Claire Gill has founded a new nonprofit, the National Menopause Foundation.  www.nationalmenopausefoundation.org  Its mission is to create a positive change in how people perceive, understand and experience menopause through education, peer-to-peer support, activism and research. The organization will be supported through individual and corporate giving. 
Claire at cgill@nationalmenopausefoundation.org welcomes input and volunteers to provide content and programs about managing menopausal symptoms and ideas to inspire women to thrive during midlife.

Ellen Kassoff and husband Chef Todd Gray were featured in an August 15 Eater.com article about their innovative solutions to reduce food waste at Equinox and their two restaurants at the Museum of the Bible.  Click here for the article. 

Julia Rutland authored two cookbooks that were published over the summer by Adventure Publications: Blueberries and On a Stick Cookbook: 50 Simple, Fun Recipes for the Campfire. Julia also completed coursework to become a Loudoun County Master Gardener.

Erinn Tucker, a co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant week, was included in a Washington City Paper feature about the Nov. 3-10 event.  Click here for the article.  In addition Erinn received a faculty immersion grant to Bangalore, India to study food and context for two weeks. With fourteen other hospitality faculty grantees, she cooked in the studio of Chef Shazia Khan, winner of Master Chef India Season 2, for two days. Khan also led the group on a food shopping trip through the historic Russell Market.
 
Janet Yu was featured in Alexandra Greeley's Local Cooks column in the final issue of Food Service  Monthly. Click here for the article. 

​In Washington D.C., where the nation’s business is often conducted at restaurant tables, politics have always been on the plate. This town’s restaurants are run by specialists who know how to handle the elected officials, Cabinet secretaries, White House staff, lobbyists and TV pundits who are regular clientele. But lately, spurred by social media, the country’s politics have entered their dining rooms. And, even the most experienced have had publicized politically-charged incidents.
 
This forum will explore this distinctive element of DC dining.  Longtime area restaurateurs will share their experiences and give insight into how they handle the heightened political mood in DC’s dining rooms. 
 
Hosted by the DC chapter of Les Dames d’ Escoffier www.LesDamesDC.org, an international organization of women in food, beverage and hospitality industries, and moderated by veteran journalist Carol Joynt, herself a former restaurant owner, the event promises to pull back the curtain on serving DC’s who’s who.
 
Moderated by: Carol Joynt, award-winning author, journalist, former restaurant owner and host of The Q&A Cafe
Panelists:
Ashok Bajaj, CEO, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group which includes Bombay Club, Rasika, Oval Room
Amy Brandwein – owner, Centrolina & 3-time James Beard Foundation nominee
Ruth Gresser – founder & owner, Pizzeria Paradiso restaurants
Laurent Menoud - general manager, Café Milano
Maria Trabocchi – co-owner, Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, which include Fiola, Fiola Mare, Del Mar, three locations of  Sfoglina, Fiola Miami, and Fiola at Dopolavoro Venezia
William Washington - director of operations, Schlow Restaurant Group and former general manager BLT Prime in the Trump Hotel
Stephanie Wilkinson - owner, The Red Hen, Lexington, VA
 
Monday October 14, 2019
3-5 pm
National Press Club – 529 14th Street NW, Washington DC
Tickets: $35 (includes light desserts + cash bar)
 Click here to purchase your tickets. 
TICKET INFO: www.LesDamesDC.org
MEDIA:  Media may request credentials by emailing name, media affiliation, phone number to jill@JillCollinsPR.com

Nashville, here we come! Registration for our 2019 LDEI Conference Nashville: Rhythm and Roots, October 24-27 is now available for registration online and a printed brochure will be coming to your mailbox soon.  Click here to register.

Book soon to receive the discounted hotel rate at the fantastic Loews Nashville. This vibrant metropolis, known as Music City - and capital of the state that tipped the scales and gave women the right to vote - is now a national culinary destination with so much to share. It's filled with history, beauty, and an amazing chapter of LDEI that is ready to roll out the "BLUE" carpet for all of us in October. 

Plan to arrive on Wednesday, October 23 to take advantage of a special program brought to you by a generous donation from the Brock Circle featuring Carla Hall. She will discuss her personal journey, "Being Authentic While Facing Adversity."  Arriving early for this Wednesday afternoon event will give you the opportunity to take advantage of the locally curated tours that begin bright and early Thursday morning, showing you Nashville from a unique perspective. Don't miss the chance to enjoy authentic Tennessee BBQ and listen to songwriters collaboratively create music at an optional event on Thursday night at the Green Door Gourmet.

The Nashville chapter has worked diligently to make your LDEI conference experience one you will not forget. I am very grateful to them and look forward keynote speaker Maneet Chauhan sharing her message with us.

