photo.
(San Antonio),
founder of Cowgirl
Granola and the Quarry Farmers Market, and Silbia Esparza,
executive director of Time Dollar, shared the impact of their
unique partnership whereby surplus produce and other fine
edibles are donated to the food pantry each week.
• Monica Pope, renowned farm-to-fork Houston chef, shared
how her commitment to real food brings together people in
her local community.
• Ronda Rutledge, executive director of Austin’s Sustainable
Food Center (also the organization that hosted the Day of
Service on Food Day on October 24) enlightened the audience about the importance of access to local food in any
community.
the
Outlaw
An extraordinary achievement
Be A Hiro, drink responsibly
Hiro Sake_ODRSPR13.indd 1
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 2/14/13 1:09 PM
19
Sessions
Session 10:
Planning Your Chapter's GCI Programs
By Marian
Tindall
(Houston)
1. Benefits of Global Programs/
Outreach
Benefits include understanding
others, educating ourselves, retaining culinary history, gaining deeper
insight into food and new uses for
culinary ingredients, jump-starting
your own creativity, and having a
fun and delicious experience!
Chamber of Commerce, culinary
historians, local food festivals,
gourmet food importers, international trade organizations, visiting
authors, teachers and experts,
cooking schools and universities,
and religious groups.
One organization active in
this field is The Norman Borlaug Institute for International
Agriculture. The Texas A&M
University System continues the
Borlaug legacy by fighting global
hunger and poverty. It is committed to global partnerships to
promote food security, resource
conservation, and international
development. The university will
provide instructions and materials
for starting school gardens.
2. Who or what can assist us
in achieving global culinary
knowledge?
We can utilize all of the following:
Cultural centers such as the French
3. What factors would keep a
chapter from undertaking GCI
programs?
Time, money, and participation
are factors. People may fear new
LDEI Past
President and
Global Culinary Initiative Chair, Sandy Hu
(San Francisco), led the session
tailored to chapters’ needs. Much
helpful information was gleaned.
20
or foreign ideas and people. Our
mantra should be: Think global,
but act local.
4. Ideas for implementing GCI
• Tour of an international food
market: stage a scavenger hunt
around the market.
• LDEI international book fair.
• Program on dining etiquette
or table settings in different
countries or cultures.
• Program on themed food:
sacred food of India, Day of the
Dead in Mexico.
• Program around spices or uses
of a grain, such as rice, in different cultures.
• Do a dine-around at ethnic
restaurants in the community
or open it up to the public and
charge for it.
• Contact an ethnic community
garden.
• Program using one ingredient,
such as chicken, prepared ac-
Sandy Hu. Photo by Susan Slack
cording to three different ethnic
cuisines.
• Start a culinary book club.
Read and discuss a book: Like
Water for Chocolate or High
on the Hog; follow up with a
restaurant visit.
5. Remember to send information on chapter activities involving GCI to the Quarterly!
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Photo by
Susan Slack
A Legacy of Leadership:
Looking Toward the Future
By Susan Fuller Slack
(Charleston)
Five professional women were lauded as
LDEI’s 2013 Legacy Awards recipients in Austin during the annual Legacy Awards luncheon.
The audience was informed and inspired hearing the winners share stories of their one-week,
Dame-hosted externships and how their career
paths are being impacted in a positive way.
Kikkoman Sales USA
hosted the elegant luncheon; Helen Roberts
(San Francisco), Kikkoman’s Manager of Culinary
Development, organized
the event. Looking to the
East for inspiration, she
arranged a first course of Nutty Noodles with
Peanut Dressing followed by a main course of
Ginger–Soy Infused Steamed Alaska Halibut,
Roasted Asparagus, and Asian Coleslaw with
Candied Walnuts. The halibut was provided
by LDEI Partner Alaska Marketing Seafood
Institute.
The dishes paired beautifully with two Wente
Family Estates California wines: Double Decker Pinot Grigio 2011 and Red Blend 2010.
Dessert was a sweet indulgence of Crème
Brulée with Orange Sauce. The flavor of each
course was subtly enhanced through the use of
Kikkoman’s distinctive Asian-style sauces.
The 2013 awards were granted in three
categories: Farm-to-Table Entrepreneurship,
Culinary-Catering, and Wine. Legacy Co-chair
Marcia Palanci told attendees, "The goal of
the Legacy Awards program, established in
2009, is to invest in tomorrow’s leaders by putting the winners under the tutelage of talented
Dames who volunteer their time and expertise.
The experience is offered to non-Dame women
in the USA, Canada and the UK…."
Co-chair Toria Emas introduced recipients
Kim Youkstetter of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (Farm-to-Table) and Lana Bernstein
of Columbus, Ohio (Culinary-Catering).
Kim was hosted by Paulette Satur of Satur
Farms and Ursula Massoud of Paumanok
Vineyard. Lana worked under the tutelage of
seven award-winning Atlanta Dame caterers:
Sandra Bank, Liz Cipro, Mary Hataway,
Stacy Zeigler, Kristy Cook, Nancy Lutz
and Shelly Pederson. Honored in absentia,
Ryann Sharpe of Rex, Georgia (CulinaryW I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Catering), worked at the catering company of
award-winning Chef Lisa Dupar (Seattle).
Amy Hoopes, Executive Vice President
of Global Sales and Marketing for Wente
Vineyards, introduced winners Rachel Tracy
of Chicago, Illinois, and Gloria Chang of
Vancouver, British Columbia. Both women
received a Legacy Wine award and were mentored by Wente Family Estates CEO Carolyn
Wente and Amy.
Marsha thanked the sponsors and Legacy
Committee members for their invaluable support. The committee included Stacy Zeigler
(Atlanta), Patricia Gelles (Seattle), Suzie
O’Rourke (New York), Holly Hadsell-ElHajji (Hawaii), Susan Weinstein (Miami),
Sue Huffman Robison (San Francisco),
Barbara Ostmann (St, Louis), and Abigail
Kirsch and Alison Awerbuch (New York).
Toria expressed gratitude for a $12,000 grant
from the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, doubling the size of
the awards program. She also thanked chapters
offering financial support including Atlanta,
Austin, British Columbia, Dallas, Miami,
Monterey, New York, and San Francisco.
