Join us for a day of learning and community building with Les Dames DC!
Meet the DMV's leading women in food, beverage, and hospitality as they share their expertise in advocacy, content creation, and kitchen wisdom. Participants include Joan Nathan, Tambra Raye Stevenson, Jamie Leeds, Bonnie Moore, Mary Beth Albright, Amy Brandwein, Susan Barocas, Charissa Benjamin, and many more. Proceeds of this generously sponsored forum, held at DC’s historic National Union Building, will go toward supporting women and women-led food-related organizations in the DC area, through grants, mentoring, and scholarships. Advance registration required. Click here to register. Click here to learn more about the full day of activities.
0 Comments
![]() Mark your calendar for a day of learning and community building with Les Dames DC! Bringing It to the Table: Talk. Taste. Transform. Meet the DMV's leading women in food, beverage, and hospitality as they share their expertise in advocacy, content creation, and kitchen wisdom. Participants include Joan Nathan, Tambra Raye Stevenson, Jamie Leeds, Bonnie Moore, Mary Beth Albright, Amy Brandwein, Susan Barocas, Charissa Benjamin, and many more. Proceeds of this generously sponsored forum, held at DC’s historic National Union Building, will go toward supporting women and women-led food-related organizations in the DC area, through grants, mentoring, and scholarships. EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 15. Stay tuned for more details. Please join us for a virtual conversation
Vegan Means Business: Embracing Plant Power Wednesday, August 9, 2023 | 5:00 to 6:30 PM Tickets must be purchased in advance. Click here for your tickets! Cost: General Admission $25, Free for Members of Les Dames d'Escoffier International. Zoom link will be emailed to registrants a week before the event. Join Les Dames DC chapter for a fun and informative pupusa-making workshop in honor of World Refugee Day, on June 20, 2023. Dame Ana Reyes, owner of El Tamarindo, the nation’s first El Salvadorian restaurant, will share her family’s history from leaving El Salvador to establishing a community landmark in Washington DC. You’ll learn to make mouthwatering pupusas from scratch and about the cuisine and culture of El Salvador. Our Global Culinary Initiative Chair, Dame Amy Riolo, will discuss the mission of World Refugee Day and how to help during the current crisis. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Cost: General Admission $55; $45 for Members of the DC Regional Chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier. Ticket price includes workshop, 2 pupusas, 1 non-alcoholic beverage & gratuity. Click here for your tickets! Dame Ana Reyes is a first-generation Salvadoran American entrepreneur, community activist, and operator of El Tamarindo, her family’s 40-year-old Salvadoran and Mexican restaurant located in Washington, D.C.'s Adams Morgan neighborhood. El Tamarindo has become a community staple and is credited with popularizing pupusas, El Salvador’s national dish, a thick flatbread that can be stuffed with various fillings. Ana is passionate about sharing her family’s legacy and culture through food. 6:30 pm Welcome, Meet & Greet 7:00 pm Workshop begins There is very limited street parking available. The closest Metros are U Street Cardozo and Dupont, each .5 miles away. The closest parking garage is Colonial Parking at 2421 18th St NW. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Les Dames d'Escoffier DC's Regional Chapter's fundraising for grants, mentoring, scholarships, education programs and operations to support women to succeed in culinary-related industries. We hope you can join us for this virtual event on June 1st. Our host, Dame Leni Sorensen will share a bit of the political and military story of Juneteenth but will primarily discuss how Black Americans celebrated that belated Emancipation Day, first in Texas and then across the nation. She will highlight the traditional use of seasonal produce, red and sweet foods and will discuss who grew and cooked the meals.
Cost: General Admission $20, Free for Members of the DC Regional Chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier. Zoom link will be emailed to once you register for the event. Click here to register for this virtual program. Leni Sorensen was born in California, was a member of the 1960s folk music recording group The Womenfolk, farmed for eight years in South Dakota, and is the mother of four and the grandmother of seven. Throughout all those years she cooked, taught cooking, and talked about food; at one time catering to movie crews, at another, starting a tamale business. She worked for over thirty years as a university lecturer, museum consultant, hands-on presenter, and researcher with a focus on African American slavery, American agriculture, and women’s work in colonial and post-colonial America. Retired from six years as the African American Research Historian at Monticello she continues to lecture, consult, and write on topics of food history and teaches home provisioning and rural life skills from her home in Western Albemarle County. Her most recent appearance as a history presenter can be seen in episode three of the Netflix production “High on the Hog; A Culinary Journey from Africa to America.” www.indigohouse.us A portion of the proceeds will go to support Les Dames d'Escoffier DC's Regional Chapter's fundraising for grants, mentoring, scholarships, education programs and operations to support women to succeed in culinary-related industries. Please join us in person for A World of Tea, Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 1 pm - 2:30pm at Colvin Run Mill, 10017 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls, VA.
