Dear Sister Dames,
Thank you for electing me to serve as our chapter's President for the 2019-2020 year. I am honored by your confidence in me and so excited to work with the Dames that you have chosen as board members this year. Each one brings unique skills and a drive to match and will to help us advance our mission of education and philanthropy in food, fine beverage, and hospitality in our communities.
As a member since 2012, I have worked with many of our Dames and have seen how their dedication, hard work, leadership and mentorship has strengthened and enriched our chapter.
I hope you also will lend your real-world experience, expertise, and talent to help further our grants, scholarships, programs and other community outreach initiatives. You each have special gifts that can make a difference. Your engagement is key to making our chapter's goals a reality. As important, it will give you an opportunity to get to know your sister Dames better and create new, lasting and mutually supportive friendships.
This year, my primary goal is to organize a variety of educational programs and philanthropic fundraising events so we can boost our coffers and continue to offer scholarships and grants within our communities. And while many of our members formally and informally mentor women in our industries, I would like to reconfigure and reestablish our chapter's mentoring program and welcome your input and participation.
Looking forward, please mark your calendars for our summer potluck on July 21, where we will have great food and lively conversations and the LDEI annual conference in Nashville, TN during which our own Nora Pouillon will receive the Grand Dame award.
While I know reaching our goals will take a lot of effort, we have an incredible group of women who can make this happen. It will be fun!
Should you have a chapter question, concern or idea, please shoot me an email president@lesdamesdc.org or give me a call 410-212-2224.
My best,
Stacey Adams
President Les Dames d'Escoffier International, Washington, D.C. Chapter |
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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There is a new way to submit your Member Milestones to the LDEI Quarterly and the bimonthly email newsletter, E-News. LDEI has created easy-to-follow interactive online forms:
Fill out the form with your information. Any field marked with an asterisk (*) is required. Note that some forms have character limits due to space constraints.
To submit a photo, reply "Yes" to "Would you like to submit a high resolution quality image?" Then click "Next". You will be taken to a second page where you can upload your images. Be sure to click the SUBMIT button to upload your responses. You will receive an email confirmation that your submission was received.
Please know that you can also email your information, if you prefer. The email addresses listed under the Submission Guidelines will always be active and will forward to the correct person.
If you have any questions, please reach out to LDEI 2nd VP Danielle Wecksler at danielle@platefulsolutions.com. We look forward to reading about all of your achievements.
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Please join us for an evening of good food, fun and camaraderie! Please bring your favorite ready-to- serve al fresco appetizer, main entree, salad, dessert, wine or non-alcoholic beverage.
DATE: Sunday, July 21
TIME: 5:00 p.m. (3:00-4:45p.m. joint board meeting with incoming and outgoing board members)
PLACE: At the home of Katherine Newell Smith, 5525 Devon Road, Bethesda, MD 20817. Tel. (301) 907-7590 Ample street parking.
METRO DIRECTIONS: Bethesda metro station, take bus #36 towards Bradley Boulevard/Connelly School and get off at the Bradley Boulevard and Cornish Road stop (5 minute ride). Walk one block along Bradley towards Devon Road, turn right, house is 5th on left with periwinkle blue door.
RSVP: Click here to let us know that you can come and what you plan to bring.
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DAMES ONLY SUMMER HAPPY HOUR
We will meet at The Alex Craft Cocktail Cellar & Speakeasy whose name is drawn from Alexander Graham Bell and pays homage to the life and times of the scientist, inventor and innovator. (ed. note: Interestingly, the Dames Who Read book club just finished The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone about botanist David Fairchild who married Bell's youngest daughter, Marian)
DATE: Monday, July 15
TIME: 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
PLACE: The Alex Craft Cocktail Cellar & Speakeasy at The Graham Hotel, 1075 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
Co-hosted by Linda Roth
Happy hour specials include $5 beer; $3 off wine; and $7 appetizers. (This event is Dutch treat.)
RSVP: Lori Gardner,
lorigardner6@verizon.net
MOORENKO'S ICE CREAM FACTORY TOUR AND TASTING
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!
GLENSTONE MUSEUM - DAMES ONLY
Gail Forman has nabbed hard-to-get tickets to visit the new Glenstone Museum in Potomac, MD. Limited to 15. Once you reserve your place, Gail will get back to you with ticket and entry information. The group will begin with a Dutch-treat lunch at Glenstone's informal café-- soup, salads, sandwiches -- where Brian Patterson, formerly of L'Academie de Cuisine, is the chef. Afterwards, you can visit all areas of the private museum, which encompasses two buildings, several outdoor sculptures and more than 230 acres of landscape. It is an amazing place.