The spring Quarterly will salute the 2013 winners and hosts and update Dames on the exciting
2014 awards program. New hosts will include
Susan Westmoreland and Sharon Franke at
the Good Housekeeping Research Institute Test
Kitchen and Leslie Hill at the Wailea Agricultural Group on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Marsha announced that she and Toria will
relinquish their Legacy Committee cochairmanship to the “bi-coastal, block-buster
duo of Alison Awerbuch and Sue Huffman
Robinson. With their leadership qualities,
marketing savvy, and passionate commitment,
the Legacy Awards are in excellent hands.”
Toria says, “Co-chairing the Legacy Awards
for the past five years has been the most
rewarding experience of my LDEI tenure. All
the women have been outstanding in their
own right. Each year brings new inspiration.
Our new co-chairs will expand our reach and
increase the professionalism of the program.”
Toria added that she and Marsha plan to
remain on the committee and look forward to
working behind the scenes. “Spread the word
about this career-expanding opportunity and
be on the lookout for talent in your area. Let’s
keep the Legacy Awards alive and thriving.”
We don’t mind telling you
what goes into our pure, all natural
Irish cheese and butter.
It’s pure, all natural Irish milk
that comes from cows that graze on pure,
all natural Irish grass.
This is where we come from.
kerrygoldusa.com
21
Sessions
Session 11:
Texas Women Talk Texas Wines
By Braiden Rex-Johnson
(Seattle), LDEI Second
Vice President
Photo Caption:
Kathy Gilstrap (left),
Susan Auler, and
Karen Johnson
worked on the very
first brochure for the
Texas Wine Trail.
Who knew that Texas boasts more than
270 bonded wineries, 4,400 acres of
grapevines, and eight
American Viticultural
Areas (AVAs)?
And that a cadre of talented LDEI
members pioneered the Lone Star State’s
wine industry?
During “Texas Women Talk Texas Wines,”
we learned that Susan Auler (Austin and
Dallas) and her husband, Ed, are credited
with “starting the modern Texas wine industry.” They launched Fall Creek Vineyards in
Tow, Texas, in 1975, and their MERITUS,
a multi-award-winning Bordeaux blend, has
become a much-anticipated “cult” wine.
Becker Vineyards, located near Fredricksburg, Texas, was started in 1992 by Bunny
Becker (San Antonio) and her husband,
Richard. The winery offers up award-winning
Bordeaux-, Burgundian-, and Rhone-styled
wines, and was the first Texas winery to plant
the Viognier varietal, in 1997.
Located on Lake Travis in Spicewood, Texas,
Stone House Vineyard was established in
2004 by Angela Moench (Austin) and her
husband, Howard. The winery is well known
for crafting wines from estate-grown Norton
grapes, a native American varietal.
Karen Johnson (Austin), president of
Alamosa Wine Cellars, established in 1996 in
Bend, Texas, is proud to craft Mediterraneanstyle wines made exclusively from Texas
grapes including “El Guapo,” a Spanishinspired red blend.
Kathy Gilstrap (Austin) is vice president of
Texas Hills Vineyard, established in 1995 and
located in Johnson City, Texas. The winery
specializes in wines made from Italian, Spanish, and French varietals including its famous
Kick Butt Cab.
“The Texas wine industry is very giving,”
says Gilstrap. “Over the years, we have
bought and shared equipment and even
made wine at each other’s facilities.”
For further info visit www.TexasWineTrail.
com and www.TexasWines.org.
Session 12:
Dig a Big Hole, Fill It Full of Money? Tips for Starting an Artisan Food Business
By Lisa Ekus (Boston)
They all agreed-- follow your food passion.
Each of the panelists love food, created a
viable food business, and won numerous
impressive awards. Not their first careers, they
had a financially stable position for launching their
artisan businesses. They
advise, “Do not expect
to earn money for quite
some time—five years on
average.”
Paula Lambert (Dallas)
opened her own business, with two women
partners, after "avocationally" helping with her
husband's business. Three decades later--after
studying cheesemaking in Italy, she makes 30
kinds of cow, sheep, and goat’s milk cheese and
sells nationwide. “I learned just about everything
I know by volunteer work! I took every culinary
seminar I could at conferences and the Fancy
Food Show about how to have a specialty-food
business and bring your product to market.
These were invaluable resources. Think about
how you are going to distribute: wholesale or
22
retail? Join every organization; network to build
personal relationships/friends. It’s easy to create a
product, but it’s hard to sell a new product!”
Tracy Claros (Austin), Founder Sticky Toffee
Pudding Co., discovered and loved this English
dessert. From farmers’ market sales, she began
selling her now-international product in 2004.
Her challenge: Explaining “pudding” and getting people to taste it. After attending NASFT,
she realized she needed more than one product to survive. Claros says “It takes creativity,
financing, production facilities, packaging,
branding, and marketing. It’s almost better
not to know what you’re getting into. I’m a
risk taker. I plunged in and just did it!” Her
first production space cost her $5 per hour.
Then she leased 1500 square feet of space for
three years. Eventually she was turning down
customers because her facility couldn’t produce
enough, so she decided to use a co-packer.
Buyer Kendall Sky Antonelli (Austin) and
her husband opened Antonelli’s Cheese Shop
four years ago. “He picked cheese and cheese
picked us,” she says. Passionate about American artisanal cheese, their goal was to tell the
farm-bound producers’ stories to their customers. They also have a cheese house across the
street offering classes and a wholesale program
to educate local chefs. “Do the numbers at the
back end, work out the budget, and figure out
the timing to make a profit. Make sure to get
product in the best shape all year round.” Her
philosophy: “Let’s grow together. Be persistent and keep coming back. You’re the biggest
advocate as the provider. You have to keep
championing your product.”
Stephanie McClenny (Austin), founder of
Confituras, started a jam company while she
was also a pediatric nurse. She expanded her
home-canning hobby to a farmers’ market
space, selling out of 150 jars in two hours.
“It was a relatively low investment and the
right time for local food lovers.” The quantity
limitations of local fruit inadvertently created
demand. Her reputation brought many of the
stores to her, and she now has product in over
a dozen stores in Austin. “I watch the weather
a lot! Every year it (her product) is a little bit
different, and people appreciate that. I’m always
changing and improving product and increasing the number of recipes for customers.”
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
grande dame award dinner
By Lori Willis (St. Louis,
LDEI First Vice President)
Like the fine wines she produces, Dolores
Cakebread, has only gotten better with age.
At the age of 80 she remains one of the most
respected women in the wine industry. And,
on October 26, many corks were popped
in celebration as she was honored with Les
Dames d’Escoffier International’s prestigious
Grande Dame award.
