Put your hands on some hand pies from around the world during our upcoming Global Culinary Initiative program! Nearly every culture has small, easy-to-eat pastries stuffed with savory and sweet fillings…from börekas, empanadas and samosas to Cornish pasties and Chinese xian bing. Together we’ll explore a diversity of hand pies with a Dames chef cooking demo before breaking into groups and heading for the kitchens for hands-on preparation of two hand pies led by Dames chefs. After cooking, we’ll come together to eat what we made as well as some tasty contributions by other Dames. This program will be open to the public.  Click here to buy your tickets!

Sunday, October 27, from 2:00-4:00 pm
at Cookology in Arlington’s Ballston Quarter
4238 Wilson Blvd, 3rd Floor, Suite #3110

$45 Dames, $59 for the public 

Cancellation Policy
You may cancel your ticket for a full refund if notification is received by October 15. No-shows are ineligible for any refund.
Note: if you have to cancel, please remember you can turn your ticket purchase into a tax deductible donation to Les Dames DC if cancellation is received by October 15.  Cancellations received after October 15 will likely incur the cost of your ticket from the vendor, therefore would not be available as a donation. 
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A portion of the proceeds from the event will go towards grants and scholarships for women in the DMV in the culinary fields.

Join us on Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 PM for Part II of our pasta explorations. Dame Meryl Feinstein, author of "Pasta Every Day" and ThePastaSocialClub.com, will focus on "Italy's Tagliatelle," the flat, ribboned noodles of the country's Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions. She will show us how to make the simple egg dough and roll it into sheets by hand. No special equipment required.

Registration in advance is required.  Click here to register.  

Meryl's session follows Les Dames DC April 24 presentation by historian Karima Moyer-Nocchi on "How Pasta Became Italian." We'll be continuing this occasional series, so stay tuned.

Meryl Feinstein is a chef, pasta maker, and food writer. After graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education, she got her start at the renowned New York establishments Lilia and Misi, where she was part of the pasta production team. While there she founded Pasta Social Club, a platform that brings people together over a shared love of food, learning, and making connections both on- and offline. Meryl now lives in Washington, D.C., where she develops recipes and teaches pasta-making workshops. She is the author of Pasta Every Day, a guide to making pasta doughs, shapes, fillings, and sauces with joy and confidence for all home cooks, which will be published in September 2023. Her writing and recipes have also been featured in Food & Wine and Food52, for which she was the website’s Resident Pasta Maker, and she has been quoted as an expert in pasta making for BBC Travel, La Cucina Italiana, Martha Stewart, New York magazine, and more. Her dishes draw on her travels in Italy, ongoing research into the rich history of traditional pasta making, and her Jewish heritage. Follow her on Instagram @pastasocialclub

The program is free to all but a $5 donation is welcome, and will go toward our fund for grants and scholarships for women in culinary fields.

Note: We have a waitlist set up on Eventbrite. If you are unable to register for a ticket, please be sure to add yourself and your email info to the waitlist drop down menu. We will contact you by email and help you register as well as provide you with the zoom link a few days before the event. We have plenty of room for everyone!

Photos by Nico Schinco, with food styling by Judy Kim

Join Les Dames Escoffier Washington DC Regional Chapter in celebrating our Gala and Auction, Les Dames in Normandy, on Monday, June 3 at 6:30 pm at La Maison Française of the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Rd. NW.

The evening promises a merveilleux mélange of the area’s finest chefs, sparkling personalities, music, and fun all for a good cause: to help fund the grants and scholarships we award each year to women seeking careers in the culinary arts, beverage, and hospitality.

Share VIP drinks and dinner with luminaries such as chef/TV host Carla Hall, food critics Tom Sietsema and David Hagedorn, esteemed cookbook authors Joan Nathan and Toni Tipton-Martin. Bid on terrific dining and experience packages in a live auction (hosted by Dame Carla!). Meet our new and past grantees, scholarship winners, and notable Dames. TheListAreYouOnIt and radio host Nycci Nellis will emcee.

