​A Dames (and friends) event

Tickets:  Click here to buy your tickets!

Do you know where your food comes from? Who produces, processes, and prepares it, and in what conditions? Why is fresh food available in some communities and not others? And who—if anyone—is responsible for ensuring that everyone has access?
 
With every bite of food we eat, we have an opportunity to help remake an unjust and unequal food system.
 
Food for the People explores these questions by looking at the greater Washington, D.C. area’s food system and the inequalities that shape it.
 
Join us at the Anacostia Community Museum as we take a deep dive into the food issues of the nation’s capital—past and present. This indoor and outdoor exhibition features artifacts, art installations, videos, and hands-on interactives. We will have a guide to take us on a special Les Dames Escoffier Washington DC Regional Chapter tour.
 
The details:
 
When: Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 2 pm
Where: Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Place SE, Washington, DC 20020
Who: Registration is open to Dames and one guest 
Cost: $10 per person. FREE parking on-site.
Space is limited to the first 20 guests. Dames and guests only please. 

​The pandemic exposed food and nutrition insecurity across the country and in the Nation's Capital. Les Dames DC is hosting this Zoom program to highlight the work being done in the community by women who have taken on this public health challenge. This important panel will be moderated by Tambra Raye Stevenson, founder/CEO, WANDA; Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics and Agriculture. Panelists are Cheryl Bell, executive chef of Miriam’s Kitchen, the DC-based organization whose mission is ending chronic homelessness in the District, Mary Blackford, whose Market 7 gives underserved communities in Wards 7 and 8 a place to buy prepared food and fresh produce from Black-owned businesses, and Amanda Stephenson, whose Ward 8 Fresh Food Factory’s market sells affordably priced local products.

March 28, 7 p.m.

Register in advance for this meeting: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctduqrrTgiEtzCONMr2H1sMBiwTLNI_Zqu

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT - PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION
While this event is free of charge, we respectfully ask that you consider a donation. Your generosity supports our scholarship program, which underwrites the professional studies and advancement of women in the food, beverage and hospitality industries and our grants program, which funds tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations that are making a difference in the global food community. If you would like to donate to Les Dames, please click here.  Thank you!

                     
You don't want to miss this!  On Sunday, February 20 as New Orleans natives, Simone Rathle and Chef David Guas take you on a MARDI GRAS culinary (and cocktail!) journey. Chef Guas, the award-winning founder of Bayou Bakery, will create a favorite Mardi Gras dish – New Orleans Style Shrimp & Grits. Those who sign up will get the recipe in advance so that you may cook along with Chef Guas (and have that delicious recipe for dinner that night.) To whet your Louisiana whistle, Simone will craft a cocktail so that you may toast the Mardi Gras celebration as though you were right there on Bourbon Street. And… there will likely be King Cake involved. Sunday, February 20 at 6 pm.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED IN ADVANCE TO OBTAIN ZOOM LINK.  
Click here to register.

Please sign up by Saturday, Feb 19 so that we may forward the recipes to you.

We’ve made it through the hard part. There’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve pivoted, we’ve adapted, we’ve changed and we’ve learned. The state of restaurants today doesn’t look the same as it did a year ago, and certainly not two years ago. We are a resilient industry and the road ahead, while it still holds challenges, looks promising.
​
Join Les Dames Escoffier DC on Thursday, September 30 as three industry leaders talk about what the future can hold, what lessons were learned and the situation as they see it. 

Moderated by Charissa Benjamin, founding partner of Savor PR, a DC-based full-service, woman-owned public relations agency representing hospitality and lifestyle brands, the panel will include:

Kathy Hollinger, president and CEO of The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the preeminent voice for the industry in DC.

Micheline Mendelsohn, deputy chief executive officer of Sunnyside Restaurant Group, which operates and franchises six successful restaurant concepts nationally and internationally including We The Pizza.