Dolores and her husband, Jack, started
the winery by chance when they casually
made an offer to buy a vineyard in the Napa
Valley. A short time later, in 1973, they
introduced the very first Cakebread wine
and have never looked back.
Dolores’ 40-year career as a winemaker has
inspired many industry leaders–women and
men alike. One in particular was there to pay
special tribute to her at the Grande Dame
banquet. Amy Hoopes (San Francisco),
Executive Vice President of Global Sales/
Chief Marketing Officer of Wente Wines,
presented Dolores with a large-format bottle
of Wente Wine, along with a toast, offering congratulations and best wishes from
one prominent California family winery to
another.
The Cakebreads are known for their dedication to quality; progressive winemaking;
and good, old fashioned hospitality. Wine
lovers from all over the country come to
Napa to meet Dolores and her family, and
see where their favorite wines originate (see
the Fall 2013 Quarterly for a full story on
the Cakebreads).
Over the past 40 years, Dolores and Jack
have worked side-by-side to build their wine
business, turning their personal love story
into a successful family enterprise.
Today, Cakebread Cellars is operated by
sons Dennis and Bruce, both of whom are
committed to keeping their parents’ dream
alive. Perhaps Jack summed up the Cakebreads’ vision best, in a quote from the
website, “One heartbeat since 1973.”
Food and wine were stellar. Chaired by
Beth Pav, Austin Dames including Kristine Kittrell, Teresa Wilson, and Sharon
Watkins starred in the salad, soup, and
dessert courses, supplemented by the Hyatt
Regency Austin’s Executive Chef, Paul
French, on the entrée and cheese courses.
The evening’s wines were supplied by longtime LDEI sponsor Wente Vineyards.
Decor by Beth Pav's committee, was
stunning, the formal tables in the warmly
lighted dining room graced by statuesque
tube vases filled with hydrangeas, irises, lilies, and forsythia in contrasting shades of
white, orange, purple, and yellow.
Kittrell’s Roasted Beet Salad (of all colors
and varieties!), topped by LDEI Sponsor
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s Weathervane Scallops paired perfectly with Wente
Vineyards Riva Ranch 2012 Chardonnay.
Wilson’s spicy Roasted Eggplant Velouté
with Za’atar-Scented Panisses played nicely
with Wente Vineyards Reliz Creek 2010
Pinot Noir, while French’s Smoked PimentoRubbed Short Rib held up well to Wente’s
Charles Wetmore 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Why is Executive Director Greg Jewell smiling? Because it’s Saturday night and his job
as trail boss herding cats has ended ... for this conference. Meow!
Above: Amy Hoopes (right) presents an engraved bottle of Wente wine to Grande Dame Dolores
Cakebread. Photo by Lori Willis. The cheese course was assembled by Paul French, Executive
Chef, Hyatt Regency Austin, and included Jarlsberg Classic, Hickory Smoked Jarlsberg, Ski
Queen Gjetost, and SnoFrisk Cheeses Cheeses (donated by Jarlsberg USA) with a Fig Compote,
Quince, Local Honeycomb, and Grilled Ciabatta, and paired with Wente Vineyards Small Lot
Orange Muscat 2012, Livermore Valley. Photo by CiCi Williamson. Dessert was a sunny-bright
Lemon-Rosemary Cake with Lemon Curd and Whipped Cream-Cheese Frosting, a recipe of Sharon Watkins, Owner, Chez Zee American Bistro, accompanied by Ferra Coffee’s Kaldi—a unique
coffee blend with beans from Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Photo by Susan Slack.
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 23
Compiled by
Janet Burgess (San Diego)
B oston
the Art Institute (Ai) of Charleston, hosted the annual LDEI Charleston
Chapter’s scholarship luncheon.
Honored at this event were: Neelie Carroll, LeeAnne Lower, and Brianna
Wagner. Wagner, an Ai student, made the desserts for the Dames. Carroll
and Lower attend the College of Charleston. Miroslava (Mirka) Zelanakova, a student at Trident Technical College’s Culinary College of Charleston,
was unable to attend.
Lucille Giovino
In September, 36 Dames and guests attended a
tea tasting at L’Espalier restaurant in Boston. We
were greeted with a surprise Champagne-and-EarlGrey cocktail followed by a five-course tea tour of
Hawaii, China, and Taiwan.
Dame and tea sommelier Cynthia Gold led
us through the tasting of three courses perfectly
paired with an appetizer, unusual tea sandwiches,
and desserts. Of note, these teas are so rare and
precious that they are stored in their own humidor.
Cynthia has travelled the world visiting tea
plantations to learn firsthand knowledge from the
farmers who create these special teas.
In October, Guida Ponte, with the help of
Massachusetts Audubon Society/Drumlin Farm
Education Specialist Sally Farrow, participated
in National Food Week with the students from
Robinson Middle School in Lowell, Mass. Guida
spent the afternoon cooking with the students
who learned about new foods and how delicious
vegetables are.
High school students from the Greater Lowell
Technical High-School helped Guida and Sally
“Get Kids Cooking” as the middle schoolers
learned to make carrot soup, citrus salad, pumpkin
whoopie pies, and candy apples.
C hicago
JeanMarie Brownson
Cynthia Gold and Guida Ponte.
C harleston
Deidre Schipani
Thanks to Donna Gustafson,
of Epic Feast, our September 11
annual business meeting took place
in the former residence of Revolutionary War patriot Major Peter
Bocquet, Jr. The 1770 property,
an example of some of the finest
Georgian interior architecture in
Charleston, had been destined for
the wrecking ball, but was saved
thanks to the efforts of Ronald
Momier.
Our new 2013-2014 chapter
Front row: scholarship winners Brianna Wagner,
members, and their sponsors, are
Neelie Carroll, LeeAnne Lower. Back row: Deidre
listed below.
Schipani, Susan Wigley, Jacqueline Orak, Jennifer
Lisa Buzzelli, Hospitality and
Goldman, Nathalie Dupree, Paige Crone, Danielle
Wecksler, Lauren Mitterer, Devany Vickery-Davidson,
Tourism Instructor, Trident TechLisa Buzzelli.
nical College/CIC; Angel Postell.
Sara Clow, General Manager,
GrowFood Carolina; Elizabeth Beak.
Devany Vickery-Davidson, Spice and Tea Exchange, Freelance Food
Writer, Photographer, and PR; Nathalie Dupree.