Enjoy a feast honoring Normandy and the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, featuring, cheeses, cider and wines, and a Normandy-inspired meal prepared by noted area chefs including: Scheyla Acosta of La Bonne Vache; Susan Bae of Moon Rabbit; Ann Cashion of La Bonne Vache; Bertrand Chemel of 2941; Hugh Cossard of Food Expression; Mark Courseille of Olivia Macaron; Tony DiGregorio of Kingbird at The Watergate Hotel; Stéphane Grattier of Boulangerie Christophe; Seng Luangrath of Thip Khao and Padaek; Christophe and Michelle Poteaux of Bastille Brasserie & Bar; and Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit and students and instructors from Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute.

DC Dames are part of an international philanthropic organization (LDEI) dedicated to lifting up all in the fields of food, beverage, and hospitality. Our diverse chapter includes restaurateurs and chefs, wine and spirits professionals, cookbook authors and journalists, nutritionists and food policy advocates, social media powerhouses and public relations experts, and event planners. Since our group’s inception in 1985, we have given out more than $500,000 in grants and scholarships.

Tickets are $350 VIP dinner (for the general public + Dames); $250 dinner (for the general public); $125 dinner (only for members of the DC Regional Chapter of Les Dames).

For VIP ticket purchasers, please select your VIP table when purchasing your ticket.

Click here to view a brief video about our chapter, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3).
For media inquiries, contact Charissa Benjamin at [email protected]
For general questions and other information, contact us at [email protected]

We hope you will join us on April 13th for a wild foods cooking class where you’ll learn how to prepare and cook wild ingredients you can find in DC, Maryland, and Virginia during the early spring. Wild plants offer electrifying tastes of a time and place – hyperlocal, super seasonal, and nothing like typical produce from big-box grocery stores.  Registration in advance is required.  Click here to register.

Two experienced local foragers, food writer Nevin Martell and chef Iulian Fortu, are teaming up to share their secrets about cooking with three wild ingredients commonly found in the region during the springtime. You’ll get a primer on when, where, and how to harvest morel mushrooms, ramps, and garlic mustard, followed by a culinary demonstration, where you’ll learn the best techniques for storing, prepping, and cooking with them – and get a chance to try three dishes crafted by chef Iulian, who will share the recipes for you to take home. 

After the lecture and cooking demo, you will have the opportunity to purchase ingredients from Foraged, a community marketplace of foragers, farmers, and artisan food producers offering unique specialty ingredients. Guests will receive 20% off items purchased at the event.

Nevin Martell is a D.C. food and travel writer-photographer whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, National Geographic, AARP, Travel + Leisure, and many other publications. He has been writing about foraging for over a decade, leading him to hunt for chanterelles in the wilds of Vancouver Island, search for morels with the Inn at Little Washington's Patrick O'Connell, and go looking for wild Blue Ridge truffles outside Asheville, NC.

Iulian Fortu is a chef, forager with a life-long passion for food which he loves to share with others through workshops, foraging walks, cooking classes, and private dinners. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he has worked at the acclaimed Noma restaurant in Copenhagen and has been a speaker and instructor for the Mycological Association of Washington and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. A professional forager certified to sell wild mushrooms, he is purveyor to many notable fine restaurants in DC, including Reverie, Oyster Oyster, Bresca, and The Dabney. 

Note: Incorrectly identified or improperly prepared wild foods can cause GI distress, injury, or even death. All of the ingredients used for this class will be sourced and prepared by chef Iulian, so you can be assured they are both correctly identified and properly prepared. 

Tickets are priced to ensure this educational event is accessible to all. Please consider donating to Les Dames DC’s grants and scholarships fund to support our mission to nurture the careers of women in the culinary and hospitality fields.
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Join us on Saturday, March 23, for a multi-sensory event hosted by Les Dames d’Escoffier Washington D.C. Regional Chapter and the Common Grain Alliance, We'll enhance your understanding of the regional grain supply chain, introduce you to local millers and producers, and show you how to incorporate more local flours in your home cooking and baking. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the Mid-Atlantic Grain Movement that is reinvigorating local grain production for food and beverages.  Tickets must be purchased in advance by clicking here. 

The packed afternoon program will feature: a panel discussion with local grain farmers, millers, and bakers,; a virtual mill tour;  a regional grain product tasting; a pop-up mini grain shop/grain showcase offering local flours, grain products and beverages; a hands-on class comparing commercial all-purpose flour vs. local flour in cookie making (14 participants only; first-come, first-serve). 