Jeanine Prime,  co-owner Cane and St. James Restaurants 

Join the Les Dames d’Escoffier DC Chapter on Sunday, October 10 as we spend the afternoon at Fields 4 Valor, a small, not-for-profit Community Supported Agriculture farm in Brandywine, MD.  Veteran Peter Scott, a trained Chef-Butcher-Cheesemaker, found that farming with a mission brought him peace that was hard to find in other work. For the last 3 years he has been providing fresh farm food to financially stressed Veterans and their families. The farm relies on volunteers to harvest and deliver to those in need; requests for his help have increased,  and therefore, his need for some extra volunteer hands has increased too.
 
We’ll be spending the afternoon at the farm helping to build box frames for bees, rake leaves and prepare the vegetable patch for the spring. Peter will talk to us about how a sustainable farm is created.  There will be a bee keeper on hand to introduce us to bee keeping and an environmentalist who will introduce the youngest among us to bugs that help and hinder a farmer. 
 
After some hard work in the field, everyone is invited to gather at the fire pit to roast hotdogs and eat some sweet treats made by Dog Tag Bakery.

Click here to buy your tickets for members of the public. 
Click here to buy your tickets - DC Dames only please 
 
When: Sunday, October 10, 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Where: Fields 4 Valor, 14411 Baden Westwood Road, Brandywine, MD
What to Wear: Sturdy shoes with over the ankle socks, long pants, long sleeve shirt, ball cap
What to Bring: Sun screen, small water bottle, a folding chair or blanket
Optional: gardening gloves, a rake, spade, hoe
 
Tickets: $17 Members of LDEI; $20 Nonmembers.
Tickets support Fields 4 Valor, and the scholarship and grant programs of Les Dames d’Escoffier-DC
If it rains, the reschedule date will likely be Sunday Oct 24th. If a guest has to cancel, their ticket will be considered a donation.
Kids are free but children over 12 would be most appropriate. No dogs are allowed.
 
For more information, see:
Fieldsforvalor.org
www.facebook.com/fields4valorfarms
https://today.advancement.georgetown.edu/georgetown-magazine/spring-2021/2021/from-battlefield-to-bakery-to-business/

Sponsored by Green Tables Committee.

This event has been postponed but will be rescheduled shortly.

We’ve made it through the hard part. There’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve pivoted, we’ve adapted, we’ve changed and we’ve learned. The state of restaurants today doesn’t look the same as it did a year ago, and certainly not two years ago. We are a resilient industry and the road ahead, while it still holds challenges, looks promising.
​
Join Les Dames Escoffier DC on Thursday, September 30 as three industry leaders talk about what the future can hold, what lessons were learned and the situation as they see it. 

Moderated by Charissa Benjamin, founding partner of Savor PR, a DC-based full-service, woman-owned public relations agency representing hospitality and lifestyle brands, the panel will include:

Kathy Hollinger, president and CEO of The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the preeminent voice for the industry in DC.

Micheline Mendelsohn, deputy chief executive officer of Sunnyside Restaurant Group, which operates and franchises six successful restaurant concepts nationally and internationally including We The Pizza.

Ashleigh Pearson, owner of newly opened Georgetown chocolate shop Petite Soeur, is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, who has worked at Marcel’s in DC and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, as well as being a Les Dames scholarship recipient. 

​​GREECE June 2, Maria Kopsidas, Owner of Cookology Cooking School
All Things Phyllo, Learn the Ancient Art of Creating Phyllo Dough Pastries (Lacto-ovo vegetarian)

• Flakey Honey-Nut Pastry (Baklava)
• Flakey Pastries with Spinach and Feta Cheese Filling (Spanakopita Triangles)
• Flakey Pastries with a Filling of Mixed Cheeses (Tyropita Triangles)

Working with phyllo dough can be tricky. Let Maria Kopsidas show you how, using techniques she learned growing up in her Mediterranean-heritage family. After this class, you'll have the confidence to try her methods in your own kitchen. 
​

​ISRAEL June 9, Joan Nathan, Cookbook Author and PBS Series Host
From Israel with Love, Joan Nathan’s Home-Cooked Favorites (Pescatarian)

• Bulgarian Eggplant Soup with Yogurt
• Arctic Char Simmered in A Spicy Tomato Sauce (Aharaimi)
• Apricot Meringue Kuchen