Jill Mathias, Executive Chef, Carolina’s; Lauren Mitterer.
Ann Marie, Faculty, Arts Institute (Ai); Susan Wigley
Jessica Mischner, Senior Editor, Garden and Gun; Maggie Kennedy.
On Friday October 19, 24 North Market, the student-run restaurant at
24
The Union League Club of Chicago hosted the Chicago Dames Who
Read on September 9. Judith
Dunbar Hines led the discussion
of Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brulee,
How a Founding Father and His
Slave James Hemings Introduced
French Cuisine to America by
Thomas J. Craughwell.
The evening began with a
tour of the127-year-old club’s
magnificent art collection, one
of the largest privately held collections in the United States. Much
of the evening’s book discussion
centered on the 86 crates of
kitchen equipment and foodstuffs
Thomas Jefferson acquired during his 1784 to 1789 tenure in
Paris. Olive oil, Maille Mustard,
anchovies, macaroni, and cases
of wine never seen before in this
country were shipped to the port
of Boston.
In France, Jefferson studied
the cultivation of French crops,
collected wines and seeds and
discovered new cooking gadgets.
Meanwhile, his slave, James
Crème Brulee
Union League Dinner on September 9, 2013.
Hemings, apprenticed under
Menu and Book for Dames
French master chefs. Union
League Club Chef, Michael
Garbin welcomed Dames to one of the modern-art-filled dining rooms of
the magnificent 1925 building. Inspired by President Jefferson and Craughwell’s entertaining narrative history, Chef Garbin served a Jefferson-themed
dinner with multiple vegetable dishes and a modicum of meat. In this case,
meltingly tender veal shank.
Dinner concluded with Jefferson’s cherished sweets: French macarons,
pâtes de fruits, and crème brûlée.
CLEVELAND
Shara Bohach
On September 23, we held our annual meeting at Lucky’s Cafe Tremont.
After the Chapter meeting’s business, including a “Year in Review,” Heather
Haviland and her fabulous staff dished up an amazing, as-local-as-it-gets
menu. She described the ingredients which came predominately from Ohio
farms, and as close as the garden next to the restaurant. Dames brought
their own wine to share over this truly delectable dinner. The table, decked
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Birmingham Becomes
29th Chapter of LDEI
By CiCi Williamson (Washington, D.C.)
Cleveland Dames from L-R: Rosemary Hurst, Jean Mackenzie, Shara Bohach, Beth DavisNoragon, Linda Fletcher, Mimma Bonderer, Carmella Fragassi, Maggie Harrison, Nichole
Clark, Terry Frick, Elaine Cicora, Marilou Suszko, Marty Nagele, Cynthia Eaken. Chocolate
Mousse Bombe
out in a beautiful fall theme with candelabras and fresh flowers, added
to the cozy ambiance.
COLORADO
Beverly Cox
On October 20,
Colorado Dames
enjoyed afternoon
tea and a private
tour of Cherokee
Castle, home of
the late Tweet
Kimball who was a
famous Colorado
cattle woman, conservationist, and
Colorado Dames: Lois Hoffman, Sally Davidson, Jan Findlater.
hostess extraorSeated: Holly Arnold Kinney, Beverly Cox, Carol Fenster, Teresa
Farney, Sandra Weber. Guests in foreground: Jan’s friend Maridinaire. Kimball
lyn Cockburn and Sandra’s charming mother, Nadine Weber.
entertained HRH
Princess Anne
among many other luminaries. As we left the castle, we were fortunate
to spot the magnificent wild elk herd that roams on Cherokee ranch.
H AWA I I
Jean Hull
On October 16, Jean
Hull and Dr. Carol
Whitaker presented
an American Culinary
Federation (ACF)
Chef-and-Child
Cooking Class to 17
children between the
ages of nine and 11.
The children loved
the class and are asking for more healthy
cooking classes. Hull
and Whitaker reach
over 1,000 children in
West Hawaii through Dr. Carol Whittaker with children.
various ACF programs
to give children a “gift that lasts a lifetime,” making wise food choices.
The menu consisted of Garden Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing, Oven-Roasted Chicken Nuggets and Black-Bean ChocolateKissed Cupcakes with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
MIAMI
Marguerite Gil
Our gala dinner took place on November 16, at the Ritz Carlton
in Coconut Grove, Miami. Executive Chef Ramesh Kaduru and his
team prepared an unforgettable dinner for everyone to enjoy in a regal
setting. Attention to detail was paramount for this special evening and
even our beautiful invitations had a noble story to tell.
The invitations were handmade by members of the Miami Paper
Museum located in the historic Biltmore Hotel, Miami. Using an
ancient technique the paper was composed of fabric, paper pulp, flowW I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 The largest group ever to petition LDEI for a new chapter charter
was approved at the annual Council of Delegates meeting on October 26. More than 50 qualified women were part of the weighty
petition submitted to LDEI by Chapter President Angela Schmidt.
Angela said, “I have
dreamed of uniting the
women in Birmingham
for nine years, and I am
in awe of the women
who have joined me in
that vision. We have an
incredible amount of
talent and accomplishment in this city. It fills
me with great pride to
think of what we will
accomplish as a group.”
After hearing the news
that her Birmingham
Chapter had been approved, she said, “I immediately texted all the
officers, who were just as
ecstatic as I was!”
Angela first heard
about LDEI working
as a server for Marla
Adams (Atlanta), Chef/
Owner of Babette’s
Café. After moving to
Nathalie Dupree, Becky Satterfield, Angela Schmidt,
Birmingham, Angela
CCi Williamson. Photo by the waiter!
Angela Schmidt leads the discussion about starting
contacted me in 2003
when I was LDEI Presi- a new Birmingham Chapter. Photo by CiCi Williamson.
dent, and we’ve emailed
intermittently over the years. Finally the time was right for Angela
to work on starting a chapter: She had the time, Birmingham had
escalated to a great food city, and culinary women needed to join for
mutual support.
Amy Hoopes, LDEI Secretary, tasked with chapter expansion,
began working with Angela on the requirements to charter a chapter. When Amy’s schedule prohibited her from attending the initial
gathering of interested women, Grande Dame Nathalie Dupree
and I flew to Birmingham on September 7. Picked up at our hotel
by Becky Satterfield (now Vice President for Membership), whom
Angela had met at a local “Iron Chef ” competition, we enjoyed
dinner at Highlands Bar and Grill prepared by Chef Frank Stitt III,
whose wife Pardis is the new chapter’s Vice President for Programs.