You will find all relevant details of the tours, speakers and sessions outlined in the brochure. An after-conference Kentucky Bourbon and Culinary Tour, hosted, of course, by our Kentucky Dames, will end your LDEI Conference experience on a high note.

See you there!
-Ann Stratte, LDEI President

Gail Forman fell and broke two bones in her wrist during a visit with her son in London last week. She had surgery last Friday. We await more news.
 
Sheilah Kaufman fell July 4 on wet pavement, broke her elbow and the bone punctured the skin. She had surgery on the July 5, because there was a chance of infection. She cannot drive (or do a lot of other things) for at least two weeks.

EDITORS NOTE: If you can provide a meal, it would be much appreciated. Call Sheilah 301-299-5282 to let her know if you plan to drop off something.  10508 Tyler Terrace, Potomac, MD.

Ellen Kassoff Gray appeared on WAMU's The Kojo Nnamdi Show July 11 as part of a panel discussion about handling trash in DC and, specifically, to talk about how Equinox manages to compost its waste. Click here for more details.
 ​

Gladys Abi-Najm and her family's Lebanese Taverna were presented with a 2019 Honorary Milestone Award for their 40 years of service in the community at the 37th annual RAMMY awards ceremony held on Sunday, June 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Amy Brandwein was featured in the July issue of Food & Wine magazine about her work with DC Urban Greens.
https://amp.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/amy-brandwein-centrolina-urban-farming?source=dam
 
Ellen Gray and her husband, Chef Todd Gray were featured in the cover story for the June/July edition of Food Service Monthly focusing on their efforts to recycle and move toward zero waste in their kitchens.
http://foodservicemonthly.com/view-magazine/
 
Susan James' and husband Alan James' Stonyman Gourmet Farmers' regional farmstead artisanal cheeses were praised as "world class"  by Jose Andres in his new cookbook,   Vegetables Unleashed, A Cookbook (Ecco 2019).

Pati Jinich is part of a feature story, Starpower, about a behind-the-scenes look at local celebrities hide-aways in the July/August issue of Home and Design magazine.
https://www.homeanddesign.com/

Rachel Martin's 2017 Oceano Chardonnay, from her Spanish Springs Vineyard of Oceano Wines, won "Wine of the Year, Domestic", "Best of Show", "Best of Class", the Platinum Award and 95 points at the 2019 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge in January; "Best of Show", "Best of Class" and the Platinum Award at the 2019 Critics Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition on June 8 and 9 in San Diego and "Best of Class" and the Gold Medal at the 2019 International Women's Wine Competition held June 11 and 12 in Santa Rosa, CA.
 
Nancy Piho will host her 9th annual Shopping for Health conference in St. Louis in July. SFH brings together 25 supermarket dietitians from national chains and food and beverage industry leaders to discuss how both can offer healthier options to meet supermarket shoppers' needs.
 
Christianne Ricchi and Ristorante i Ricchi was presented with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington's Honorary Milestone Award for her contributions over the past 30 years to the community at the 2019 RAMMYs Awards on June 30.  ​
 

MOORENKO'S ICE CREAM FACTORY TOUR AND TASTING
We hope you can join us!  Please note that tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.  Tour Moorenko's ice cream factory, help make ice cream, learn about the process and the industry and take home a pint! If you haven't yet tried Susan Soorenko's ice cream, you need to join her and learn how she got started in this industry.
DATE:  Saturday, July 20
TIME:  2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PLACE:  8810 Brookville Road, Silver Spring, MD  20910.  This is at the factory, not at the store
PRICE:  $25 Dames, $30 non-members (includes a $5 tax-exempt donation to LDEI Scholarships)
RSVP:  Click here to purchase your tickets on Eventbrite!

Chef/Owners Amy Brandwein, Centrolina, Ruth Gresser, Pizza Paradiso, and Danielle Harris were guests on WAMU's The Kojo Nnamdi Show June 6, for his program "Three Local Chefs On Owning Food Companies, Mentorship And Engaging With D.C." and Bettina Stern was a call in questioner.   https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2019-06-06/three-local-chefs-on-owning-food-companies-mentorship-and-engaging-with-d-c 
 
Kristen Hartke's lovely story "To Commemorate a Loved One's Death, Some Turn to the Comfort and Memories of Food" appeared in the June 3 edition of The Washington Post 's Food section.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/to-commemorate-a-loved-ones-death-some-turn-to-the-comfort-and-memories-of-food/2019/05/31/c92989ec-7b2b-11e9-a5b3-34f3edf1351e_story.html?utm_term=.89f835226201
 

​CiCi Williamson did such an excellent job managing the Association of Food Journalists 2019 Awards Competition, she has been hired to manage the 2020 contest. This spring, CiCi handled a record 373 entries in 15 categories of food writing, videos, audios, and photos. Launched in 1986, AFJ's awards competition is the nation's longest-running contest for food journalists.