Taste teas from around the globe - white, green, oolong, black and dark teas and learn about the history and botanical aspects of the tea plant. You'll also find out the best methods for brewing each style. Tea infused treats and a take home tea sampler are included. Presented by Certified Tea Specialist Dame Laurie Bell at the historic Colvin Run Mill, 10017 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls VA, 22066. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Click here for your tickets. Cost: General Public $45; Members of the DC Regional Chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier $40. Spaces are limited, and registration ends on May 31. Chef and Educator Dame Laurie Bell is a certified Tea Specialist from the Specialty Tea Institute, and the owner of Great Falls Tea Garden. She teaches about premium teas at educational tea tasting seminars and blends specialty teas for restaurants and retail sales. She lived in France for four years where she earned a très bien Grand Diplôme from the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Returning to the Washington DC area, Chef Bell founded the culinary company À La Belle Cuisine, designed and built her own commercial catering kitchen, served as executive chef, and taught cooking classes until she sold the successful business to focus on tea. Chef Todd Gray and Dame Ellen Kassoff, our hosts with the compost, will share their sustainability journey and pass along valuable tips on how you can start composting and save money by rescuing valuable ingredients you’re probably tossing. Wasting food wastes all kinds of resources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. By embracing seed-to-stem cooking and diverting food waste into compost, we can help reduce methane emissions and produce an invaluable resource — often referred to as “black gold” — for growing food and maintaining healthy soil.
The afternoon will begin with a tour of Equinox’s composting system, followed by a cooking demo with Chef Todd where you’ll get to taste some surprisingly scrappy snacks. We’ll toast to compost with cocktails and mocktails made with ingredients that often go to waste, and end with insights from a panel of sustainability experts: Caroline Howe, Aspire Program Coordinator, Innovation & Equitable Development, DC Department of Small & Local Business Development Jeffrey Neal, Founder & CEO, Loop Closing Lela Singh, Retail and Social Media Manager, Teaism Tea Shop During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to bid on sustainable lifestyle items at the silent auction and raffle. Proceeds of the auction and raffle will fund the Les Dames DC Chapter’s grants and scholarships program in support of the advancement of women in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. Metro accessible via Farragut West and Farragut North stations. Cost: $35 for members and non-members and includes passed bites and one drink. Tickets must be purchased in advance, click here to buy your tickets. There’s always something new in social media and the food blogging world. This is your chance to learn from three successful bloggers/influencers how to maximize your brand, business or blog in the ever-changing online business world. Our panel includes Dame Anina Belle Giannini of Le Chef’s Wife, Britney Brown-Chamberlain of “Britney Breaks Bread” and Shani Whisonant of “Begin with Butter.” The panel will be moderated by Dame Bonnie Benwick.
Cost is $25 for members, $35 for non-members, and includes appetizers, soft drinks and wine donated by RATIONAL USA, courtesy of Dame Cindy Selby. Dame Kim Bryden has donated use of her office space for the event. Street parking is available. There is also 90 minutes free parking with purchase at the Whole Foods at 600 H St., NE. Click here to register! A portion of the proceeds will go to support Les Dames d'Escoffier DC Regional Chapter’s fundraising for grants, mentoring, scholarship and education programs to help support women to succeed in culinary-related industries. Join us for a sommelier-led wine flight and canapes reception followed by a conversation with Dana Cowin, former Food & Wine editor in chief, conducted by Anna Spiegel, Washingtonian food editor. This event celebrates Cowin’s just-launched zine Broadly Speaking based on her popular podcast, which highlights “the generosity of women and awe of the whole human experience, bringing together in one place everything from heartbreak and humor to recipes and empowerment." Ticket Cost: $85 per person (Members of the Public) $75 per person (DC Dames Only) Tickets include a complimentary issue of Broadly Speaking Valet parking for $15 at Bourbon Steak is available to everyone who attends this event. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Les Dames d'Escoffier DC Regional Chapter’s fundraising for grants, mentoring, scholarship and education programs and operations to help support women to succeed in culinary-related industries. Advance registration required. f Dana Cowin is a tastemaker and innovator in media, food and branding. Her work spans advising creatives, founders and non-profits and creating editorial content through podcasts, social, video, zines and books. With more than twenty years’ experience as the Editor in Chief of Food & Wine magazine, Cowin has curated collections of extraordinary food, bringing attention to the remarkable women behind the products. An award-winning influencer in the food world, she is a sought-after speaker on topics from trendspotting to lifestyle and motivation, entrepreneurship and of course, good food! She is host of Speaking Broadly, a podcast that features visionary women at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and food.
