- Les Dames d`Escoffier International

LES DAMES D’ESCOFFIER INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER
2007
CORPORATE PROFILES • MOUNTAIN VALLEY WATER • CHAPTER SUPPORT
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CORNUCOPIA
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President’s Message
LDEI Annual Auction: Cornucopia
President
Toria Emas
435C Grant Place
Chicago, IL 60614
312-554-2141
773-528-0622 fax
[email protected]
Green Tables
First VP/President Elect
Member Profiles
Katherine Newell Smith
5525 Devon Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
310-907-7590
301-907-7594 fax
[email protected]
Cookbook Update
Mountain Valley Water
Chapter Support
DEPARTMENTS
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Chapter News
Member Milestones
Autumn Submission Guidelines
Welcome Monterey Chapter
Di-anna Arias (San Antonio), Lucinda Hutson (Austin), Susan Johnson
(San Antonio), and Jane King (Austin) get together in Austin.
Congratulations to James Beard and IACP Award Winners
James Beard Awards
Chicago Chapter:
Congratulations to Deann
Bayless for the James Beard
Outstanding Restaurant Award
and Gale Gand for the James
Beard Outstanding Service
Award.
New York Chapter:
Dorie Greenspan, Inducted
into Who’s Who.
Baking and Dessert Cookbook
Baking: From My Home To Yours
by: Dorie Greenspan
Houghton Mifflin Company
Reference
What To Eat by: Marion Nestle
North Point/Farrar, Straus and
Giroux
New York Chapter:
IACP Awards
Chicago Chapter:
San Francisco Chapter:
Carol Mighton Haddix –
Newspaper Section
Single Subject Category
A Passion for Ice Cream: 95
recipes for fabulous desserts by
Emily Luchetti
Second VP/Quarterly Editor
June W. Hayes
2703 Stone Edge
San Antonio, TX 78232
210-496-0289
210-496-8066 fax
[email protected]
Third VP/Communications, PR
Teresa Farney
7220 Delmonico Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO80919
719-636-0271
719-636-0202 fax
[email protected]
Secretary
Peg Rahn
25 Monterey Lane
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
626-355-2084
626-355-2084 fax
[email protected]
ON THE COVER
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2007
LDEI Board of Directors
Reference
What To Eat by: Marion Nestle
Carrie Nahabedian – Best
Chef/GreatLakes Region
Mari Coyne – TV Food Special
Seattle Chapter:
Dallas Chapter:
Food of the Americas Category
Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table by
Kathy Casey
Sharon Hage - Nominated Best
Chef of the Southwest for the
James Beard Awards.
Treasurer
Suzanne Brown
5415 Northland Dr
404-252-7399
404-252-5531 fax
[email protected]
Immediate Past President
Pat Mozersky
204 Cliffside Drive
San Antonio, TX 78231
210-492-4336
210-492-4745 fax
[email protected]
Director-at-Large
Lila Gault
259 W. 10th St. #5
New York, NY 10014
212-242-5644
212-242-5644 fax
[email protected]
Liaison with Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas,
South Florida, Monterey, Minneapolis/
St. Paul, Colorado, Ontario, Charleston
Director-at-Large
Gail Greene
1405 Carriage Lane
Garland, TX 75043
972-278-3081
972-840-925644
[email protected]
Liaison with British Columbia, Hawaii,
Kansas City, Philadelphia, Phoenix,
San Diego, San Francisco, Washington D.C.
Director-at-Large
Holly Hadsell-El-Hajji
2680 Kaaipu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96822
808-545-7559
808-545-4164 fax
[email protected]
Liaison with Austin, Boston, Chicago,
New York, Houston, Los Angeles/Orange
County, PalmSprings, San Antonio, Seattle
Executive Director
Greg Jewell
P.O. Box 4961
Louisville, KY 40204
502-456-1851
502-456-1821 fax
[email protected]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Chapter Inspiration—
the Spirit, the Friendship, the Rewards.
Exchanging ideas, educating the public and giving back
to the community and our industry is inspiring.
Thank you to all the Dames who attended the LDEI
reception held at The Chicago Bar Association during the IACP conference in April. As I write this, I
am looking forward to meeting some of the New
York Dames for a summer cocktail. Whether it’s
dinner or drinks, the backdrop becomes less important than the spirit, knowledge and friendship of
LDEI. Getting to know each other is one of the best
reasons for belonging to LDEI. As the years pass, I
hope to visit all the chapters.
The April 28 NYC Grows was spectacular. A big
“thank you” goes to Corinne Trang, Lee Wooding
and all the New York Chapter Volunteers. Aliza
Green (Philadephia) and Katherine Newell Smith
(Washington D.C.) participated, and they invite
more Dames from other chapters to embrace this
important Green Tables event next year Lynn
Fredericks (New York) worked with PS 41 at NGA’s
April 27 Adopt-A-School program, and National
Geographic’s The Green Guide picked up on LDEI at
New York City Grows and showcased Dame-owned
restaurants in its Mother’s Day issue. LDEI’s mission statement’s education component includes
public awareness that initiatives such as Green
Tables embody so well.
who work in corporate test kitchens and how corporate responsibility is dealing with critical health
issues and consumer awareness.
Co-chairs Lila Gault (New York) and Dianne
Hogerty (Kansas) are busy with the LDEI
Conference Auction entitled LDEI Cornucopia
2007. See page 5 to learn how you can be an important part of a novel approach for our Auction.
Exchanging ideas, educating the public and giving
back to the community and our industry is inspiring. Our business partners not only want to network
with us at conference, but invite Dames and their
chapters to include them at their local events.
Mountain Valley Water is putting together a Spa
Package in Arkansas but would love visitors
throughout the year, and other partners welcome
requests.
LDEI says it all! Hope to see you October 18-21 in
Dallas. In the meantime turn the page and share our
good times…I look forward to many more.
Cheers,
Several stimulating Teleforums were held this quarter. An offshoot of Dame Kimberly Stewart’s
(Colorado) session on nutritional terms is CiCi
Williamson’s (Washington D.C.) article on Dames
Summer Quarterly 2007
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Donna Connor Photography
Cheers! Making
Friends and
Celebrating LDEI
Front:Toria Emas,Ann-Michelle Albertson
Standing: Louise Ceccarelli, Kristin Keifer,Tina Krinsky
Front: Sue Cavanaugh, Lisa Bogan, Elizabeth Schmitt, Irene Rothschild, Judy Hurst
Second Row: Kystra Scully, Dottie Koteski,Toria Emas (Chicago),
Ann-Michelle Albertson, Carol Brock (NY), Eileen Talanaian.Third Row: Linda Geren,Aliza
Green, Kathleen Mulhern, Kristin Keifer, Claire Dilullo, Sandy Dych,Tina Krinsky, Louise
Ceccarelli, Liz Thomas,Anita Pignataro (Philadelphia)
Highlights of Chapter Visits
T
hroughout my term as LDEI president I have experienced the outreach, warmth and spontaneity of Les Dames through a variety of
chapter events and activities. From a pre-2006 conference
Escoffier Dinner at the home of the French Ambassador orchestrated by the Washington D.C. chapter to the Escoffier Dinner presented by
the Philadelphia chapter at Moonstruck owned by Claire DiLullo this past
April, members shine.
Toria, Lucinda Hutson, and Johanna Brown (Austin)
and Pat Mozersky (San Antonio) celebrate.
Carol Brock (NY), and Toria and Bill Emas
attended the Washington, D.C. chapter
Escoffier dinner last fall.
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Nancy Eisman (LA/Orange County) and Marie
Kelly (San Diego) at the Dames IACP reception.
CiCi Williamson
CiCi Williamson
Along the way, the Austin chapter celebrated my Day of the Dead birthday in
true Mexican style at the home of Lucinda Hutson. There was a memorable
visit with members of the Toronto chapter in January, and in February the
Atlanta chapter held a “casual” dinner that turned into a seven-course extravaganza at Garrison’s, where several Dames hold court.
French Ambassador’s Residence,Washington, D.C.
Julie Hettiger (Houston), Mary Abott Hess, and Ina
Pinkney (Chicago) at the Dames IACP reception
hosted at the Chicago Bar Association.
Les Dames d’Escoffier
CORNUCOPIA
LDEI’s 2007
Annual Auction
A NEW NAME — A NEW LOOK— AN IMPORTANT FOCUS—for the annual auction, which
will help to fund 2008 Conference Registration Fees & New Professional Internships
For the first time this year, LDEI is partnering with cMarket
(www.cmarket.com), the leading provider of online charitable auctions, to facilitate and host our annual auction,
dubbed CORNUCOPIA.
The auction will be presented online for three weeks, beginning September 29. Thanks to cMarket.com, as well as the
capability of our members to add “friends and family” to the
list, CORNUCOPIA will be open to thousands of qualified
bidders. In addition, there will be several computer kiosks
in the Hospitality Suite in Dallas available for 24/7 bidding
at the 2007 conference, October 18-20. CORNUCOPIA
will close Saturday, October 20 at 5:00 PM, and winners
will be notified within 10 business days.