DATE: Saturday, September 7
TIME: 12:00 p.m.
PRICE: $5 to cover reservations and LDE-DC administration fee. Spaces are limited to 15 people. If all spots are full, you can put your name on the waitlist. No refunds so please make sure you can attend before registering.
RSVP: Click here to register or put your name on the waitlist. The password is dames4ever all lower case.
DAMES WHO READ - DAMES ONLY BOOK CLUB
Our Dames-only book club is open to all members. We meet every six weeks on a Monday evening. The host chooses the book, usually available in the library and in paperback, and provides refreshments. It is a convivial group. If you wish to join, contact Eileen Dykes at eileendykes@gmail.com or any of the upcoming hosts (see below). If you are interested in hosting, please let Eileen know. If you have a book you would like to read and discuss, also let Eileen know. Otherwise, we are sure other members can offer some ideas! DATE: Monday, September 23
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
PLACE: The home of Kari Barrett, 5508 Waterway Terrace, Rockville, MD 20853
BOOK SELECTION: TBA
PRICE: Free. The host provides refreshments.
Upcoming Meetings:
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DAMES NEWS
The Dames Who Read book club gathered at Drew Faulkner's home to discuss The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats by Daniel Stone. It tells how David Fairchild, and later a number of intrepid associates, circled the globe to gather plants and seeds for potential food crops to send back to the U.S. We owe our avocado, soy bean, grapefruit, mango, pistachio, date and myriad other food crops as well as DC's precious flowering cherry trees to their steadfast efforts. One of Fairchild's brave and tireless collectors was Frank Meyer for whom the Meyer lemon is named. Host Drew Faulkner and Sheila Crye prepared a feast representing the bounty afforded by Fairchild, Meyer and others.
Sheila Crye presenting an avocado, saffron and lime mousse to the book club gathering. 
Drew Faulkner prepared snapper with a peanut sauce. 
Sheila Crye made pistachio and bulgar meatballs from
from Najmieh Batmanglij's recipe in her first cookbook Food of Life.
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Friday, June 28, 1:00 p.m. The Harvey Girls and Meals for Rail Passengers. Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 West at The National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Ave N.W., Washington, D.C. Taking another look at how railroads transformed travel and food production in the American West, guest chef Sarah Lohman will explore the history of the Harvey Girls Working as hostesses at restaurants along the rail lines in the Southwest. Chef Lohman will discuss how they represented and contributed to important shifts in the region's economic and cultural landscape. Their complex story was emblazoned in the American imagination when Judy Garland starred in The Harvey Girls (1946), bringing to life the bustling tourism industry in New Mexico. Join us as we dig into the food history behind this film, while also discussing broader changes in American transportation and tourism history. After the demonstration, Lohman will sign copies of her book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine. This program is in collaboration with the museum's American Enterprise exhibition.
Saturday, July 27, Story District's BREAKING BREAD : Stories by Celebrity Chefs and Industry Insiders at Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Participating chefs include:
Ashish Alfred - Chef and Owner of Duck Duck Goose
Cathy Barrow - Author (Pie Squared and Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry)
Carla Hall - The Chew, Top Chef, Good Morning America, Author (Soul Food: Everyday & Celebration)
Kwame Onwauchi - Top Chef, Author (Notes from a Young Black Chef), Exec Chef at Kith and Kin, and (just announced) winner of James Beard Award Rising Star Chef
Jermaine Stone - Founder and CEO of Cru Luv Selections and Host of Wine and Hip Hop podcast
Joe Yonan - The Washington Post Food Editor
November 7. SAVE THE DATE. SMITHSONIAN FOOD HISTORY GALA. The National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Ave N.W., Washington, D.C.
Join us for a black-tie celebration in support of the programs, exhibitions, and research of the Smithsonian Food History Project
at the National Museum of American History featuring the fifth annual presentation of the Julia Child Award to José Andrés by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy andthe Culinary Arts. Tickets on sale now: s.si.edu/FoodGala
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ENTRE NEWS is published on the first and third Wednesday of each month. It is on hiatus during the month of August. Deadline for HURRAH! and other news is the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Please send a BRIEF paragraph with your professional and personal news that you would like your sister Dames to know about in HURRAH!