ON THE PANEL
Madelyn Smith, executive director, Common Grain Alliance, panel moderator
https://www.commongrainalliance.org/
David Sachs, of family-owned Grapewood Farm, producing organic  small grains and stone-ground flour in Virginia’s Norther Neck
https://www.grapewoodfarm.com/
Gabriel Key, founder, Foggy Mountain Pasta and Milling 
https://foggymountainpasta.com/
Abby Levine, owner of Maple & Rye Bakery, opening in a brick
 & mortar store in downtown Brunswick, Md., later this spring.
https://mapleandryebakery.com/
PLUS representatives from: Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery, Saatva Bakery, Seylou Bakery and more!

WHERE: Hill Center DC at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; Eastern Market Metro station is a block away. Street parking available nearby.

WHEN: Saturday, March 23, 1:30-5 pm
1:30 pm-2:45 pm for limited-space cookie class; 15-minute break; 3:05 pm-4 pm panel discussion; 4-5 pm, regional grain tasting and showcase

TICKETS:  (Choose either with or without cookie class)
Panel discussion, sampling and 1 beverage (beer or barley tea), grain showcase, pop-up shop access, WITH cookie class (14 participants only for the class, first-come, first-serve): $70 for Dames and CGA members; $80 for general public

Panel discussion, sampling and 1 beverage (beer or barley tea), grain showcase, pop-up shop access (WITHOUT cookie class): $50 for Dames and CGA members; $60 for general public

A portion of the proceeds from this event will go toward funding grants + scholarships for young women in the culinary field, and to the CGA.

We are honored to present a special Lunar New Year dinner at Chang Chang. It will be the restaurant’s final Chinese new year celebration of the season so you don't want to miss it!

Chang Chang, 1200 19th St. NW, Washington DC
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024
5:30 PM Welcome drink
6:00 PM Dinner
 
The ticket price of $115 includes a welcome cocktail/mocktail drink, a four-course dinner and remarks by Dame Janet Cam and Chang Chang director of events and Dame Jen Lin-Liu about the holiday and its traditional Lion Dance. Optional wine pairing is available; when you register, please indicate if you want the pairing. Payment for the wine pairing will be due at the restaurant. Ticket price of $115 includes tax and gratuities.

Tickets must be purchased in advance.  Click here to buy your tickets.
 
A portion of the proceeds from the event will go towards grants and scholarships for women in the DMV in the culinary fields. ​​

We've gathered experts from our Les Dames DC chapter and elsewhere to enhance your chocolate knowledge just in time for Valentine's Day.  Please be sure to register in advance so we can email you to zoom link.  Here's what to expect:
Winnette Ambrose McIntosh, owner of Souk Bakery in DC, will highlight Trinidad’s contributions in the world of chocolate.
Sheilah Kaufman, cookbook editor and author, will fill you in the surprising cultural connection between Jews and chocolate.
Fran Costigan, vegan cookbook author, will guide you to the best options for vegan chocolate.
Carolyn Crow, former pastry chef and chocolatier, will offer a primer on how to choose the right chocolate (while you could be nibbling on a sample from her recommended list!).
Rabia Kamara, owner of Ruby Scoops Ice Cream & Sweets in Richmond, Va., will demo one of her favorite recipes.

Your registration confirmation will include a list of Carolyn's favorite chocolates, so you can buy a few in advance to sample during her presentation!  ​This session is free for all! But if you're in a giving mood....a $5 donation will help support our mission to nurture the careers of women in the culinary, hospitality, and related communication disciplines.  Thank you!

Join us in our FREE crowd source-style session where we'll be sharing tips and offering strategies for holiday and winter entertaining. 

Among the topics we'll be tackling:
simple kitchen tips
favorite seasonal dishes
beverage recipes/wine recommendations
social media/photographic advice
tried-and-true party organization
recycling/reusing
seasonal charities and nonprofit opportunities
even a good smattering of lessons-learned "don'ts" 

We expect this to be a lively, interactive online presentation that highlights some of the many skills, talents, and the expertise Dames have to offer. So register to join us and spread the word!

Registration is required. Zoom link will be emailed to registrants a few days before the event.
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Click here to register.