Najmieh Batmanglij is one of the women profiled in what looks like an interesting new book, “Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America,” by Mayukh Sen. Read more about the book in this Civil Eats article. 

The Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 list of local leaders is out, and Mary Blackford and Kathy Hollinger are on it! Mary is cited for her plans to open Market 7, a food hall in Ward 7 that promises to be the premier marketplace for Black-owned food and health businesses. Kathy, along with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington--where she’s the President and CEO--is recognized for being a vocal advocate for the survival and success of restaurants as they have struggled through the pandemic. View the slide show listing here.  
Mary Blackford (left) and Kathy Hollinger (right) 
      
Late breaking kudos to Sheila Crye and Jessica van Dop DeJesus, who were among the five winners of International Association of Culinary Professionals’ (IACP) Members of the Year Award. The announcement was made on October 23 at the association’s conference and awards ceremony in Birmingham, Alabama.

Learn about the artichoke’s intersection in Jewish and Italian cuisine in Marcia Friedman’s October 20 article in Tablet magazine entitled “Peeling Back the Layers of Italian Jewish Cuisine: Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the artichoke.” The piece, which includes a recipe for spicy stuffed artichokes, can be found here. 

Congrats to the indefatigable Pati Jinich, who won third prize and $1000 in the 2021 LDEI M.F.K. Fisher awards for her August 11, 2020 article in the New York Times entitled “Finding the Soul of Sonora in Carne Asada.” Read it here. 

Fashionably gracing the cover of the October issue of Middleburg Life & Hunt Country magazine is Rachel Martin, owner and vintner of Oceano Wines. Inside, a four-page spread details her wine career, starting at her family’s winery and vineyard, Boxwood Estate Winery in Middleburg. Rachel then went on to open her own vineyard and winery on the coast of San Luis Obispo with her husband Kurt Deutsch. Here’s the article. 

An upside to down times: When the pandemic first hit in 2020, Debbie Moser became president of MeatCrafters, the Landover, Md. charcuterie company where she had been a partner and handled marketing. Since then, the company has grown its online business, expanded its staff, acquired a gourmet bacon firm called Epic Curing, and partnered with Chapel Hill Farms in Berryville, Va. to sell their Randall Lineback breed beef as well as make pate with it. MeatCrafters is in the process of building a new curing room that will triple capacity to accommodate the increased sales of its products, which are now distributed in 14 states. Debbie says the growth of online food orders during the pandemic both propelled and saved the business, and that current supply chain shortages have created more demand among restaurants and distributors for locally made products. 

In October, Tambra Raye Stevenson kicked off the Tufts Innovation Summit at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, sharing her take on nutrition security with faculty, students and guests.
​

In the September 2021 Entre News, we told you how Gladys Abi-Najm and her family’s restaurant, Lebanese Taverna, were working with World Central Kitchen to provide meals for Afghan refugees arriving at Dulles Airport. For more details, check out this article in the City Paper. 

In a segment on WUSA9, Cheryl Bell was interviewed in a story about a group of George Washington University students who are growing produce in Foggy Bottom for Miriam’s Kitchen. Cheryl is executive chef of the nonprofit organization, which provides healthy meals to the homeless population in Washington D.C. Watch the clip here. 

New member Mary Blackford was featured in the September 24 Washington Business Journal cover story, “The DMV Divide: Unhealthy Imbalance.” The article details how access to food, nutrition and health care remains as divided as ever in the region. Mary has been a leading force in bringing healthy food options and retail east of the Anacostia River. She organized, with nearly 60 Black-owned food and wellness businesses, the launch of pop-up markets in that part of the District. In addition, Mary’s plans to open a 7,000-square-foot food hall in Northeast Washington were featured in the September 29 DC Eater. The project, called Market 7, will focus on food stalls offering cuisines from the African diaspora. Read about it here.

Sheila Crye is sponsoring a program for the Culinary Historians of Washington (CHoW): A Taste of Maryland, by culinary historian Joyce M. White on Sunday, November 14 at 2 pm. Learn about the history of Maryland’s most iconic food traditions and food businesses, such as Maryland beaten biscuits, hominy, crab cakes, terrapin, muskrat, stuffed ham, coddies, the Baltimore fish pepper, McCormick Spices and Old Bay, as well as some lesser-known fare such as white potato pie and Jewish Apple Cake. Other notable facts will be explored, including Maryland’s history as the leading producer in the U.S. of both peaches and strawberries. Join the free Zoom presentation here, or join CHoW for $35 per year, and receive in the mail a box of sweet and savory Maryland treats to accompany the talk. 

At the Food & Beverage Litigation Conference in Chicago on October 14, Michelle Douglas will be speaking about recent legal trends affecting restaurants and the hospitality industry. Her talk will cover the rise in Americans With Disabilities Act claims against restaurants by mass filers, the latest in eviction trends, and how COVID-19 has impacted the application of force majeure (act of God) clauses in contracts.

Johanna Mendelson Forman will be traveling to Ukraine for the State Department Arts Envoy program in October.  She will be lecturing about Culinary Diplomacy, Gastrodiplomacy and Nation-branding to their Diplomatic Academy.  Johanna will share her experiences of working with refugee chefs in Turkey, and also learning how Ukraine is starting its goal of creating borscht as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
​
Aviva Goldfarb and Carole Sugarman are working together as event consultants for “No Waste, Big Taste” a cooking competition sponsored by Montgomery County’s Manna Food Center and its program, Community Food Rescue. The contest, which takes place Saturday, October 9, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Ellsworth Drive pedestrian walkway between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, highlights the issue of food waste and the efforts of the two anti-hunger  organizations to recover perfectly good food from local businesses that would have been thrown away—and deliver it to groups helping people who are experiencing food insecurity. Two chefs and two sous chefs will be challenged to create a two-course meal using ‘ugly’ produce and other rescued foods. Sophia Maroon will be one of the sous chefs. Prizes will be awarded to audience members who correctly answer trivia questions about food wastage. Among the prizes are gift certificates to Lebanese Taverna, donated by Gladys Abi-Najm, and packages of cookies, donated by Nona Nielsen-Parker of Atwater’s. Everyone is welcome to attend and to help support this important cause.
 