HURRAH! is not meant as an advertising opportunity for a cooking class or event, rather it offers a shout out to members for recent accomplishments and honors. Please submit your HURRAH to kns4pr@erols.com in a succinct 75 words of less.
OF INTEREST offers Dames a chance to let their sister chapter members know about events they are involved in that might be of interest to a majority of the membership. Its function is not to promote products, cooking classes, culinary trips, etc., rather to alert members to public programs that might be of professional interest, especially if Dames are featured. We request OF INTEREST entries to be no longer than 150 words. Less is always better.
JOB OPPS can open Dames networks to employment opportunities.
Thank you for you continued interest and participation.
Katherine Newell Smith
Founding Editor, Entre News
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Social Media Connections
Connect with Sister Dames
 LesDamesDC
 @LesDamesDC
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We need ALL members who have FB, Twitter and Instagram accounts to follow and actively re-tweet our members' tweets to spread the great news about our activities and programs!
Connect with Les Dames d'Escoffier International
Please share news, events and updates. Join the LDEI members-only LinkedIn Group to stay connected with other Dames.
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Join a Committee....
You were invited to join Dames because of your talents and achievements and you promised to be part of our chapter's committee work; so, now it is time to
Get Involved!
Our committees offer the perfect opportunity to get to know your sister Dames, share your skills and to give back to the community through service. Every committee needs dedicated participants. Please contact the committee chairs and offer your time and skills, now.
2019-2020 Committee Chairs
Membership - Dames Who Dine:
Karen Lippold
Membership - Engagement:
Carole Sugarman
Grants:
Jessica Botta
Scholarships:
Nona Nielsen-Parker
Green Tables:
Susan Lutz
Programs:
Edee Hogan
Global Culinary Initiatives:
Amy Riolo
Public Relations:
Jill Collins
Development:
Annie Boutin King
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2019-2020
Julia Rutland
Financial Officer
Drew Faulkner
Communications Officer
Jill Collins
Directors
Olga Boikess
(Entre News - Dames Corner)
Karen Lippold
(Dames Who Dine)
Diane Neas
(Parliamentarian)
Karen Vartan
Alternate:
Carole Sugarman
(Member Engagement)
Janet Yu
(Past President)
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Please submit your Entre News information in a brief, concise statement to Katherine Newell Smith at kns4pr@erols.com. |
To view the latest approved board meeting minutes, go to www.lesdamesdc.org and
click on the Members Only tab and enter the password. Click on the dropdown menu for LDE-DC Board and you will see a link to the board meeting minutes. During each monthly board meeting, the board approves the previous month's minutes and they are then posted to our website.
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It is easy to find chapter documents and resources, our event archives and past editions of Entre News.
We now have a single password that all Dames must use to access the Members Only section of the website. The password is ldedc2014. Please do not share this password with anyone outside of the Chapter.
If you are having trouble logging into the website please contact our Communications Officer at lesdamesdc.list@gmail.com
Under Member Login, you will see a revised menu where you can find:
- past and current Entre News issues posted under the Entre News Archives tab.
- archives of past chapter activities in the LDE-DC Dame Only Events menu along with upcoming events.
- helpful files including chapter letterhead, name tag template, LDEI logos and tax-exempt certificates under Documents and Forms.
- our chapter's standing rules, bylaws and membership roster under Bylaws, Roster & Minutes.
- A roster of Dames that can be printed out.
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Member Milestones - Share your professional news with Dames in all Chapters in our LDEI Quarterly. Shout, don't whisper, about your accomplishments. We all want a chance to say "Brava!"
Submit your news to:
The deadline for sending in Member Milestones and Chapter News for the AUTUMN issue of the LDEI Quarterly is August 1. Archived Quarterly magazines
are available online. If you are not receiving hard copies of Quarterly, please check your online contact information at www.ldei.org If it is correct, please contact Greg Jewell to make sure you are on the mailing list.
PROVIDE DAME'S NAME and CHAPTER. Submit up to 50 words about honors or important business-related activities to appear in the LDEI Quarterly. You may email a quality headshot to accompany your news. Press releases and cookbook covers are not accepted. Entries received after the deadline may appear in a following issue.
Quarterly Guidelines:
Photography/Images-Electronic images must be properly focused, in color with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (TIFF or JPEG). Cell phone photos are acceptable if they meet resolution requirements. Do not send photos taken off the internet or embedded with text in Word files or PDF files. Identify individuals in photos from left to right in the message of your email. Include photo credits, if required. CAPTIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR PUBLICATION. |
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