On Sunday morning at a brunch hosted by Brett Bright, manager of Avo, I presented a PowerPoint history of LDEI, Nathalie
gave a talk, and we fielded questions about LDEI. Many thanks
to Susan Swagler (Chapter Secretary) who brought a laptop and
connected it to the big-screen TV. The reception was attended by
an extraordinary group of 28 accomplished culinary women in all
stages of careers that varied from Southern Living test-kitchen chefs
to journalists and restaurant owners. The room was electric with
the sound of excited women’s voices. If you can imagine steel-toed
“magnolias” with honey dripping from their chins, you’ll get the
idea of how business will be accomplished in the new “Deep South”
Birmingham Chapter.
25
ers, threads, and a variety of organic garden materials.
Next the paper was soaked and mixed with water then
poured over screens filled with blossoms and leaves.
Once set, the paper was carefully dried, then cut one
by one into its present format (8 x 10). Press-dried
grape leaves from Lucila Venet Jimenez’s garden
were placed onto each folded invitation then wrapped
and tied with a blue ribbon that is reminiscent of the
colors of the Les Dames’ logo. The inside printing was
pressed onto woodblocks (6 ½ x 4 1/2) which created
a bas-relief frame similar to artistic lithographic works
of art.
Dames agreed that our beautiful invitations were suitable for framing.
N ew York
Margaret Happel Perry
September began with a flourish and an important evening at Amali
Restaurant to welcome Melanie Young’s new book, Getting Things Off My
Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast
Cancer. Our nutrition experts–Bonnie Tandy LeBlang, Ellie Krieger, and
Regina Ragone–addressed the issues of women and wellness to a sold-out
event. The excellent discussion led LDNY to form an ad hoc committee
under the leadership of Bay Wellington to explore the viability of having a
separate Green Tables women’s health and nutrition initiative. The month
progressed with the New Members Celebration 2013 as we welcomed 14
new, distinguished members into LDNY plus one returning member. And
so on to October: First a farm-to-table trip to State University of New York
at Cobleskill—thanks to Jo Anne Cloughy, Department Chair, Agriculture
and Food Management, to enjoy a splendid tour of farms and dairies in
Schoharie County. The day culminated in a wonderful dinner catered by Jo
Anne’s students. Georgia Downard and her team continued to work their
nutritional magic through their interface with PTALabs and Wellness in
the Schools (WITS) program. The Green Tables evenings educate parents
by demonstration, panel discussion, and taste-tests extolling the benefits of
eating right. On October 30, Barbara Sibley hosted a members-only evening
at her restaurant La Palapa Cocina Mexicana for Dames to learn about the
Mexican feast commemorating the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and
all its fascinating traditions.
NORTHEAST
Victoria Taylor
On August 3, Northeast Chapter Dames gathered for a series of farm tours.
It was a great success, with 15 Dames in attendance. We visited four diverse
farms in New England on a beautiful day for a fun and educational event.
The tour began with coffee and pastries at Luanne
Bonanno’s family farm
in Methuen, Mass. Next
we headed north via a
private tour bus to Colby
Farmstand in Newburyport–home to 30 grain-fed
pigs that produce 300 to
400 piglets every year. After a tour of Colby Farms,
we visited Mann Orchards
for a farm-to-fork lunch including a selection of “Mann-wines” and craft
beers. After lunch, our tour headed to Shaw Farm dairy for dessert--a taste of
one of the dairy’s 60 varieties of hand-crafted ice cream for dessert. The tour
concluded mid-afternoon at Bonanno Farm.
PHILADELPHIA
Lari Robling
In what was hailed as one of the most energetic and inspiring annual business meetings in recent memory, we welcomed eight new Dames at Michele
Haines’ restaurant, Spring Mill Café. Through our scholarship fundraising efforts we provided three recipients with our Green Tables, C-CAP, and Chapter
Culinary scholarships. Past presidents presented highlights of their terms as history to new members and fond memories to established members. In October,
the chapter was invited to a luncheon by Rita Cinelli of Cathedral Kitchen
in Camden, New Jersey. The lunch was prepared by students in the kitchen’s
culinary training program. After a delicious meal showcasing their command
26
of mother sauces, Dames spoke about their career paths and answered questions.
Later that month, Charlotte-Ann Albertson hosted an event featuring a local
food columnist. A portion of the proceeds of the event benefit the chapter’s
scholarship fund. Meanwhile, Kathy Gold, Adrienne Abramson, Dottie
Koteski, Michele Haines, Lynn Buono, Lisa Kartzman, and Linda Forristal
attended the conference in Austin, providing Tweets and Facebook posts to
tantalize those who couldn’t attend. And on Halloween, there were no tricks,
only treats, as the chapter partnered with Philadelphia Slow Food for a Food
Day event at the Reading Terminal Market. Showcasing the region’s bounty for
the many residents and tourists that visit this historic market, Chapter President
Kathy Gold along with Tia McDonald, Michele Haines, and Linda Geren
provided cooking demonstrations and recipes.
S an A N TO N I O
Blanca Aldaco
On October 8, the San Antonio
Chapter had an exciting CoCo
Chanel-inspired evening at the home
of Pat Mozersky as our Co-Presidents
Leslie Horne and Linda Triesch (CoCo’s from here on) thanked the board
and handed over their presidency to
Kathy Shearer. Our new president
welcomed Naylene Dillingham as the
New Dames, L-R, Gina Inglett-Gonzalez, Debbie
new Vice President of Membership.
Gonzalez, Leslie Ausburn
Four new members were welcomed to
the chapter: Leslie Ausburn, Gina Inglett-Gonzalez, Debbie Gonzalez, and
Elizabeth Johnson-Kossick.
The Mozersky residence, transformed into the House of Chanel Couture,
set the tone for a most magnifique au revoir dinner. Merci to our outgoing copresidents and a heartfelt bienvenue (welcome) to our new members.
S eattle
Braiden Rex-Johnson
In late July, we celebrated
summer at the beachside
home of Dorene CentioliMcTigue with a chili cookoff, games and swimming
in Lake Sammamish; a
heavily laden board of brats,
dogs, sausages, and sides;
and boozy shave ice.
The Seattle Chapter’s
Green Tables Committee
held the first annual Afternoon on Vashon and Summer Supper in mid-August.