A PREVIEW OF EXCITING PLANS TO DATE:
By putting the auction online, we will reach far beyond our
membership. With such potential for new bidders, we
hope to attract a select roster of “priceless” experiences from
our members and partners, such as those listed below.
• A weekend for two in historic Hot Springs, Arkansas,
with a 2-night stay, dinner and box seats at the Oaklawn
Track to see pre-Kentucky Derby horses race, courtesy of
Mountain Valley Spring Water (airfare included).
• Pastry/dessert class for 6 anywhere in the Bay Area. Learn
from renowned pastry chef and author Emily Luchetti.
• Three nights for 4 at Cakebread Cellars’ River Ranch
cottage, with tour and lunch with one of the
Cakebread family.
CORNUCOPIA will be augmented by an EXCLUSIVE
LIST of DAMES ONLY PACKAGES, which may be
offered silent or live at the conference, and will be publicized
in advance for proxy bidding. (Only Dames in good standing may bid on these exclusive packages). And we hope to
exceed the $30,000 that has been raised for LDEI programs
in 2005 and 2006 and use that money to create two new
exciting 2008 programs.
FREE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION will be
offered to a number of members, who have not attended an
annual conference. Applications will be on line and available
from LDEI headquarters after January 1, 2008. Free registration should help offset travel expenses to the Honolulu
Conference October 2008 and make more member participation possible.
A PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM will
be created to give real world experience to up-and-coming
women in food, beverage and hospitality. Volunteer Dames
will be matched with candidates seeking a practical opportunity for professional development; travel and living
expenses will be underwritten by a portion of the proceeds
from the auction.
Both new initiatives will be formalized by task forces, currently in development. Volunteers for these important
expansion plans are needed. Contact Lila Gault or Dianne
Hogerty for more information, and watch for exciting
updates in the autumn issue.
Co-chairs Lila Gault, [email protected], and Dianne Hogerty, [email protected],
are eager to receive donations and assistance.
Summer Quarterly 2007
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GreenTables
Connecting With Larger
Organizations
Multiply the Return on Donations of
Time and Money...
The San Antonio Chapter is working with the Bexar
Land Trust, a project supported by City government
and related groups, to support its community garden
initiative. In addition to overseeing and encouraging
sustainable gardening and agriculture, the Bexar Land
Trust defends woodlands and endangered species, both
floral and fauna.....The Trust supports four community
gardens that are in the process of obtaining permanent
funding. Dame Sandy Winokur, owner of Sandy Oaks
Olive Orchard, donated and helped plant olive trees at
the garden at the Little Flower Basilica…and Dames
Jenny Mattingsley and Susan Johnson are consulting
with a nonprofit community group, House of
Neighborly Service, to coordinate volunteer activities
and use of the harvest. This group provides meals and
groceries for seniors on low limited incomes and
other needy San Antonio area/Bexar County residents.
House of Neighborly Service is excited about having
fresh garden produce for their meal preparation and distribution in the community. Funds from the chapter’s
garden fund will be used to buy plants, seeds, and
other materials.
The Espada Achievement Center’s gardening project
founded by Jenny Mattingsley and Susan Johnson
continues to thrive despite several setbacks due to the
relocation of the special needs school.The garden
changed locations this year and Jenny’s group put in
four new beds supported by a greenhouse. Planting
occurred early this year so students could experience a
tomato harvest during the school year. Students have
harvested beets, radishes, carrots and other winter vegetables. A church kitchen in the neighborhood is being
used to cook the vegetables.
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Les Dames d’Escoffier
Les Dames d’Escoffier—New York Chapter at
NYC Grows 2007
By Connie Trang & Georgia Tran Downard
Les Dames d’Escoffier – New York Chapter participated for the second year at NYC Grows 2007,
sponsored by the National Gardening Association, which took place at the end of April at New York
City’s Union Square Market.
As part of our Green Tables program, Dames were featured as culinary experts on specific subjects
including nutrition, diabetes, catering, and wine, while other Dames demonstrated cooking techniques
and created delicious and colorful foods for eager-to-taste passersby. NYC Grows 2007 was a day full
of exciting activities, and a way for Dames to come together and share ideas about our organization
and the Green Tables initiative.
A wonderful feature to our program this year was a Barnes & Noble special cookbook display
featuring signed copies of books authored by members of Les Dames d’Escoffier-New York. The program also featured Robert Patterson of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and The
Growing Connection, www.thegrowingconnection.org
Presenters, volunteers, and committee members who helped create a successful event were: Christine
Ansbacher, Alison Awerbuch, Hilary Baum, Myra Clement, Claire Criscuolo (Committee),
Daphne Derven (Committee), Melanie Dubberley (Committee), Lynn Fredericks (LDEI GT
Chair), Lila Gault, Rozanne Gold, Aliza Green (Philadelphia Chapter), Carol Guber, Joanne Hayes,
Sue Hoffman, Dana Jacobi, Katie Lee Joel (Committee), Jackie Ehlert Mercer, Katherine Newell
Smith (D.C. Chapter), Marsha Palanci, Maureen Petrosky, Emily Snyder, Alice Axenfield-Storm
(Committee), Jeanne Voltz (Committee), Connie Welch, and Lee Wooding (Board Liaison).
Photo by Bibb Gault. Styling by June Hayes
Summer Quarterly 2007
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CORPORATE MEMBER PROFILES
Karen Couné
Innovating for Global Consumers
K
From there, she worked her way up through a variety of positions, working at Pillsbury and General Mills each twice. From
Product Home Economist to Senior Editor and then Managing
Editor, Betty Crocker Publications, to Test Kitchen Project
Manager, Green Giant. Karen has a Cathy cartoon taped to her
office nameplate that reads, “I have the strength to do the
impossible, I just can’t cope with the ordinary.” She says, “It’s an
extraordinary world in which we live, what an ordinary thing to
not take advantage of it. I want to be engaged, learn something
new, meet new people, sit in the front row, take advantage of
opportunities when they arise.”
From Test Kitchen Manager of the Pillsbury Bake-Off to meeting
General Mills’ product needs around the globe, Karen Couné
thrives on challenge
And arise they did. She was the Test Kitchen Manager, Pillsbury
Bake-Off® Contest in 1997-1998 in Orlando where Alex
Tribek was the M.C. She was tasked with setting up 102 working kitchens in the convention center where the Bake-Off®
Contest was held. I attended that contest as a working journalist but didn’t know Karen until I visited the Minneapolis
Chapter in 2003.
important to tap into the local culinary expertise when the company needs to learn about the food skills and knowledge levels
of consumers in their regions.” She worked with various countries where Pillsbury products were sold, identifying the skill set
and expertise needed by a culinary professional, in some cases
traveling to interview candidates in person, or sometimes by
long distance over the phone with a translator on the line.
At one time, Karen spent two years in Pillsbury’s International
group working with regions around the world. She did food
styling in Hong Kong and Shanghai for their fresh dumpling
business; worked in the Pirogi business in Poland; spent a week
in Italy studying pasta, and then spent a week in Brazil at a
Pillsbury worldwide pasta business forum; visited the Australian
test kitchen; and attended the famous international food show,
Anuga, in Cologne, Germany. She visited a dozen countries in
two years.
“It’s truly a global economy. Many U.S. companies are working
to meet product needs in foreign countries. Having Dame
Chapters in other countries would help us enrich each other and
understand issues other Dames face in their businesses — how
we approach that challenge vs. how they approach it. Get a
diversity of ideas and fresh perspectives.”
I want to be engaged, learn something new, meet
new people, sit in the front row, take advantage of
opportunities when they arise.”
“Sitting in the U.S., I couldn’t write Crescent Roll recipes for
consumers in Israel or tell people in the Philippines what kind
of recipes should go on the flour bag,” explains Karen. It’s
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Janet Campbell Lifestlye Photography
aren Couné’s (Minneapolis/St. Paul), B.S. in Home
Economics, Foods & Nutrition, from the University of
Minnesota, led to her first job at Pillsbury: Supervising the first
consumer 800 toll-free telephone respondent staff. “Before
1982, consumer correspondence was all by writing letters,
sometimes calling on the phone,” she explained. “The information line covered only two products at first. I remember one of
them was Figurines Diet Bars.”
In 2001 General Mills purchased Pillsbury, and in 2003, nineteen new test kitchens were built in a new six-story tower in a
suburb of Minneapolis where one can view the kitchens from
the second-floor atrium. Karen became the Test Kitchen
Manager for Pillsbury brands.
Today, although Karen is a Betty Crocker Kitchens Manager,
she works in the General Mills R&D facility west of downtown,
where she is in the I-Squad, Strategy & Innovations. Rather
than getting flour on her elbows, she is now “the voice of the test
kitchen experts.”
