Members Only Events

Upcoming Events:

Hands-On Dumpling Session & Dinner - Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 5 pm to 9:30 pm

Our chapter’s Global Culinary Initiative Committee invites you to a hands-on dumpling session, dinner, and optional mahjong lesson. Chef-restaurateur Tim Ma of Lucky Danger and his General Manager, Alyssa Hackbarth, will host 26 lucky Dames for this special evening. Note that the first 15 Dames who sign up are eligible for a free 1½ -hour lesson on Hong Kong mahjong in the restaurant’s whiskey/mahjong bar after dinner. (Even if the hands-on mahjong lesson is filled by the time you sign up for the evening, you are welcome to watch during the 8 to 9:30 p.m. session.)

Price of $97.50 includes a welcome cocktail/mocktail, the cooking session, a three-course dinner with N/A beverages, and gratuities, $20 of which will go toward our chapter’s grants, scholarships, and operations. Spirited beverages extra.

Welcome, dumpling session, and dinner 5 to 8 p.m.; mahjong 8 to 9:30 p.m. Lucky Danger is located at 709 D Street NW (Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro Station, 1 block away). More information and registration here.

Dames Who Read and Reel Tasty 2026 Schedule: Please consider hosting either a book or movie discussion or plan on joining us at these lively small group gatherings. We have lists of suitable books and movies to aid with your selection.

If you have questions about Reel Tasty, contact Gail Forman at gailforman@comcast.net. Questions about Dames Who Read, contact Eileen Dykes at eileendykes@gmail.com.

Discussions are on Zoom, on Monday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. 

  • January 19- Reel Tasty

  • February 16- Dames Who Read 

  • March 16- Reel Tasty

  • April 20- Dames Who Read 

  • May 18- Reel Tasty

  • June 15- Dames Who Read

  • September 28 - Reel Tasty

  • October 19- Dames Who Read

Past Events:

Philly X DC Dames’ Tour de Fork: The kudos and thanks poured in via email after the October 22 joint gathering between our chapter and members of the Philadelphia chapter (see details in Lori Gardner’s President’s Letter, above). Aside from the camaraderie, the food at Ama was fabulous. An abbreviated description of the menu: focaccia di formaggio, polpette Mondeghili, insalata verde, spaghetti pomodoro, lasagnetta, branzino, rabbit stew, eggplant parmigiana, gelato, and tiramisu.

Chefs For Equality

Dames showed up in full force–cooking, baking, pouring, serving, and dining–at this year's Chefs for Equality events, held at five Washington restaurants on Monday, October 27. Chefs for Equality is a D.C.-born fundraiser to advance the fight for LGBTQ+ equality through the work of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. Aside from heading up the chef team at Perry’s “drag brunch for dinner,”

Executive Chef Masako Morishita also hosted the afterparty for the CFE committee and crew.

Dames Volunteer Day at Lederer Gardens, Washington, DC

The Green Tables Committee organized a successful outing on Wednesday, June 11, when seven Dames joined community members at Lederer Gardens. Under the skillful direction of Josh Singer, Community Gardens Specialist for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, they helped harvest kale, Swiss chard, herbs and flowers; weed, tie up squash and cucumber vines; prepare the garden beds, and repot plants for an upcoming plant giveaway. The festive atmosphere was marked by a cooking demonstration, a bite of lunch, and a tour. Located at 4801 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE, Lederer Gardens welcomes volunteers on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

Dames Who Dine, Wednesday

We were thrilled to attend a Dames-only dinner at one of Baltimore's most coveted eateries Alma Cocina Latina. Alma Cocina Latina is not just a restaurant with deeply imaginative, exquisitely crafted food, it is a space that transports you into Venezuelan culture.

Dame Irena Stein, Alma's founder, has created a beautiful space that envelopes you in an oasis of green and wafts of tempting aroma. She and Chef Hector Romero have thoughtfully and generously curated a very special menu served in a private setting with dedicated servers...just for us.

Sip, Savor & Socialize

Guests enjoyed a fun and delicious evening on May 20 at the National Press Club with prosecco, light bites, passed canapes and a brief discussion and sampling of cachaca, a Brazilian distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Peter Banks, founder and CEO of Cachacier, spoke about the spirit while attendees sipped two drinks made with it–Rabo de Galo (aged cachaca, sweet vermouth and bitters) and a Caipirinha Fizz (cachaca, lime juice, simple syrup and club soda). Thanks to Michelle Licht, Director of Events at The National Press Club, for hosting the event.

Volunteer Day at DC Central Kitchen

On April 10, about a dozen Dames swelled the ranks of daily volunteers at DC Central Kitchen’s busy Klein Center for Jobs and Justice at Buzzard Point. Mel Gold, who has served as DCCK’s director of marketing and communications for the past four years, co-directed the Dame volunteers on a pre-shift tour of the kitchens, training spaces, and resource center.

Tasks given to Dames, which were focused on creating meals for DC schools, included chopping a mountain of onions, scrambling huge trays of just-steamed eggs; prepping trays of croissants; mixing mega bowls of sweet potato hash; filling containers of salads and dressings, and more.

Bringing It to the Table 2025: A Day of Connection, Conversation, and Culinary Inspiration

On March 8, 2025, Les Dames d’Escoffier Washington, D.C. Regional Chapter proudly hosted its biennial symposium, Bringing It to the Table. The event brought together a vibrant community of food, beverage, and hospitality professionals for a day of learning, networking, and celebrating the impact women have had on the industry. Held at the Kellogg Conference Hotel at Gallaudet University, the symposium drew an engaged crowd of chefs, restaurateurs, writers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and food lovers from across the region.

The day featured thought-provoking panel discussions and interactive workshops—all led by the DMV’s most dynamic women in the industry. Topics ranged from the future of low- and no-alcohol beverages and bread making at home to navigating workforce challenges and advancing gut health. For the first time, the symposium included Table Talks over lunch—intimate, engaging conversations between attendees and speakers, paired with a menu crafted from original recipes by members of our chapter.