Joan Nathan’s love for Israeli food goes back to the early 1970’s when she was working for the Mayor of Jerusalem at that time. She noticed that every ethnic group had different foods – Christian, Muslim, Jewish – and that most Jewish foods were nothing like those she grew up with. On June 9th, join Joan as she shares what makes Israeli food different, how varied it is and how Jewish food varies from country to country and region to region.
​

IRAN June 16, Najmieh Batmanglij, Cookbook Author and Culinary Instructor
Nush e-Joon, May Your Soul Be Nourished

• Saffron Chicken & Barberry Braise (Geymeh Zereshk-e Kordi)
• Persian Rice with “Golden Crust” (Chelow)
• Quick Pickle of Persian Cucumbers and Toasted Coriander Seed(Torshi Hazeri-e Piaz)

Esteemed cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij will demonstrate how to cook rice with its golden crust/tahdig, the jewel in the crown of Persian cooking; served with a saffroned-chicken and barberry braise. Barberries are the berries of an indigenous shrub and are one of the ingredients and specialties of Iranian cooking.  
​

​THE PHILIPPINES June 23, Chef Evelyn Bunoan
From Start to Finish: A Quintessential Three-Course Meal of The Philippines

• Crispy Vegetable Egg Rolls (Lumpiang Shanghai)
• Sautéed Vegetables with Bihon Noodles (Pancit Guisado)
• Fricassee of Chicken Thighs in Rich Tomato Sauce (Chicken Apritada)
• Chewy Cassava Dessert Patties Rolled in Grated Coconut (Pichi-Pichi)

Chef Evelyn Bunoan will be your guide to the traditional Filipino palate. Philippine cuisine is a fusion of different cultures that tickle ones taste buds, climaxing to a burst of culinary experience: Malay, Spanish, Chinese, South East Asian, the Middle Eastern, Indian, European and American. Through these influences – with a potpourri of sauces and spices – the Filipino palate has gone through a long process of evolution, with many of the provinces having a unique dish or two.


 

LITHUANIA June 30, Chef Justė Židelytė
Garden to Table, a Lithuanian Feast of Summer Produce (Lacto-vegetarian)

• Chilled Summer Beet Gazpacho (cold pickled beetroot soup/cold borsch/šaltibarščiai)
• Creamy Mushroom “Risotto” of Heirloom Barley Finished with Whipped Cultured Butter (Kastinys) and Shiitake Mushroom “Bacon” Bits
• Lithuanian Gira, a Kombucha/Kvass style fermented nonalcoholic drink

Lithuanian food is deeply rooted in unadulterated, simple ingredients and recipes developed over millennia of history. While archaic, time consuming techniques and rare (in this part of the world) ingredients might look intimidating, with Chef Juste’s tips and tricks Lithuanian flavors can become familiar, comforting and easy to achieve. During this vegetarian class learn the basics of fermentation with kvass (sparkling non alcoholic drink or Lithuanian kombucha), refresh with a cold summer soup recipe, experiment with making risotto (the Lithuanian way) and get inspired by a heritage recipe from the chef's grandmother, adapted to modern times.
 

​COST: Individual classes are $35 and the entire five series package may be purchased for $140, a discount of 20%.
​
You only need to purchase one ticket per session per household. Ticket sales are final and will not be refunded. If necessary, email us no later than 2 days in advance of the class (info@lesdamesdc.org) and we will assist you in applying your credit to another session. If you wish to transfer your zoom link to a friend or family member please notify us in advance.

LOGISTICS: All global cooking classes are held via Zoom, and you will receive instructions for logging in via email after registering. Please download the Zoom application in advance.
Cooking classes are recorded, and you will receive the link to the recording within a week after the class takes place. The link will be available for two weeks.  As part of the registration process you will be asked to acknowledge that your face may be recorded, if your personal video screen is on when the meeting is in speaker mode.
Les Dames DC and Thrive DC are partners on the fundraiser, Our Luscious Planet. Thrive DC's programs for women going through hard times will benefit from the fundraiser proceeds as well as Les Dames DC's culinary grants and scholarship programs for women.