Les Dames d’Escoffier
Janet Campbell Lifestlye Photography
CORPORATE MEMBER PROFILES
“The I-Squad operates as an internal consulting group. Any
business team can come to us for a project,” she explains. “The
ultimate goal is to give them a framework in which they can set
a new business strategy, maybe do ‘ideations.’ My role is to
interject culinary and consumer knowledge into the innovations group.”
The group is growing because of the high internal demands of
the brands. She prepares for and executes the exercises the
brands are taken through to “immerse them in all the knowledge we can get our hands on — business reviews, trends,
research, category assessment information.”
Three other Dames from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter
work at General Mills: Andi Bidwell, Jeanie Kozar and
Lois Tlusty. They see each other often as they can and are all
active in their local chapter. They join Karen in “executing my
passion for bringing good food to good people by applying my
culinary and food science knowledge, building on my understanding of consumer food usage, attitudes and needs, applying
my project management skills and drawing on my business
experience.”
Diane Kase Sokolofski
Kraft-ing Recipes for
Comida y Familia
D
iane says, “I can’t think of a
better profession than talking
all day about food and food trends.”
Currently food editor of Comida y
Familia,
a
custom-published
Hispanic magazine and website
(comidakraft.com), she also manages recipe content for Kraft’s MultiCultural Programs and Promotions.
“The objective of the test kitchen is
to represent the consumer: think
about consumers’ lifestyle habits,
how consumers would make someDiane Kase Sokolofski (Chicago), Test Kitchen Manager, Kraft Kitchens Chicago
thing, then make sure we create and
test our recipes so the recipes will be
minutes north of downtown Chicago where she lives. The
foolproof and delicious. We want consumers to have success
Glenview facility has seven kitchens that replicate equipment
every time they make the recipe and to enjoy and feel great
and appliances consumers would have in their own kitchens.
about what they’ve made,” she said.
We typically position our recipes as Healthy Living. “If we can
get people to cook at home and gather around the table to connect with their family and friends sharing something nutritious
that they’ve made, that’s perfect!” believes Diane.
Kraft has test kitchens in Chicago, New Jersey, Toronto,
Germany, and Australia. Diane is one of the managers of the
Chicago test kitchen located in Glenview, Illinois, about 30
Summer Quarterly 2007
“In a typical day, we’re actively testing several recipes for numerous projects including publications, the website, packaging and
promotional materials. A day doesn’t go by when we’re not
researching recipe trends through publications, the Internet,
TV, and restaurants. It’s important that recipes meet nutrition
guidelines and that all Kraft recipes have nutrition analyses so
consumers know what they are eating,” explained Diane.
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CORPORATE MEMBER PROFILES
Diane Sokolofski, continued
Nutritionally, trans fats are being removed from all Kraft products and the company is aiming to beat the government deadline for their removal. Ingredients without trans fats are also
used in developing Kraft recipes.
During the past 11 years in her role as test kitchens culinary
resource and strategy expert in food communication, Diane has
seen a strong emphasis on delivering Healthy Living recipes. Yet
“the biggest challenge for consumers is dinner. Everybody’s lifestyle
is very fast paced. People want quick, simple ideas, and one way to
keep simple recipes healthful is to add fresh produce and other
fresh ingredients to convenience products,” believes Diane.
“If we can get people to cook at home and gather
around the table to connect with their family and
Diane doesn’t speak Spanish, so her recipes uniquely developed
for the Hispanic consumer and food content created for the
Comida y Familia, published in Spanish by Redwood
Publications in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, are translated for
her. The website is coordinated with the magazine. Diane says,
“I feel very devoted to Hispanic consumers and their passion for
food. They consider it very important to cook and share meals
with their family at home.”
There are various cultures within the Hispanic population:
Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban, all of which have different
indigenous dishes. “Hispanic consumers roast fresh peppers and
make their sauces in blenders. They use a large variety of peppers, from sweet to hot, dried and fresh,” said Diane. “They use
a greater variety of cuts of meat and tend to have larger families,
so recipes are created with larger yields.”
friends sharing something nutritious that they’ve
made, that’s perfect!”
Before moving to Kraft, Diane taught nutrition for Dame
Linda Califiore’s Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.
She has seen the Latino, Mediterranean and Asian food influence increasing across the country.
Diane is, well, happy as a “chorizo” at Kraft Kitchens. Her Kraft
experience includes Food & Family Magazine food content for
the features “Everyday Dinners,” “Kids Can Cook” and
“Convenience on Hand” as well as recipe development for
numerous Kraft products, including convenience meals, sauces
and dressings and pizza.
Jeanne Speight
LDEI’s Very Own “Spice Girl”
J
eanne, Senior Test Kitchen Specialist for McCormick’s
Consumer Products Division in Hunt Valley, Maryland,
explains that “A recipe is like a puzzle. If you understand the flavors you can figure out how to put the ingredients and spices
together in a flavor pattern to solve the puzzle and meet the recipe
objectives.”
Jeanne began working for the largest spice company in the world in
1970 as a Home Economist, at a time when Chow Mein with crispy
noodles was considered “Oriental,” and pot roasts, bone-in chicken,
and meat loaf with mashed potatoes were usual consumer meals.
During her 37 years as a food technologist with McCormick &
Co., Inc., sales mushroomed from $125 million to $2.7 billion
today. In her roles as Sensory Evaluation Technologist, Product
Evaluation Manager, and Test Kitchen Specialist, Jeanne has contributed to the increased use and knowledge of herbs, spices and
flavors by consumers who use McCormick’s retail products.
Jeanne never needs to pack a lunch for work; she grazes on 10 to
12 recipes or new products in development. On a typical day, she
might guide supermarket executives through a product or spice
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Jeanne Speight (Washington, D.C.), Senior Test Kitchen Specialist
McCormick & Company, Inc.
Les Dames d’Escoffier
CORPORATE MEMBER PROFILES
tasting, develop recipes for a media
press release, help others at McCormick
adjust the flavors of possible new products, or create applications for conducting sensory panels with employees or
consumers.
trends and ideas to the consumer and in
turn, bring consumer insights and culinary
knowledge
to
Product
Development,
Marketing,
and
Marketing Research departments early
in the product development cycle.
The test kitchen’s mission is to
Jeanne has trained many McCormick
sensory professionals and panelists. She
becomes animated when talking about
the flavor characteristics of spices. For
example, when developing a recipe using
cinnamon, she takes into account the
differences between Korintji cinnamon
from Indonesia (best for baked goods)
and Saigon cinnamon from Vietnam
(best in dishes with a complex flavor).
bring food, flavor and in-home
preparation trends and ideas to
the consumer.”
Along with her colleague Dame
Connie Jones (Washington D.C.)
and other food professionals in the Test
Kitchen and Public Relations department, Jeanne tracks flavor trends by
monitoring restaurant menus, sales
reports, professional journals, company
discussions and flavor panels of chefs
from around the country.
The test kitchen’s mission is to bring
food, flavor and in-home preparation
Food Peparation has
Changed from 1970
to the present. Major
influences include:
The microwave age
The number of working
women
The way families prepare
meals (for example, using
boneless chicken breasts
and ethnic flavor
The number of ingredients
down from as many as 20
to 10 or fewer
Summer Quarterly 2007
“The more expensive Saigon cinnamon
from the McCormick® Gourmet
Collection® is brighter, stronger in cinnamic aldehyde (the main component in
cinnamon bark oil), and has more ‘redhot candy’ flavor characteristics. It’s best
used with roasted vegetables, tart and
citrus fruits, steak rubs, marinades
Jeanne Speight, continued
and vinaigrettes, chili, and stews,
explains Jeanne.”
McCormick installed a toll-free hotline
in the late 1980’s and a website in 2001.
She was one of the movers behind having nutrition analyses on all the website
recipes. The test kitchen is paying attention to more healthful ingredients when
developing consumer recipes and products. “If you use more spices, less fat is
needed,” said Jeanne. “McCormick is
working to eliminate trans fats in all of
our seasoning mixes, and in response to
consumers’ and dietitians’ comments,
we developed our Old Bay seasoning in
a 30% Less Sodium variety.”
If you need information about flavor development, Jeanne is the goto “Spice Girl.”
—By CiCi Williamson
(Washington D.C. Chapter)
A special thank you to Cici Williamson
for conducting these informative and
interesting interviews.
Whole Foods wishes
to congratulate all
the LDEI Chapters
for their efforts to
improve the quality of
food in this country with their
inspirational GreenTables Initiatives…
Breaking New Ground Together
Whole Foods Market and
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
For more information
and store locations, visit
www.WholeFoodsMarket.com
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COOKBOOK UPDATE
Status on LDEI Cookbook
All across our chapters, Dames are busy reading and
testing and writing recipes. It’s all about balancing
our content among the 25 chapters, as well as
ingredients, categories, styles—you all know what it
takes to make a cookbook.
In San Antonio, photographer Tracey Maurer,
working with stylist Julie Hettiger, is sending illustrations to the publisher. Soon, we’ll need an index.