Guests visited the Vashon
Farmers Market, Palouse
Winery, and La Biondo
Farm & Kitchen followed
by a farm-fresh dinner at
Grande Dame Anne Willan signs books during a stop in Seattle
the home of Green Tables
while promoting her latest book, One Soufflé at a Time: A
Chair Leslie Mackie. Mon- Memoir of Food and France. LDEI President Mary Ellen Griffin
shares dinner at Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market with
ies raised will be used to
(L-R) Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, Spencer Johnson, Martha
fund Green Tables grants,
Marino and Braiden Rex-Johnson.
which support farm-totable education programs at local schools and gardening organizations.
In early September, Seattle Dames welcomed LDEI President Mary Ellen
Griffin with a Hard-Cider and Artisan-Cheese Tasting at the Pike Pub,
co-owned by Rose Ann Finkel and her husband, Charles. After the presentation, LDEI Board member Braiden Rex-Johnson and her husband, Spencer, hosted Griffin, the Finkels, and Martha Marino (Seattle Chapter past
president and cider-and-cheese event organizer) for dinner at Steelhead Diner
in the Pike Place Market.
We held our Annual General Meeting at South Seattle Community College in
late September, beginning with appetizers, student-produced wine, and a guided
tour of the brand-new facilities of the Northwest Wine Academy. During dinner, outgoing president Molly Hancock passed the gavel to incoming president
Anne Nisbet, and two of the chapter’s five newly selected Dames, Kari Leitch
and Renee Erickson, were formally inducted.
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Dames Inducted into
Guilde des Fromagers
and Confrerie of
Saint-Uguzon
By JeanMarie Brownson
(Chicago)
Nine Dames received one of the food
world’s highest honors when they were
inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers and
Confrerie of Saint-Uguzon during the Austin
Conference at the Hyatt Regency. The traditional ceremony, conducted in full regalia
including robes, included a presentation of
medals and certificates.
Current Guilde President, Roland Barthelem, flew in from France to preside over the
ceremony. Cathy Strange, Les Dames Austin
chapter president and president of the New
World Guilde representing Mexico, Canada,
the United States and Australia, assisted. These
Dames were inducted into the Guilde: Carrie
Nahabedian, Alma Alcocer-Thomas, Cathy
Cochran-Lewis, Iliana de la Vega, Roisin
Kennedy, Sandra Hu, Paula Lambert, Molly
O’Laughlin, and Marsha Palanci. Judith
Schad, already a Guilde member, was promoted to the Maître Fromager Level.
The Guilde has more than 5,600 members
throughout the world including Europe,
North America, Australia, and South America. The nonprofit Guilde Internationale des
Fromagers was established to bring together
leaders in the dairy sector. Pierre Androuet
founded the Brotherhood of St. Uguzon in
1969 to impart knowledge through cheese
companionship.
The Guilde is open to professional cheese
producers, processors, refiners, and commercial cheese retailers. The Brotherhood
of St. Uguzon is open to restaurateurs and
those working to promote the delicious
world of cheese.
Some have
SUSTAINABILITY
written into their
brochures. WE have
it written into
our STATE
CONSTITUTION.
To learn more go to
wildalaskaflavor.com
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 27
Congregation Beth Elohim,
Park Slope, Brooklyn) to
aid victims of Hurricane
Sandy. More than 125,000
meals have been prepared
and delivered with more
than 2,800 volunteers
involved.
Compiled by
Hayley Matson-Mathes (Hawaii)
BOSTON
Jody Adams and Lydia
Shire were recently honored
by Boston Medical Center
at their 20th Anniversary
Food for Thought dinner
for their commitment to
eradicating hunger among
Boston kids. The event was
held at the Mandarin Oriental Boston and attended
by a record number of supporters and guests.
Jody Adams
Cleveland
Bev Shaffer announces the
release of Chocolate Desserts
to Die For!, the newest of
her To Die For! cookbook
series. The book teaches
home cooks how to craft
any chocolate delight, from
soufflés to brûlées, fondues
to tarts. Recipes range from
classic to more adventurous
offerings.
Lydia Shire
Hawaii
Joan Namkoong's newest cookbook, A Korean
Kitchen: Traditional Recipes
with an Island Twist, has
just been released. Its focus
is Korean food in Hawaii
and how it differs from
Korean food in Korea.
www.mutualpublishing.
com. Joan is the co-founder
of the Farm Bureau’s Farmers Market, which recently
celebrated its 10th year at
Kapiolani Community College, Honolulu.
Bev Shaffer
Joan Namkoong
NEW YORK
Lidia Bastianich took home an Emmy at the 40th
Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, for the Awards’
new category, “Outstanding Culinary Host.” Lidia,
a world-renowned restaurateur and cookbook
author, is host of the Public Broadcasting Service’s
Lidia’s Italy.
Rozanne Gold has shelved several books deals
in order to create and run a satellite kitchen (at
28
Ursula Massoud and
Rozanne Gold
family celebrated Paumanok Vineyard’s 30th
anniversary with a celebratory benefit dinner on
September 28. They released their first sparkling
wine, a 2009 Blanc de Blanc, made with Paumanok family-grown Chardonnay grapes. Paumanok
Winery has also been nominated for a 2013 Wine
Enthusiast Wine Star Award (American Winery of
the Year).
Hanna Lee has been nominated for four prestigious PR Week awards. Last year, her company,
Hanna Lee Communications, won PR News'
Platinum PR Award for "Best Branding." This
year’s nominations are in four categories, including
"Best Branding," "Best Media Relations," "Best
Marketing Communications" and "WOW!,"
on behalf of her campaign for The Dead Rabbit
Grocery and Grog, in lower Manhattan.
Nora Favelukes, QW
Wine Experts’ Owner and
President, launched a new
business venture: lnsiders’
VIP experiences, organizing
visits to top international
wine-making regions. The
first trip is scheduled for
March 2014, a unique opNora Favelukes
portunity to go behind the
scenes in her native Argentina, from Buenos Aires
to Mendoza. Visit http://www.qwwineexperts.com/
Melanie Young, a breast-cancer survivor, foodand-wine marketing executive, and author of
Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor's Guide to
Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast
Cancer, advocates for developing easy-to-maintain,
healthy habits after treatment in her everydayhealth.com and greatist.com articles. Titles include, “Hydrate, Gyrate, Masticate: A Professional
Foodie's Guide to Eating Well for Breast Cancer
Recovery” and “Ten Ways I Stayed Fearless and
Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer.”
