​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. 

Gladys Abi-Najm's family's restaurant, Lebanese Taverna, and Christina Ricchi's i Ricchi will receive the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington's 2019 Honorary Milestone RAMMY Awards at the organization's annual gala Sunday, June 30, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. This award commemorates local restaurants and RAMW members who have been in business for more than 25 years and is bestowed upon the Washington region's most celebrated dining institutions. 

Cecilia Glembocki created and presented the American Egg Board's commemorative egg to First Lady Melania Trump on April 22. Cecilia used quilling, a centuries-old art form whereby small, rolled strips of paper are shaped and glued together to make designs, to decorate the egg.  
 
Pati Jinich has won her second James Beard Foundation Award. "Pati's Mexican Table - Tijuana: Stories from the Border" received the top prize in the  Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location category.  The program airs locally on WETA-TV and is distributed nationally by American Public Television.

Amy Riolo received a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Baltimore for serving as chair of the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee.  Amy also was named the first honorary member of Baltimore Sisters Cities, Inc. for securing a $112,000 grant through the African Urban Poverty Alleviation Program to provide drinking water for a remote rural village in Egypt.

Linda Roth has assumed the role of CEO of LRA Associates where she will continue to supervise business and financial operations for her 37 year-old company that provides media relations, integrated marketing, digital content and special events. Long-time LRA vice president, Anthony Hesselius, has been named president. LRA is located in the burgeoning Adams Morgan neighborhood.

​Cathy Barrow's new book, Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies (Grand Central Publishing), is a finalist for the Baking and Desserts category of the James Beard Foundations Book Awards. Cathy is clearly on a roll! Her first book, Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen was the IACP Award Winner for Best Single Subject Cookbook in 2015!
 
Najmieh Batmanglij was featured on PBS News Hour with Jeffrey Brown as she prepared her feast for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year holiday, and reminisced about her life in Iran, France and the U.S. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-culinary-tradition-for-the-persian-new-year
 
Amy Brandwein,  chef of Centrolina, her restaurant in DC's City Center, is a finalist for the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic from the James Beard Foundation. The JBF Gala awards ceremony will be held  Monday, May 6, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
 
Pati Jinich has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Host. https://emmyonline.tv/2019-daytime-emmy-awards/nominees-performer-non-drama-2019-daytime-emmy-awards/. Also, " Pati's Mexican Table" is a James Beard Foundation finalist for its Broadcast Media Award of best Television Program, in Studio or Fixed Location. 2019 JBF Media Awards will take place on Friday, April 26, at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City. 
 
Susan Soorenko is finally opening her Ellicott City Moorenko's Ice Cream at 8054 Main Street in April. The opening was delayed because of the flooding in Ellicott City last year. Susan will also have a shop within a shop (Serendipity and More on Prince Street) in Frederick later this Spring.      

Susan Barocas wrote an article, "Walking Distance to Everything,"  for the Washington Post Travel Section's March 17 edition.  The story described the walking accessibility of New Haven, Connecticut's rich food, culture and history scenes.  
 
Domenica Marchetti's story in the Washington Post Food Section on March 13, "It Takes Some Time but you too can Ragu," describes how to achieve the delicious complexity of the long-simmered Italian sauce.  
 
Tambra Raye Stevenson was accepted into American University's School of Communications PhD program in Fall 2019 with a merit award working with the AU Game Lab. Also Tambra's WANDA session proposal, "Gaming for Development: Using the Power of Games to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals" was accepted for the 2019 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in April.

Amy Brandwein  is a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.  Nominees have been chefs for at least five years, worked in their respective regions for at least the past three years and set new or consistently excellent standards.  The finalists will be announced on  March 27  by the 2018 JBF Best Chef Hugo Ortega at his eponymous Houston restaurant, Hugo's.  

Ruth Gresser  has been nominated as Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation. Candidates have demonstrated high national standards in restaurant operations and entrepreneurship; they  must be working restaurateurs who have been in the business for at least 10 years and cannot have been nominated for the award in the past five years. Ruth also was featured in the March issue of Bethesda Magazine for the opening of her newest Pizzeria Paradiso location in DC's Spring Valley neighborhood.

Marcel's, a restaurant owned and operated by Polly Wiedmaier and husband, Chef Robert Wiedmaier, is a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Service Award.  Nominated restaurants have been in operation for five or more years and excelled in hospitality and service.     ​

​Ruth Gresser  opened a new Pizzeria Paradiso last November at 4850 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. near American University in Spring Valley. Ruth's first Pizza Paradiso debuted 27 years ago in DuPont Circle. Since then her chain-lette has grown to include branches in Georgetown, Alexandria, Hyattsville plus her newest Spring Valley addition.  The space, including the patio, seats 165; so it is much larger than her other sites. The pies are baked in wood (mostly oak) ovens that reach 650 degrees and diners have more than 13 toppings to consider including seasonal and weekly specials. At all her restaurants, Ruth has a robust beer program to complement the pies. "Yeast goes well with yeast," she says. 

Christianne Ricchi  celebrated the 30th anniversary of Ristorante i Ricchi on January 11. D.C. Council will also honor the restaurant with a special proclamation for its longevity as a bright light in  DC's culinary scene. 
 
Suzanne Simon  and Bettina Stern opened their second Chaia taco restaurant at 615 Eye Street NW, in DC's  Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood on January 8.  Open from   11 a.m. to 10 p.m.,  the new 2,000 square foot space is double the size of their  Georgetown location and will offer  craft beer, wine, and cocktails on tap.
 
Tambra Raye Stevenson , will co-lead a workshop, "Tone Deaf as F$%K: Incorporating Black History into Food Education" and exhibit at Rooting DC 2019, a day-long urban gardening forum, on February 23 at the Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in DC. See Of Interest for event details and tickets.