If anyone is expert at index making, please contact
[email protected]
Manuscript is due to the publisher September 1, ‘07.
Time to start needling in the real crux of Les Dames to
the LDEI Cookbook:
OUR KITCHEN HINTS:
We’re an opinionated, expert bunch. Let’s show our stuff.
Here are some of the subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tempering liquids when making sauces, soups, and fillings
Freezing for easy slicing and grating
How to make your local farmers’ market better
Selecting fresh produce (choose your pet vegetable or
fruit—here’s a chance to damn those machine-lathed
“baby carrots”)
The science of home-made bread crumbs
Smart storage for messy ingredients…flour, sugar, etc.
How to deglaze
The Sizzle Test: how to know when the oil is hot
enough
SIGN UP TO WRITE A HUNDRED WORDS
OR LESS ON ANY OF THE ABOVE…OR
On other similar subjects close to your apron or your
chef ’s coat.
Intention is that these all be attributed pieces.
Deadline: August 1, 2007.
Some subjects already in the works:
Marion Nestle has submitted healthy eating tips. Susan
Slack, phyllo tips. Nancy Brussat, cured meats for first
courses. Suzanne Dunaway, fat-free chicken stock. Pat
Mozersky, perfecting poached eggs. Marilou Suszko, perfecting potluck.
There are many more and I know, many more to be had.
12
Les Dames d’Escoffier
The GOOD
LIFE
is
MUCH More
than Recipes
Word pictures help readers experience the joys of
shopping and sharing international bonding
while exploring the joys of good food.
By Dorie Greenspan (New York Chapter)
Dorie in her New York kitchen
I first came to Paris in 1971 and no sooner
did I step foot on the sidewalk than I had a
feeling I’d never had before nor since: I felt
I belonged. Sure I was born in Brooklyn,
NY, but at that instant I knew deep in my
bones that my mother had made a mistake
and that Paris was where she’d really meant
to have me.
I’m not a planner and I often think that
everything that’s happened to me has happened because I’m lucky, but if I think back
it’s probably safe to say that, on some level,
whatever I did after that epiphany was done
if not to bring me to France, then to bring
me close to all things French – the people,
the food, the language and the traditions.
When I got back from that trip, I started
cooking more seriously, baking a lot more
seriously and taking French lessons. I was
working as a social researcher and a little
later I began a doctorate in gerontology and
I could never have imagined that, much as
I loved it, food would become my profession; I’m certain I didn’t even know that
there were careers in food apart from being
a chef.
And, in fact, I began as a chef – kind of. In
1981, married and the mother of a cute 2year old, I gave up on my doctoral dissertation (no regrets) and went to work as the
apprentice pastry chef at the hippest restaurant in New York City at the time: The
Soho Charcuterie. I was fired a couple of
Summer Quarterly 2007
months later for “creative insubordination”
– how could I have known how angry
everyone would be when, without mentioning it, I did away with the rum-soaked
raisins in the chocolate cake and replaced
them with armagnac-soaked prunes! But, a
couple of weeks later, I landed in Sarabeth
Levine’s kitchen just as she was starting her
business. I loved working with Sarabeth,
she of jam fame, but I quit before she, too,
would fire me for fiddling with the recipes.
It took me a while, but I eventually learned
that as much as I loved baking, I didn’t love
making the same thing over and over again.
What I loved was creating new things,
which was something I could do by developing recipes and writing about them, and
which is what I’ve done in some form or
another ever since – often in Paris and very
often with French chefs.
As a special correspondent for Bon Appétit
magazine, I’ve had the chance to write
about France a lot; as a cookbook author,
I’ve written nine books, six of them deeply
influenced by my connection to France:
Baking with Julia, written to accompany the
television series that starred Grande Dame
Julia Child, the original French Chef;
Desserts by Pierre Herme and Chocolate
Desserts by Pierre Herme, written with
France’s roi of pastry; The Café Boulud
Cookbook, written with the extraordinary
French chef, Daniel Boulud; Paris Sweets, a
book of recipes and stories from the city’s
best pastry shops; and my latest, Baking
From My Home to Yours, which is like a
record of my more than 30 years of baking,
and which draws on the experiences I’ve
had and lessons I’ve learned from the many
French pastry chefs who’ve welcomed me
into their kitchens.
About ten years ago it got much easier for
me to spend time in French kitchens
because I became a New York-Paris commuter (I’m in Paris about 3 to 4 months out
of the year). My husband and I now have
an apartment across the street from the
church of Saint-Germain des Prés, so now I
have my own little Paris kitchen and a rich
Paris life that includes close friends, neighborhood shopping, lots of street markets
and a daily coffee at my café, the alwaysbusy place on the corner, where most of the
customers are regulars, most of the servers
know everyone and most of the greetings
involve kisses.
There isn’t a time when I’m walking around
my neighborhood that —after I pinch
myself to prove I’m really there—I don’t
feel as though I’m living in a small, exceedingly friendly village: It takes me forever to
buy a container of milk because there are so
many people-stops along the way. People in
Paris seem to have more time for one another than most of us do here and lots more
time for anything having to do with food,
from shopping for it in the lively markets
and small specialty stores, or eating it in
13
Dorie Greenspan, continued
restaurants casual and grand, to cooking it
and sharing it with family and friends at
home. I am invited to friends’ homes for
dinner or Sunday lunches with regularity,
and I’m forever cooking for friends in my
home, where dinners seem to stretch well
past midnight – even on school nights!
And the topic of conversation always turns
to food in Paris, at the market, over drinks
and always at the table. I remember being
invited to a wedding outside of Paris, being
seated next to a very distinguished, seemingly taciturn man at the reception and
thinking “how will I ever get through the
night”. It turned out it was easy – once we
started talking about food, time raced.
Everyone seems to know about food and
wine, where it’s from, how it’s made, and
how best to serve it. It is a source of national pride, but more than that, a source of
great pleasure and pleasure is very important to the French.
I’ve been amazingly fortunate to be able to
weave my French and American lives
together, writing about my experiences,
journaling them on my new blog
(www.doriegreenspan.com), lecturing in
America about life, particularly the sweet life
of pastry, in Paris and working with Les
Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship winners in
the New York Chapter’s Mentoring
Program. Last year, my mentee was an
extraordinarily talented pastry chef who,
during our “official” year together (we’re still
in close contact) worked with a French chef
in the kitchen at the Ritz Carlton Orlando;
she is now the pastry chef at Mark’s in
Houston, owned by Chef Mark and Dame
Lisa Cox. My mentee this year, now on staff
at Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, graduated from the American University in Paris.
Working with these young women is inspiring and a wonderful way to keep the deep
connections between French and American
cultures and cuisines alive and healthy for
future generations to enjoy.
The topic of conversation
always turns to food in Paris, at
the market, over drinks and
always at the table.
Dorie’s latest book, Baking From My Home to
Yours, is a James Beard winner. She was also
inducted into the James Beard Who’s Who hall
of fame. She was a major draw at the recent
Royal Ontario Museum’s jazz-filled finale for
the SANTÉ Wine Fest in Toronto, Ontario
and authored the Paris market section for the
May issue of Bon Appétit.
Dorie often participates in special tastings at her favorite Paris Bistro.
14
Les Dames d’Escoffier
MIRACLES
Can Happen
Around the Table
Arts of the Table Encompasses
Far More than Plates and Linens
By Cynthia Pedregon (San Antonio Chapter)
I was invited to speak at the Womenspeak
conference this past spring, a gathering of
1,500 women from all parts of the world.
The purpose, as stated by Paula D’Arcy,
who had the vision to create this event, was
to bring women of all cultures and creeds
together to open their hearts to one another, with the desire to heal our world. My
talk, “Miracles happen around the Table,” is
a message that has evolved since the writing
of my third cookbook, With Love, From
Cynthia two years after the sudden death of
our youngest son, Carlos. I wrote as I made
a painful journey inward to explore and
understand my life and its purpose.
Immaculee Ilabagiza was the keynote speaker at this moving conference. She wrote the
book, Left to Tell, about her survival of the
Rwandan Holocaust. Her message was truly
inspiring, and filled with her story of terror,
endurance and her amazing message of
healing and forgiveness. I felt honored and
very grateful to be able to share my passion
concerning food and relationships during
two workshops. I had told Paula [a year or
so earlier] that if her goal was to bring hearts
together she had to have a venue for food!
So, there I was, free to give my message!
I began my presentation by showing scenes
from the German movie,”Mostly Martha.”
It tells a beautiful story that gives a rich pic-
Summer Quarterly 2007
ture of how food nurtures—but not food
alone—food that is given and gift wrapped
from a heart that reaches out to touch, nurture and heal.
I have always loved to cook and to nurture
those I love. But this new look inside led me
to question my passion and my motives.
Was it selfish and self serving only? Was
food just an obsession in my life?
After laboring through the grieving, I
began to see in a fresh, new way that my
desire for preparing good food and presenting it beautifully is a special gift. It’s not an
obsession…well, at times it is…but I saw,
and became grateful, that something I enjoy
so much had been given to me for pleasure.