Shari Bayer, Bayer Public
Relations, celebrated
a 10-year-in-business
milestone. The 10th anniversary party took place
at the grand-opening of
her new restaurant client,
Whitman & Bloom Liquor
Company, in Kips Bay,
New York City. An article
Shari Bayer
about the festive occasion
can be found at http://askmissa.com/2013/10/25/
whitman-bloom-liquor-company-opens-kips-baymanhattan/
NORTHEAST
Denise Landis, longtime New York Times recipe
tester, announces a new magazine, The Cook's
Cook: A Magazine for Cooks, Food Writers &
Recipe Testers. Denise will serve as the publisher
and editor-in-chief of the ezine which is scheduled to launch February 3, 2014. The monthly
magazine and weekly blog will be free to subscribers and supported by advertising. Sign up for
the free magazine at http://app.streamsend.com/
public/9vosv1f35c/2CR/subscribe)
SAN ANTONIO
Karen Haram, Food/
Taste/Dining Editor at
the San Antonio ExpressNews, received the “Best
in the Country Award” for
newspaper food coverage
from the Association of
Food Journalists at the
group’s annual conference
Karen Haram
in Park City, Utah. The
Taste section received the award in its circulation
category for the third consecutive year.
SAN DIEGO
Janet Burgess was featured in the San Diego
Union Tribune about her law- enforcement career.
Almost 40 years ago, she was one of the first women patrol officers in San Diego. Her experiences
included working undercover as a hooker. She
took cooking classes, attended culinary school,
and is now founder/owner of 4littleCOOKS
Hands-on Cooking School.
Kathy Strahs is proud to announce the release
of The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook, which
features more than 200 innovative recipes for the
panini press (Harvard Common Press, September
2013). She is also the author and photographer
behind two popular food blogs, PaniniHappy.com
and CookingOntheSide.com.
SAN FRANCISCO
Jeannette Ferrary was honored to have her Belmont
Farmer’s Market photograph selected as the winner
of the LDEI Green Tables
Eating Real photo contest
(see page 19).
SEATTLE
Jeannette Ferrary
Cynthia Nims’s new cooking class, “French Home Cooking: The Essential
Techniques,” recently went live on the website
Craftsy. The series goes back to Cynthia’s French
cooking-school roots at
La Varenne, sharing many
basic, core techniques
through classic recipes
ranging from salade verte
to vanilla-bean ice cream.
www.craftsy.com/essentialfrench_fp
Marilyn Carlson has
earned the Certified Food
Scientist (CFS) credential
from the International Food
Science Certification Commission (IFSCC). The IFSCC oversees credentialing
activities for the Institute
of Food Technologists, the
professional organization of
the food-science community worldwide.
Cynthia Nims
Marilyn Carlson
Jamie Peha, Deba Wegner, and chef Bridget Charters planned and
implemented a Reserve Trade Mission for the U.S.
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
Potato Board and 30 international executive chefs
and research-and-development directors from Asia
and Mexico at the Art Institute of Seattle School
of Culinary Arts. Restaurateur Thoa Nguyen was
featured as a chef-presenter, cooking Pan-Asian
dishes featuring potatoes.
Nancy Lazara has joined Metropolitan Markets,
a high-end grocery chain celebrating 40 years in
Seattle. In her newly created position—Private Label Strategist—she oversees Metropolitan Markets’
own brand. Lazara’s background includes Starbucks
Coffee and HEB in San Antonio, where she was
instrumental in founding that Dames Chapter.
Leslie Mackie, founder/co-owner of Macrina
Bakery & Cafe, was the keynote speaker at the
Women’s Business Exchange 35th anniversary
dinner in September. WBE was founded in 1979
by Donna Nunn as a place for women to develop
their leadership and business skills and to provide
models of inspiring women business leaders.
Linda Burner Augustine co-authored The Crimson
Spoon cookbook featuring recipes from Jamie
Callison, executive chef of the Washington State
University Hospitality Business Management
School. Augustine tested and wrote the recipes, designed for ease of use in the home kitchen, as well
In Memoriam
Grande Dame Marcella Hazan
Best known for her six cookbooks, which she wrote in Italian and were
translated into English by Victor, her husband of 57 years, Marcella Pollini Hazan taught generations of Americans how to create simple, fresh
Italian food. She died September 30, 2013, at her home in Longboat
Key, Fla., at age 89.
Hazan was born in 1924 in Cesenatico in
the Emilia-Romana region of Italy. She didn’t
intend to be a professional cooking teacher
or author; she graduated from the University
of Ferrara with a doctorate in natural sciences
and biology. But then she met Victor Hazan,
who was born in Italy but raised in New York.
They married in 1955 and moved to the U.S.
At that time in New York, Italian food was still
exotic, served in restaurants with straw-covered
Chianti bottles and red-checked tablecloths.
Hazan was a newlywed who did not speak English, transplanted to a
country whose knowledge of her native cuisine was not much more than
spaghetti covered with what, to her, tasted like overly spiced ketchup.
In 1969, she began teaching Italian cooking classes from her New York
City apartment that were as much about Italian culture and history as
about food. She taught students that Italian cooking was really regional
cooking, from the handmade noodles and meat sauce of Bologna to the
fish and risotto of Venice and the linguine and clams of Naples.
Those classes blossomed into a lifelong business of teaching. She and
Victor opened a cooking school in Bologna, then in Venice, where classes
took place in a 16th century palazzo with a custom-designed kitchen.
Hazan’s 1973 cookbook, The Classic Italian Cookbook, led gourmands
to draw comparisons between Hazan and another Grande Dame, Julia
Child. The two women were longtime friends.
In 2000, Hazan was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime
Achievement Award. “She was the first mother of Italian cooking in
America,” said Lidia Bastianich, the New York restaurateur and television cooking personality.
In 2004, Hazan wrote, “Simple doesn’t mean easy. I can describe
simple cooking thus: Cooking that is stripped all the way down to
those procedures and those ingredients indispensable in enunciating the
sincere flavor intentions of a dish.”
Hazan embraced simplicity, precision and balance in her cooking. She
abhorred the overuse of garlic in much of what passed for Italian food in
the United States, and would not suffer fools afraid of salt or the effort
it took to find quality ingredients.