Anna Spiegel is a Food Editor at Washingtonian magazine. She has spent over a decade covering Washington’s dynamic dining and drinking scene for the monthly print publication and online—reviewing restaurants, writing features, and covering a variety of culinary happenings. Prior to joining Washingtonian, Anna earned a degree from the French Culinary Institute in New York and an MFA degree from Columbia University, often splitting time between professional cooking and jobs in journalism.
WHEN: Sunday September 11th, 2022 TIME: Arrive by 9:15 am. Foragers will leave at 9:30 am and return by noon WHERE: Carderock Recreation Area, Potomac, Maryland (off the Clara Barton Parkway) PARKING: Meet at this parking lot: https://goo.gl/maps/2EGbXKJMopNoEMbh8 WHAT TO WEAR/WHAT TO BRING: Long pants & long sleeves (optional but helps to avoid contact with poison ivy), hat, hiking boots or sturdy shoes, walking stick (there will likely be some tricky footing in spots), drinking water, a snack, collection bags & backpack to stash finds, and bug repellent WHO: Dames members and friends. Dames may bring a friend to join them COST: $36 members /$37 non-members TICKETS: Click here to buy your tickets! Tickets must be purchased in advance. EVENT DETAILS: Get ready to join your fellow Dames for a seasonal foraging walk with Matt Cohen, founder of Matt’s Habitats. On our September hunt, Matt will introduce us to delicious American Paw Paws; we’ll learn where to find them, when to pick them and how to use them. Along the trails will be other wild edible plants; perhaps wild grapes, spicebush berries, garlic mustard, black walnuts, wild ginger, and possibly mushrooms. Matt will introduce them all, as well as discuss culinary ideas, preparation techniques and seasonal foraging. Meet-up directions and reminder will be emailed before the event. This foraging event is limited to 20 participants. If you are bringing a guest, please be sure to purchase their ticket at the same time you purchase yours. If the event is sold out, we will schedule a second foraging walk. A waitlist has been set up for this purpose as part of on-line registration. Paw Paw - Asimina triloba- Our largest local native fruit, paw paws are the only species in the Custard Apple family found in the United States. Several tropical fruits such as soursop and cherimoya are close relatives. In April, paw paw trees produce showy red flowers with a fetid odor attracting pollinating blowflies and other carrion-feeding insects. The large, strongly-scented leaves are the exclusive food source for the native zebra swallowtail caterpillar. The trees are found generally in the understory of forests, thriving in bottomland habitats such as along the Potomac River. Also known as the West Virginia Mango or Hillbilly Banana, the fruits taste like a custardy combination of the two. Eat them straight from the tree or scoop out the pulp to make puddings, ice cream, bread, pancakes, and more. Matt Cohen started Matt's Habitats in 2003, specializing in sustainable gardening practices with an emphasis on native plants, wildlife habitats, and edible gardens. In 2009 he began to lead walks throughout the year on wild edibles and plant/mushroom identification, and he continually exercises his knowledge of the natural world through conferences, personal study, and lots of time outdoors. The headquarters of Matt's Habitats is a 120-year-old farmhouse in Silver Spring. Rooftop solar panels generate most of the electricity, and vegetable and fruit gardens generate a lot of produce. His 1/4 acre yard also serves as a test plot for many of the native plants that he uses in his clients' yards. Matt donates 10% of his net profit to environmental and humanitarian NGOs including Anacostia Watershed Society, Casa of Maryland, and the Capital Food Bank. He currently serves on the board of the Mycological Association of Washington, DC. |
Les Dames d'Escoffier
LDEI is the premier organization of influential professional women who are committed to the advancement of education and philanthropy in food, beverage and hospitality for the good of the global community. Categories
All
|