I began to thank God for making my gift
clear … the gift of offering hospitality and
blessing others with food. Then in writing
through the grieving, I began to heal.
ing one another, getting to know each other
at a deeper level of intimacy…to break
through barriers that hinder relationships. I
want to set the stage for celebrating and
feasting…a place for MIRACLES to take
place [as the ultimate art of the table.]
Love to you all!!!
P.S. If you haven’t already, see “Mostly
Martha.” I want to live in the last scene! I bet
you will, too.
I strongly believe that we who
love to cook will do well to
examine our reasons for what
we do. What is the GIFT that
only we can offer to a culture
that is changing so fast?
We all know the problems that confront our
world, and we should remember that our
gifts are given to us for a purpose. What is
yours? How will you wrap it and give it
away? What is YOUR unique “gift wrap?”
Food is a powerful vehicle. I am committed
to presenting the vision of togetherness
around the table. I want to entice people to
come together…to set the stage for enjoy-
(Editor’s note: Cynthia is a founding member of the
San Antonio Chapter. She has written numerous
cookbooks and is known throughout the state for
her Peach Tree Tea Room and Gift Shop in
Fredericksburg, Texas. Contact Cynthia and share
your experiences in making miracles with food at
[email protected])
15
TASTING Memories
By Elizabeth Gawthrop Riely
One spring day when I was a girl, my parents took us all to a fishing shack on the
Chesapeake Bay. Silvery shad skidded and
splashed into wooden troughs of water as
the fishmongers in slick aprons gutted
them, scales flying. My father chose one fat
shad for us to grill on an open fireplace of
hot stones nearby. The sharp air and smoky
fire, the scorched skin and sweet flesh, the
charred potatoes roasted alongside, the
whole family savoring the rustic feast—this
is a memory I have been tasting ever since.
Along the way I freelanced—18 years for
the Boston Globe Food Pages, the Travel section of the New York Times, for magazines
like House & Garden, Bon Appétit, and
Gourmet. My cookbook, A Feast of Fruits
(Macmillan, 1993), came out as did my
New England chapter in Culinaria: The
United States (Könemann, 1998), an international bestseller. More recently, as my
interest in history and agriculture grows,
I’ve been writing for Gastronomica and
EdibleBoston.
Years later, after college (Sweet Briar, in
Virginia) and graduate school (New
England Conservatory, in Boston) where I
pursued music and singing, four years of
teaching, a decade as a research assistant in
the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale, and
a young family of my own, we landed in
Boston. By this time, I knew my career
would not be in performance and had
begun to follow my nose by writing about
food.
Since 2000 I’ve edited the Radcliffe
Culinary Times with direct ties to the CHB.
This newsletter is published each spring
and fall by the Radcliffe Culinary Friends of
the Schlesinger Library, at the Radcliffe
Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard
[see information below]. The RCT includes
a broad variety of articles on the history of
food and the social history of food, which I
interpret broadly.
At my first meeting of the fledgling
Culinary Historians of Boston, I knew this
was for me. It brought together the strands
of my life, experiences like the shad feast
that combined my father’s sense of place
and past with my mother’s gift for people.
CHB meetings let me know there were
other people who understood the power of
food in our everyday lives. Monthly talks
and friendships gave me background for
writing The Chef ’s Companion: A Culinary
Dictionary (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd ed.,
2003), still in print after 21 years. It also
drew on my library experience and the languages I’d studied as a singer—knowing
how to pronounce words and what they
meant. Mostly it made connections
between all those dishes I’d cooked and the
cultures they came from, trying to capture
in a few words an ingredient, a technique, a
sauce, a region, as the culinary world in
America exploded.
16
The Schlesinger is devoted to the History of
Women in the United States. Barbara
Haber, a Dame d’Escoffier, and Barbara
Ketcham Wheaton, nominated for this
year’s Grande Dame d’Escoffier award, have
been instrumental in building the remarkable Culinary Collection, pre-eminent in
the country if not world. It has nearly
16,000 works on cooking, gastronomy, and
domestic management, from the 16th century to the present and from all countries.
Complete runs of historic periodicals as
well as contemporary are housed there. The
large number of community cookbooks
going back to the Civil War tell how ordinary people across the country ate and
lived. Among the papers of Irma Rombauer,
M.F.K. Fisher, Dione Lucas, Elizabeth
David, and others, if you ask for Mrs.
Child, you need to specify whether you
mean Lydia or Julia.
In the past, Radcliffe alumnae who had
tried to cut their apron strings disdained the
attention the Culinary Collection received,
an amusing irony now. Today ever greater
interest pours in along with books, manuscripts, and other materials. People are
finally grasping that the history of food is
the history of women—indeed, of all of us.
It has become an area of inquiry cutting
across disciplines for women and men of
many backgrounds. And please notice that
Harvard’s new president, Drew Gilpin
Faust, is the former Dean of Radcliffe.
Members of Les Dames d’Escoffier may be
interested to see that the RCT Spring 2007
issue focuses on Julia Child, who lived in
Cambridge and supported the Library in
ways far beyond donating her archive.
Several articles, serious and humorous, even
Julia cartoons from the newspaper, show
how by coming into our kitchens she
became part of our lives.
For information on membership in the
Radcliffe Culinary Friends
($35 for individuals):
Schlesinger Library,10 Garden Street,
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-864
For the Schlesinger website,
http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/
For the online catalog, go to
www.hollis.harvard.edu.
The Library is open to the public.
Les Dames d’Escoffier
Celebrating Success! The Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago Story
Carol Mighton Haddix (Chicago Chapter)
T
he Chicago Chapter will have a tangible, long-lasting
momento of the 25 years of Les Dames d’ Escoffier,
Chicago’s existence: A cookbook to celebrate the culinary
history and recipes from Les Dames d’Escoffier. Conceived as a way
to celebrate chapter and member achievements, the community, and
LDEI Chicago’s involvement in the area’s rich culinary history, the
book will provide support for the Community Kitchens Program at
the Chicago Food Depository which trains disadvantaged adults for
culinary fields.
Lois Levine, Brenda McDowell,and Lisa Piasecki helped test and
retest. Joyce Loftstrom coordinated and wrote recipe introductions,
and Alma Lach provided the inspiration that inspired the project.
Doug Seibold of Agate Publishing/Surrey Books, encouraged an
expanded approach, and I wrote Chicago food history, with Nancy
Brussat Barocci and Joan Reardon contributing relevant history
relating to Dames. Wine trends and pairings were contributed by
Barbara Glunz-Donovan, Camille Stagg and Debra Crestoni.
Elaine Gonzalez wrote about chocolate, Sofia Solomon wrote on
cheeses, Carolyn Collins shared caviar tips, and Patty Erd
gave spice advice. Carol Smoler styled the photos, Nancy Cassidy
provided props, and Queenie Burns helped to design the 17 color
photos, as all worked with Chris Cassidy, photographer. Lastly,
Joan Reardon created an index for the book—a Herculean task!
Many, many others contributed time, encouragement, and ideas to
this vast project which will make its debut in the autumn just in time
for our chapter’s 25th anniversary in November.
A small group of members gathered in the vintage tasting room at
House of Glunz in June 2006 and began to toss ideas into the air.
By the end of the meeting we agreed on a book that told the
Les Dames Chicago story, with menus and recipes for entertaining.
The committee included Jean Marie Brownson (in charge of photography and editing recipes), Karen Levin and Jill Van Cleave
(recipe testing coordination and management), and Sara
Reddington (computer organization of recipes and menus, style and
ultimate distribution). Joan Reardon contacted publishers, and
Maria Battaglia, Dana Begnino, Madelaine Bullwinkel,
Summer Quarterly 2007
17
A Customer
COMMUNITY
“The Dames of LDEI are a natural fit for Mountain Valley and the
Red Oval Society.”
18
Les Dames d’Escoffier
S
tarbucks, Apple, and other marketers have
been wildly successful in building a culture and
sense of community around their brands.
Similarly farsighted restaurateurs and caterers have
built marketable databases and emotional connections to their best patrons. So, should every company
invest in building a customer community?
“Frankly, no,” says Jim Karrh, Ph.D., chief marketing officer
of Mountain Valley Spring Company, producer of America’s
premium bottled spring
water since 1871. “No one
should assume that other
people are necessarily interested in our businesses, at
least to the degree that they
would embrace them as part
of their lives. However, if
your business can connect to
the things customers really
do care about—such as taste,
health, or entertaining—then
you might have an opportunity for profitable community-building.”
Mountain Valley customers
are diverse in the reasons they
connect to the brand. Many
say they love the crisp taste of
natural spring water free
from sodium or too-heavy
mineral content. Some are
referred by physicians and
other health professionals
who recommend a naturally
alkaline water in glass. Some
appreciate the look of
Mountain Valley’s packaging or have seen those green glass or
plastic bottles on TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy or movies
such as War of the Worlds. Others simply prefer an American
brand—especially to pair with American cuisine—when they
realize they do not have to sacrifice product quality.