The family took her ashes to a final resting place in her beloved village
of Cesenatico. --CiCi Williamson
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 as collaborated with Callison on writing stories
throughout the book.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Bonnie Benwick,
Deputy Food Editor, and
Joe Yonan, Food Editor, The
Washington Post, won third
prize for “Best Newspaper
Food Coverage for Papers
above 200,000 Circulation”
from the Association of
Food Journalists.
Bonnie Benwick
Alma Lach
A true Dame of Distinction, the talented and treasured Alma
Lach died on October 21, 2013. She was a founder of the Chicago Chapter.
Born in Petersburg, Illinois, in
1914, and raised on a 600-acre farm
downstate in New Salem, Alma shared
household duties with her sister, more
often than not cooking the family's
meals. "There was a hen house and
we had eggs and a cow for butter and
buttermilk. I could make anything I
wanted and did on a wood-burning
cook stove,” she said. She even won a
prize for a dish in a 4-H contest.
Majoring in Home Economics at the University of Chicago, she
met her future husband, the historian Donald F. Lach, married,
and then when Donald was awarded a Guggenheim in 1949,
they went off to Paris with their small daughter Sandy. Suggesting
that perhaps there was more to cooking than pan gravy, Donald
encouraged Alma to enroll in the formal three-year culinary degree
program at the Cordon Bleu. By 1956 she had clocked enough
hours to be awarded a Grande Diplome. Also during those Paris
years, which were interrupted by occasional periods in the States,
she published A Child’s First Cookbook (1950) and three more children’s cookbooks for Campbell. And she was an early TV personality; creator, producer, and performer of the show “Let’s Cook” the
first cooking show for children.
Everything she wrote--from those early forays into children's
cookbooks, to her Sunday and Friday columns in the Chicago
Sun Times (where she served as the food editor from 1957 to
1965), to her frequent local and national TV appearances and
the monthly newsletter Alma's Almanac--led to Cooking a la
Cordon Bleu, (1970), and, ultimately, to her monumental Hows
and Whys of French Cooking (1974), the first cookbook to be
published by the University of Chicago Press.
Since 1985 she has been traveling, developing, and testing recipes for the Hows and Whys of Chinese Cooking and developing the
art of electronically scanning examples of Asian food carving and
garnishing. During her long and impressive career, Alma Lach
has been named a Chevalier du Tastevin in Dijon, and she has
garnered many other awards and honors, but her membership
in Les Dames since 1982 remained one of her ongoing loyalties.
She was and will always be thought of as a professional’s professional, a mentor and friend. She will be missed. --Joan Reardon
29
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30
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
California Figs
Simply Beautiful | Simply Delicious
California dried figs are available year
round, while fresh figs are available
mid-May through December.
Deadlines 2014 Spring issue - January 15, 2014 | 2014 summer issue - April 15, 2014
2014 FALL issue - August 4, 2014 | 2015 WINTER ISSUE – November 7, 2014
Photography/Images
Electronic images must be properly focused and in color with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi
(TIFF or JPEG). Cell phone photos are acceptable if they meet resolution requirements. Do not
send photos taken off the Internet or embedded with text in Word files or PDF files. Please identify
individuals in photos from left to right in the message of your email. Include photo credits, if
required, and captions. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS MUST COME WITH CAPTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED.
Member Milestones
LIST DAME’S NAME and XXX CHAPTER. Each Dame may submit up to 50 words about honors or
important business-related activities, as preferred, to appear in print. You may email a quality
headshot to accompany your news. Press releases and cookbook covers are not accepted.
(Cookbook covers are accepted for the LDEI website.) Email your Member Milestone and photo
to MM Editor, Hayley Matson-Mathes at [email protected] by the deadline listed
above. Entries received after these dates may appear in a following issue. Photos of Dames
networking at conferences or other chapter events may also be sent to this section.
Chapter News
CHAPTER XX (By, the submitter's name, office or title, if any). Each Chapter may submit 250
words as you would like to see it in print. You may include photos to accompany your news,
noting photography requirements above. Submissions that exceed the word count will be edited.
(A lengthy submission on a special chapter event could be considered for a feature; contact the
editor in advance.) Press releases are not accepted. We regret we don't have space to print full
menus but menu items can be included in the copy. Submissions not conforming to this format
may not be printed due to deadlines and volunteer’s lack of time. Email to Janet Burgess at
[email protected] by the deadline date. Entries received after this date may appear
in the following issue.
E-Newsletter
This bi-monthly publication will keep you informed about events in other chapters and
encourages networking. Press releases are not accepted. Include an email contact, date,
time, cost for chapter events. Lack of space prevents member milestones, product news, listing
of cooking classes or tours. You will receive a reminder call for “e-news” email. Respond to
Helen Roberts at [email protected].
Waldorf Salad with
California Figs
POSTCARD VIEWS OF THE GLOBAL CULINARY INITIATIVE
If your chapter is involved with culinary programs and community activities that
cross cultural barriers and exemplify the spirit of the Global Culinary Initiative,
send a 200-word description of your event with photos. WE BeLOnG (page 21)
features excerpts of insightful, relevant content from Dame’s personal blogs
or chapter websites. Be a guest blogger and tell us what’s on your mind! Send
inquiries to [email protected] or [email protected].
Upcoming in the
spring
issue
W I N T E R Q u arterly 2 0 1 4 Excellent source of Dietary Fiber
Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium Free
• Winners of the 2013 Legacy Awards
share their experiences
• The LDEI Board convenes in Miami
• Update on the Global Culinary Initiative
• Introducing the 2014 Board
For delicious recipes and more information visit:
www.californiafigs.com
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Atlanta
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Louisville KY
Permit #1051
P.O. Box 4961
Louisville, KY 40204
enter ldei’s updated
m.f.k. fisher award contest
Deadline
3.31
2014
In 2012, more than 80 women entered LDEI’s
M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary
Writing. Until now, the awards were in one general
category with a first, second, and third place award
presented biennially in even-numbered years.
In July, the LDEI Board made the competition a
yearly contest with three major category winners:
1. Culinary Books
2. Print media (magazine and newspaper food stories)
3. Internet-based food articles or blogs
Each category winner will receive $500. The
overall winner will receive an additional $500
to total $1000 plus a trip to Boston to receive
her award at the LDEI Annual Conference
on Saturday, November 1, 2014, at the Royal
Sonesta Hotel Boston, Cambridge Mass.
In a further advancement, entries may now be
submitted online to LDEI. The fee per entry is
$25, and entries are due by March 31, 2014. For
more information, go to www.ldei.org or send an
email to [email protected].