Leni Sorensen has been awarded a grant by the Culinary Historians of New York to continue her research on the life of Henry Orr, the freedman waiter/caterer in Washington DC in the 1830s. In the meantime, read about Leni’s fascinating life in the September 21 New York Times profile. 

Pati Jinich is one of four Dames gracing the cover of the LDEI Quarterly for a feature Camera! Action! Cook! Dames with TV Cooking Shows.

Johanna Mendelson Forman and Evan Kaplan have launched a curated blog  on the Social Gastronomy Movement  website to  share stories about how food is being used for social impact during these times of crisis. Johanna and Evan will conduct interviews and curate articles that are of interest to the Social Gastronomy Movement network. If you have a story to share, please contact Johanna at johanna@jmendelsonforman.com and sign up for the newsletter.

Paula Shoyer prepared Passover matzo balls April 9 on WJLA's Good Morning Washington and Ratatouille Brisket for Passover on WUSA9's Great Day Washington on April 6.  ​

Johanna Mendelson Forman will lecture at Tshingua University in Beijing to the Schwarzman Fellows in February on Culinary Diplomacy and Social Gastronomy.   Then she will join Venezuelan chef and Chopped  winner Adriana Urbina who is now based in New York on a State Department visit to Peru to promote women entrepreneurs in the food space in Peru. 

Amy Riolo just released her first, private label EVOO- a blend from the Abruzzo region of Italy.  Trappeto di Caprafico, the award-winning estate where the oil is made, is one of the most popular stops on her Heart of Italy and Grape and Truffle Cuisine and Culture tours.

Toni Tipton-Martin's  article "The Legacy of Pralines," with recipes from her new book,  Jubilee: Two Centuries of African American Cooking, appeared in the December issue of Southern Living Magazine.  ​

Johanna Mendelson-Forman will be a speaker on Culinary and Gastrodiplomacy for the "Cooking the Nation" event hosted by New York University in Abu Dhabi.  The event will celebrate the decision by Abu Dhabi to brand the country's cuisine as "Nomadic" and feature the work of Hanan Sayed Worrell who wrote Table Tales: The Global Nomad Cuisine of Abu Dhabi. Johanna also moderated a panel discussion on November 5 for the School of International Service Global to Local: Food Insecurity program that included Ellen Kassoff-Gray as a speaker.
 

Tambra Raye Stevenson will be a panelist with Dr. Jessica Harris and Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson at the 5th Annual Smithsonian Food History Weekend on Saturday, November 9 at 10:30 am at the American History Museum. The moderated panel, "Women Saving Communities Through Food," will focus on women and food activism in American history. Tambra's children's book, Little WANDA Finds a Cure For Nana will be available for purchase at the museum store.  Click here for more information.  ​

Amy Brandwein's Amy Palmer drink, a riff on the Arnold drink that subs the lemonade with lemon granita at her new Piccolina restaurant in CityCenterDC, was featured in Florence Fabricant's "Front Burner" column in the New York Times' Dining section.
 
Johanna Mendelson Forman will present at the YEDI Istanbul Food Conference, one of the largest food conferences in the region, on September 23 about War and Peace Around the Dinner Table. The group will then host refugee women for a luncheon prepared by the women from their recipes with the help of well-known Turkish chefs. Many international food stars will be in attendance. 
 
Deb Moser's and husband Mitch Berliner's Central Farm Market was featured in the Bethesda Magazine, (September/October  2019), article by Carole Sugarman with photographs by Deb Lindsey, Susan James, Sophia Maroon and Sandra Miller are all vendors at the market.
 
Tambra Raye Stevenson was invited to pitch some new ed technology and toys she developed to improve health and gender equality at "Her Impact Summer Pitch Competition powered by the Ford Motor Company Fund" on Wed, Sept 10. Tambra is the founder of WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture, an organization inspiring women and girls to become 'food sheroes' in Africa and Diaspora. 
 
Taueret Khepera Thomas participated as a panelist during the Congressional Black Caucus session, Building Economic Power in Black Communities through Business and Entrepreneurship, at The Association of Black Foundation Executives symposium on September 14 in Washington, DC. The symposium program focused on successful methods Black-owned business owners can generate capital, create infrastructure and identify support to grow and thrive.  
 
Toni Tipton-Martin's newest book, Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking, will be published Nov. 4 by Penguin Random House. ​

​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

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!

We hope you can join us for this delicious and informative session on March 24th. Tickets must be purchased in advance.  Details below. 
Join  Laurie Bell, owner, Great Falls Tea Garden,  Jodi Lehr, co-owner, Santa Lucia Coffee and  Nancy Baggett award-winning cookbook author, as they share the histories of our favorite caffeinated beverages and how these commodities' trade and consumption changed our societies and cultures.
With origins from around the globe, coffee, tea, and chocolate had colorful histories centuries before they were introduced to the European continent. Taste and enjoy examples of these luxury beverages, paired with creative confections and a variety of taste treats from  Ris Lacoste and her staff, as you learn about their fascinating evolutions.
DATE: Sunday, March 24
TIME: 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: Ris Restaurant, 2575 L street NW, Washington DC 20037
PRICE: Dames $40; non-Dames $50
RSVP: Click here to buy your tickets on Eventbrite