“Recently I have received notes from: a Registered Dietician
asking for Mountain Valley brochures to hand out to clients;
an organic winery hoping to buy a large quantity of water to
store in their cave; and several restaurants and caterers asking
how they can get Mountain Valley. That degree of interest and
enthusiasm is rare for any business, and it gave us the confi-
Summer Quarterly 2007
dence to organize an online community around our passions
of taste, health, environment, historic preservation, and creativity.”
Thus was born the Red Oval Society, a free online community linked to the front page of Mountain Valley’s website
(www.mountainvalleyspring.com). “Because our sales come
through independent distributors, the long-term business
goal behind the Red Oval Society is to build and leverage a
direct link to customers where none had existed before. The
irony is that, for the site to be effective, it can’t be about selling Mountain Valley or even
primarily about water. I firmly believe that the fans of premium bottled water want to
feel engaged but not spun.”
Mountain Valley relies upon
a growing lineup of expert
independent contributors to
keep the site’s content fresh,
credible, and interesting.
Contributors range from
chefs and culinary writers to
doctors.
“The Dames of LDEI are a
natural fit for Mountain
Valley and the Red Oval
Society,” Karrh said. “One of
our regular contributors is
Chef Bev Shaffer, a Dame
who
co-founded
the
C l e ve l a n d - No r t h e a s t e r n
Ohio Chapter. I hope all
Dames will check out the site
and offer any suggestions
(Jim’s email is [email protected]). Plus,
over the past year we have
helped with chapter fundraisers in Atlanta and Washington,
D.C.; we look forward to more offline community-building
efforts with LDEI, too.”
Mountain Valley’s overall marketing and public relations programs were named “Best of Show” in our industry at the most
recent meeting of the International Bottled Water
Association. Our new “retro” family of glass bottles, which
draws directly from Mountain Valley’s storied past while
meeting the practical needs of today’s culinary industry, was
just named the 2007 Clear Choice Award winner as best noncarbonated beverage package by the Glass Packaging Institute.
19
CHAPTER
Callie White and daughter Carrie Morey (Charleston) shared
samples of their famous Charleston Biscuits.
news
CHARLESTON CHAPTER'S
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The second annual Distinctively Charleston Food and Wine
Festival attracted chefs, guests and authors from across the
country. More than half of the chapter helped the chapter’s
founder, Nathalie Dupree, Chair of the Festival Board.
Dierdre Shipani (test kitchen coordinator), Nathalie Dupree,
Marian Sullivan, and Paige Crone.
Like the festival, the Charleston chapter enters its second year
bigger and better. Touting four new members and a new affiliation with the Charleston’s Children Garden Project (thanks to
Patricia Agnew), we look forward to building our chapter by
following Nathalie's lead as mentor, friend and community volunteer. For more details see www.charlestonfoodandwine.com
and ldei.org/quarterly.
LDEI second VP June Hayes enjoyed dinner with Dierdre Shipani
and Sarah Graham after the festival wrap-up meeting at Nathalie
Dupree’s gracious Charleston home.
Dames from coast to coast participated in the book signings at Culinary Village.
L to R: Carolyn Wente (San Francisco), Jenifer Lang (NY), Rozanne Gold (NY), Susan
Slack, and Janet Gaffney (Charleston).
20
Susan Slack and Susan Wiggly
Les Dames d’Escoffier
Chapter News
(cont.)
CHAPTER CHALLENGES—
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF TIME
AND DISTANCE
Many chapters face the problem of having members who live
and/or work more than one hour from the core of the group’s
home base. New York, Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, San
Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago experience commute time in everything they do, but other areas are
“new” to the time and distance dilemma. Three chapters have
taken steps to embrace the challenge and move with the times,
reaching out and nurturing each other along the way.
FREDRICKSBURG/SAN ANTONIO
Two Texas Chapters face a similar geographical challenge in that
members live outside Austin and San Antonio in South Texas,
somewhat akin to living in a very large metropolitan area but
populated with prickly pear and mesquite trees. Recently, San
Antonio Dames traveled to Fredericksburg for a monthly meeting
hosted by six Dames. New members Kathy Shearer and Don
Savanh also live in Fredericksburg, raising the count to eight.
We learned firsthand the interesting things these Dames do and
enjoyed a fabulous dinner. The world comes to them or they are
active on the Internet, San Antonio, Austin and other points far
and wide...but, like Los Angeles/Orange County and the new
South Florida Chapter, time and travel are constant challenges for
member participation. Although Fredericksburg is only a little
over one hour away, daytime events are almost impossible for
these successful working Dames to attend. The same is true for
Ann Thacker
who lives in a
lakeside community, Horseshoe
Bay and works in
Marble Falls, also
a little more than
one hour from
San
Antonio
and almost equal
distance
from
Dames living in the Fredericksburg area
include: front: Terry Thompson-Anderson and
Austin. Rollie
Cynthia Pedregon, one of the founding memBlackwell-Devlin bers of the San Antonio Chapter. Back: Mary
lives on a ranch in
Kaye Sawyer-Morse, Rebecca Rather, and
Penny Perry-Hughes.
still another direction almost two
hours west of San Antonio. They attend many functions but at personal loss of time and perhaps business. The Fredericksburg meeting was a good opportunity for San Antonio Dames to experience
the travel time they devote to attending and pledge to plan more
meetings that will be convenient for all.
New members recently inducted into the San Antonio Chapter are
Cheryl Jividen (Austin), Marilyn Magaro, Rashin Mazaheri, Dawn Savanh
(Fredricksburg), Erica Hanchey, Katherine Shearer (Fredricksburg).
LOS ANGELES ORANGE COUNTY
Marje Bennetts and Emie
Lynn Fenton
Los Angeles has reorganized to become the Los
Angles/Orange County Chapter. Current
members now meet with new members in
their respective areas, but all are welcome at
any activity the other hosts. Peg Rahn tells us
that the change has generated great enthusiasm, and area Dames are revitalized.
Secretary Marje Bennetts and benefit chair
Emie Lynn Fenton are shown with a basket of
raffle goodies that raised $1,600 for the chapter’s GreenTables 24th Street School Garden.
Summer Quarterly 2007
Peg Rahn (chapter co-president)
toasts Zov Karmardian and
Phyllis Vaccareli, past president.
21
Chapter News
(cont.)
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA
Miami has expanded to include a broader
area and renamed their chapter the South
Florida Chapter. This has encouraged fresh
and exciting members to join their ranks
and inspired the chapter to set new goals
according to Susan Weinstein, chapter
treasurer. The South Florida Chapter now
encompasses the Florida Keys and Broward
and Palm Beach counties.
Editors Note: Compromise and creative planning are at work for
these three chapters. Let us know how your chapter is solving
retention, participation or other chapter challenges.
Front: Katy Edwards, Joan Green (Member at
Large), Carole Kotkin. Back: Patricia Wilson
(VP), mother daughter Dames Ana Plana and
Juanita Plana, Lourdes Castro (President of the
South Florida Chapter), and Maria Jordan.
L. to R. Ana Plana (VP), Lucila Jimenez,
Susan Weinstein, treasurer.
ATLANTA
Dames at Gala: From left to right: Linda Harrell, Virginia Willis, Woodie
Wisebram, Barbara Petit, Elizabeth McDonald, Hilary White, Alice
Medrich, Mary Moore, Paula Lambert, Lidia Bastianich, Barbara Pires,
and Gloria Smiley
The High Museum Wine Auction, one of the premier wine
auctions in the country, this year highlighted Les Dames
d'Escoffier members Lidia Bastianich, Paula Lambert, Alice
Medrich and our own Hilary White as the honored guests
for the gala occasion. All proceeds from the auction benefitted the Atlanta High Museum of Art. Atlanta Dame Woodie
Wisebram, was coordinator of this event.
Wine Auction volunteer co-chairs Robin Howell (left) and Katie Johnson
(far right) with Special Guest Chefs and Dames Hilary White, Alice
Medrich, Paula Lambert and Lidia Bastianich
22
Brought to you by National CattlemenÕs Beef Association
on behalf of The Beef Checkoff
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Les Dames d’Escoffier
Chapter News
(cont.)
B.C.
Green & Black’s Chocolate tasting
event raised $2500!
Les Dames d’Escoffier, BC Chapter,
hosted a sold out Chocolate and
Wine tasting fundraiser event on
Friday April 20th at Miele in
Yaletown, Vancouver BC. The proceeds benefited Les Dames scholarship fund. We thank Craig Sams,
founder and President of England’s
Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate
and his team for being on hand
during his tour in Vancouver, guiding our guests on chocolate testing
techniques.
COLORADO
Claire Walte
Dame Cathy Kruzic hosted a cooking class for the media at
Maggiano’s Little Italy in Denver,
one if her public relations clients.
Dame Ellen Sweets, food writer for
the Denver Post, was among the
guests. Cathy seized the opportunity to plug in a surprise celebration
for Ellen, who was about to retire
from the paper. Instead of a cake,
there was a platter of one of Ellen’s
favorite foods. Aware of Ellen’s
SEATTLE
By Braiden Rex-Johnnson
“Our Favorite Things” Auction
Grosses More Than $120,000
“Our Favorite Things,” the Seattle
Chapter’s biennial auction, was
The pairing wines were provided by
Deinhard
Sparkling
Wines,
Graham’s Port and Mission Hill
Family Estate. Our generous BC
Dames sponsors were Pedersen’s
Rental and Sales, The Gourmet
Warehouse, Tools & Techniques
and Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks.
Thank you also to our sponsors at
large:
Miele
and
Capers
Community Market , for providing
the space and equipment needed
for the success of this event.
Dame
Pam
William,
from
chocomap.com, chaired this great
evening.
fondness for meatballs, especially
Maggiano’s, Cathy had the kitchen
make up a dozen. Sticking out of
each one was a straw for a flagpole,
each with a banner, actually a
Maggiano’s gift certificate. A dozen
meatballs meant a year’s worth of
monthly return visits to satisfy
Ellen’s longing for the meatballs
there. The new retiree is planning
to remain in Denver, travel, have
her aching knees replaced and do a
lot of volunteer work. Hopefully,
she’ll still find time to write – about
food.
held in downtown Seattle at the
venerable Women’s University
Club. Under the steady hand of
auction chair Beverly Gruber, the
event was a rousing success, with a
gross amount of $120,000 raised
for the chapter’s scholarship
endowment and projects that
encourage sustainable agriculture,
up from $90,000 grossed in the
2005 auction.
The sell-out crowd of 240 donated
more than $14,500 during the
“Raise the Baguette” portion of
“Our Favorite Things.” The Dessert
Dash, a new addition to this year’s
auction, proved especially popular,
with $10,000 raised.
Summer Quarterly 2007
Among the hottest packages of the
2007 auction was an evening of
pizza and gelato making with
Dames Dorene Centioli-McTigue
(founder of Pagliacci Pizza) and
Maria
Coassin
(owner
of
Gelatiamo); the Stellar Cellar, coordinated by Dame Alice Gautsch
Forman, featuring five cases of
wines donated by members of the
Seattle Dames chapter; and a
Spanish paella dinner with charcuterie from Salumi offered by Salumi
founder Armandino Batali (father of
Mario!) and local chef/writer Ernie
Pino. The next Fundraiser/Auction
hosted by the Seattle Dames is
scheduled for March 2009.
23
MEMBER MILESTONES
HEADLINERS
Eleanor Hanson announces the publication of Learning to Cook in 1898 by Wayne
Suzanne Brown has formed an alliance
State University Press. Ellen Steinberg
with The Partnership, a marketing-graphwrote the text and Eleanor adapted the
ics company.
Brown Marketing
recipes into a modern format.
Communications LLC, is now housed
within the Partnership’s offices. The “store DALLAS
within a store” offers fully integrated marketing solutions. Both firms are based in Dotty Griffith is the face and voice of a
Atlanta with national and international new website devoted to competitive barbecue, www.smokinaphattie.com. She covers
clientele.
major barbecue contests posted on the site
as video reports. Dotty is the author of
CHICAGO
Celebrating Barbecue: The Ultimate Guide
Nancy Siler’s Public Television Show, Bake
to America’s 4 Regional Styles of ‘Cue.
Decorate
Celebrate!
for
Wilton
Enterprises, has won two Bronze Telly Gladys Howard greeted Prince Edward,
Awards. She is the host/co-producer of the Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, in
show that airs on 350 stations reaching 84 February at a tea held at the Central
Caribbean Marine Institute in the Cayman
million households.
Islands. Gladys wore her Badge of Honor
Maria Bataglia has contributed the articles
medal that was presented to her by the
“Tano Passami l’Olio, Pastiera, How Sweet
Prince during the Cayman Islands
Is Carnivale” and “The Sacred Wines of
Quencentennial Celebration in 2003.
Sardinia” to Alta Cucina, a company created
to promote premium quality Italian food June Naylor’s newest book is her 7th ediand wines. Members include consumers, tion of Texas: Off the Beaten Path (Globe
chefs and restaurant owners, specialty stores, Pequot Press) and she is currently working
on the 6th edition of her Quick Escapes
producers and industry professionals.
from Dallas/Fort Worth.
Patty Erd, and her husband Tom Erd of
The Spice House, received a 50th Carol Ritchie and her husband/producer
Anniversary accolade from The Milwaukee Kurt Ritchie taped the 500th “Cookin’
with Carol” Cable Cooking Show this
County Historical Society.
spring. As cooking expert for NBCIna Pinkney spoke on “Food for Thought:
Channel 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth (over 500
Food in the Schools” at Law Ed
appearances since 1995), Carol appears
Conference. She was the keynote speaker at
during the 9 a.m. live news broadcast.
the ACF annual meeting and CHIC graduation. Ina became a member of a THINK Dolores Snyder will teach teens-at-risk the
TANK of menu futurists in Boulder, “Etiquette of Afternoon Tea” at North Lake
Colorado. She hosted a luncheon for College this summer. In May, she spoke to
Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda, promoting The Century Club in San Francisco.
their new Women’s Media Center.
Diane Teitelbaum is the independent
Mary McMahon has accepted the position wine consultant for American Airlines, folof Culinary Director at a start-up business lowing the retirement of Dr. Richard Vine
called “Now We’re Cooking.” The after 21 years. Besides selecting all the
Evanston school targets the non-profes- wines for all flights in all cabins worldwide,
she assists with flight attendant and purser
sional cook.
ATLANTA
24
Compiled by CiCi Williamson
training, writing menu copy and covering
the wine program on aa.com/wine.
Sharon Van Meter, W.M.C.S., has been
appointed Executive Director of the The
Milestone Culinary Arts Center, a partnership between the Viking Cooking School
and Milestone Distributors.
KANSAS CITY
Karen Adler and Judith Fertig taught a
sold-out grilling class at Copia in Napa.
Vicki Johnson and Roxanne Wyss shared
a cottage at San Francisco Dame Janet
Trefethen’s vineyard. The four were high
bidders on the trip at the 2006 LDEI
Silent Auction. They also lunched at Alice
Waters’ iconic Chez Panisse in Berkeley.
LOS ANGELES
Amelia Saltsman announces the August
publication of her book, The Santa
Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook:
Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes, and Stories
from the Market and Farm (Blenheim
Press), with a foreword by Deborah
Madison and accolades from Dames Joan
Nathan and Alice Waters.
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA
Virginia Flores-Godoy — for the third
year in a row — coordinated a group of
Dames to judge the Crocket & Croquetas
contest for the Historical Museum of
Southern Florida. Local restaurants participated in the April contest.
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
Beatrice Ojakangas received an honorary
doctorate at the University of Minnesota
Duluth and gave the commencement
speech this past May. Her contributions
to food writing began in 1964 with the
publication of “The Finnish Cookbook,”
now in its 35th printing. One of her more
Les Dames d’Escoffier
MEMBER MILESTONES
Amelia Saltsman
Michele Scicolone
than 25 cookbooks, The Great
Scandinavian Baking Book, was named to
the Cookbook Hall of Fame of the James
Beard Foundation in 2005.
NEW YORK
Michele Scicolone co-authored with the
chef The Bistro Laurent Tourondel
Cookbook (John Wiley & Sons). She supplied the recipes for Essentials of Italian
Cooking (William Sonoma). In May, she
and her wine-consultant husband Charles
led a Pizza Tour to Naples and the Amalfi
Coast for Cantalupo Tours.
Eileen Lo was honored with the Silver
Spoon Award for Lifetime Achievement
by Food Arts magazine for her body of
work in the field of gastronomy. She also
received recognition at the Singapore New
World Festival of Food & Wine and was
honored by La Culinaire Internationale in
Washington, D.C. She has authored ten
books on Chinese cuisine. The latest is My
Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen
(Penguin/Home).
PALM SPRINGS
Jacqueline Bachar has introduced Limited
Edition chocolate bars “Under Chocolate
Skies.” She developed hand-wrapped bars
prepared in small batches from Belgian
chocolate. Four styles range from Le Grand
Place, milk chocolate 36% cacao with hints
of coffee and cinnamon to Le Noir, a 60%
dark chocolate with espresso beans, chicory
and cocoa nibs.
Francine LaVance Robertshaw has a new
book, The Bluffs - The Story of a Hotel at
the Jersey Shore, which chronicles the his-
Summer Quarterly 2007
Eileen Lo
tory of Bay Head’s Victorian era beachfront hotel where she was assistant manager for many years. The Bay Head
Historical Society Museum will honor
Francine August 4 with a reception and
book signing.
Francine Robertshaw
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Najmieh Batmanglij wrote an article in
Gourmet magazine on Persian cooking.
Sheilah Kaufman’s new book, Upper
Crusts: Fabulous Ways to Use Bread, was
published in April by Capital Books. The
300-page book contains 130 quick, simple
PHILADELPHIA
recipes using various forms of bread.
Ethel G. Hofman announces the U.K.
Several Dames’ recipes are included.
publication of her book Mackerel at
Midnight - Growing up Jewish on a Remote Annie Boutin-King received a RitzCarlton Corporate award in recognition
Scottish Island (Mercat Press, Edinburgh,
for Outstanding Achievement in Catering
Scotland). This book was first published
by Camino Books in 2005. Ethel will be a Sales for 2006.
featured speaker at the International Book Kay Shaw Nelson’s 20th cookbook, The
Festival to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland Art of Scottish American Cooking, was published in March by Pelican Publishing.
in August.
The 298 pages encompass the history of
shortbread, rock buns, Dundee cake, graSEATTLE
ham crackers and Campbell Soup, to
Seattle chapter new members are Karen
name a few.
Binder who has owned the venerable
Nancy Tringali Piho directed the 47th
Madison Park Café for the past 27 years.
National Chicken Cooking Contest in
She brings an extensive knowledge of
French and Northwest wines to the chap- Birmingham in May. Seventy food media
guests attended and the top prize was
ter and is active in IACP, WCR, and the
$100,000.
AIWF.
Rachel Hayden, Marketing Director, The
Nicole Aloni, the former “Caterer to the
Inn at Little Washington, helped with
Stars,” is a cookbook author, magazine
arrangements for a reception at the
writer, spokesperson, career coach, cooking teacher, and entertaining expert who is Virginia Governor’s mansion in
Richmond for Queen Elizabeth at which
also active in IACP.
all the living former Governors of Virginia
Gina Batali is president of Salumi, an
were present.
artisan salumeria started by her parents.
CiCi Williamson has delivered numerous
She co-owns the company with husband
lectures this spring on “Sea Biscuits to
Brian D’Ameto. Gina is the only woman
Sally Lunn: The 400-Year Culinary
member of the National Association of
History of Virginia” in commemoration of
Meat Producers and is active in Festa
Virginia’s 400th Anniversary.
Italiana, March of Dimes, and Children’s
Hospital auctions.
25
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please submit your ideas for future articles or profiles to [email protected] Editorial Board
is in the process of planning the next several issues, and we welcome suggestions from all Dames
who are interested in planning, writing, photographing or serving on committees to explore longrange strategies and ideas.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PHOTOGRAPHS
Mail or email all photos to the Editor: June Hayes, 2703 Stone Edge, San Antonio,Texas
78232 or [email protected].
• Digital photographs must be scanned at a minimum of 300 dpi and be good quality to be considered. People must be identified. Include photographer credits if needed.
• Glossy photos should be identified on the back and include photographer credits if needed.
Please do not use marker or gel pen.
FORMAT FOR MEMBER MILESTONES & CHAPTER NEWS
Please place the correct information at the beginning of each submission.
MEMBER MILESTONES
Dame’s Name (xx Chapter)
25-50 words as you would like to see it appear in print. Interesting or important business-related activities or honors. Submissions with photos will receive prominent positions. Press releases are not accepted. E-mail to CiCi Williamson at [email protected] by August 1, 2007. Entries received after
this date will not appear.The editorial board will place your entry in Headliners if warranted.
CHAPTER NEWS
Chapter and Title of Event (By your name, officer or title if any)
50-100 words per event as you would like to see it in print.We regret we do not have space for
menus. List the photos at the end of the description. Include IDs and credits. Submissions not conforming to this format may not be printed due to deadlines and
volunteer’s lack of time. E-mail to Karen Levin, [email protected] by August 1, 2007.
E-NEWSLETTER GUIDELINES
A bi-monthly publication to keep you informed about events in other chapters and to encourage
networking.The “Traveling Dames” section lists professional conferences or events where you may
find other Dames for networking. Do not send press releases. 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 [email protected].
LOOKING FOR...
Dame to Dame. How have you benefited from a Dame mentor?
Mothers and Daughters and other relatives who belong to LDEI for a
feature in the Autumn Quarterly (previously set for summer, but it is
now moved to the autumn).
Your ideas for future articles. Please email [email protected] by
August 1.
Due to lack of space, photos may be limited to two (2) good quality photos per chapter.
Poor photos or photos lacking IDs will not appear.Thank you for understanding.
When possible, submissions that did not make Chapter News or Member Milestones
due to lack of space will appear in the next issue.
CALL FOR IDEAS FOR TELEFORUMS
What are the burning culinary, beverage and hospitality issues you'd like discussed on a free one
hour teleforum? Trends? Ways to increase your income? Would you like to know how to market
your products or hear what others are doing? Other topics? Send ideas to:
[email protected] or call 719-636-0271.
26
Les Dames d’Escoffier
WELCOME
to
our
NEWEST CHAPTER, Monterey Bay
Under the leadership of Mary Chamberlin, chapter president,
15 excellent Dames have joined our ranks. Mary owned Mission
Gourmet Catering and is now Chair of the Monterey Bay Chapter
of the American Institute of Wine and Food. Beverly BarbourSoules (SF) was instrumental in bringing the chapter together.
Many thanks to Sandy Hu (SF) for providing
support during the chapter formation.
Peg Rahn (LA/OC) worked tirelessly to ensure that all the
applications were presented in a complete
form. Mary’s board
consists of Vice
President, Wendy
Brodie, TV
personality and
caterer; Secretary,
Marta Kraftzeck,
winemaker, Chateau Julien; Assistant Secretary, Janet Melac, coowner of a wine shop and teacher; and Treasurer, Helaine Tregenza,
marketing and communications professional. Rounding out the rest
of the chapter are: Ginna Bell Bragg, founding executive chef at
Deepak Chopras’ Center for Well Being and author; Lygia
Chappellet, owner and director of Chappellet Studios and Winery;
Daryl Griffith, Director of Catering, Pebble Beach Company;
Tracy Griffith, TV personality and author; Annette Marie Hoff,
winemaker; Cima Colina; Carol Hilburn, attorney and meeting
planner; Michele Noseworthy, product manager for Monterey
Gourmet Foods; Mary Pagan, founder and executive chef, Culinary
Center of Monterey; Maureen Signorella, chef and author; and
Mary Shizuko Teshima, restaurant owner, chef and caterer. Each
one has a very unique and inspiring story.
The chapter has pledged to raise money for women in the industry
and for the Escoffier Foundation. We applaud their enthusiasm
and drive!
M.F.K. Fisher Endowment Fund Donation Form
Honor friends and loved ones with a donation celebrating their life or their passing. What better gift
for birthday, anniversary, honoring an achievement, speaker honorarium, or memorializing a lost friend
than continuing LDEI’s goals.
My tax deductible donation is for a ____ Celebration ____ Honorarium ____ Memorial
Honoring ____________________________________________ Chapter ________________
(Gifts may be made for non-members of Les Dames d’Escoffier as well)
My Name ___________________________________________ Chapter ________________
Address ______________________________________________________________________
Method of Payment
(Circle one)
Check _______ MC/Visa/AMEX # ____________________
Expiration Date ___________ Signature __________________________________________
Please mail to Greg Jewell, PO Box 4961, Louisville, KY 40204 or fax 502-456-1821.
One donation per form please. Download additional forms at LDEI.org. Your donation and honoree
will be listed online, in the Quarterly and acknowledged by the LDEI Treasurer. Thank you.
Retain a copy for your records.
Summer Quarterly 2007
27
Conference Update
Copyright bobwade.com
Kick up your heels! Dallas/Fort Worth Dames
have roped a spectacular conference full of cowgirl
spirit and Texas culture: high, low and agri-culture.
Cowgirls & Culture
October 18-21, 2007
Join us in October and you’ll get two cities for the
price of one. We’ll give you a taste of laid-back Fort
Worth—“where the West begins”—noted for its
agriculture as well as its art and architecture. That’s
cowgirls and collections!
In Dallas, the glitzy neighbor to the east, you’ll be
based at the elegant Hotel Adolphus, and wined
and dined by arbiters of Texas taste. Celebrating its
100th anniversary in high style, Neiman Marcus
will host us in the Zodiac Room with a tribute to
the late Helen Corbitt, “the Balenciaga of food.”
And, we’ll toast the 2007 Grande Dame Award
recipient over dinner at the sumptuous Hotel
Crescent Court.
Polish your boots, and y’all come!
Les Dames d’Escoffier International
P.O. Box 4961, Louisville, KY 40204
Atlanta
Austin
Boston
British Columbia, Canada
Charleston
Chicago
Cleveland/Northeast Ohio
Colorado
Dallas
Hawaii
Houston
Kansas City/Heart of America
Los Angeles/Orange County
Monterey
Minneapolis/St. Paul
New York
Ontario, Canada
Palm Springs
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
South Florida
Washington, D.C.
NONPROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
NEW ALBANY, IN
PERMIT #62