Dear Sister Dames,
I am truly honored to be your President this year.
As a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier since 2010 and having the privilege to meet so many talented and prestigious women at Dame events has taught me so much.
I have owned and operated Hollywood East Cafe (serving Hong Kong style Cuisine and Dim Sum) for over 20 years. Restaurant business is 24/7, so I know how hard it is to make time for extra activities. Participation and joining in our events, whether public or private, will give you the best out of our organization and a great way to meet Sister Dames.
Our annual Summer Potluck is on July 11. Don't forget to sign up. Please join us at the Dames Who Dine dinner at Sfoglina on July 18th. More information is below.
Our Board and I look forward to a new year with exciting events and great opportunities to continue to grow our wonderful organization and fulfill our mission. All while enjoying great food, great times and great friends.
See you at the Summer Potluck!!
Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or concerns.
Janet Yu
President Les Dames d'Escoffier International, Washington, D.C., Chapter Tel. (301) 537-8822 |
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Our annual summer social gets underway at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11 at the home of Drew Faulkner,
7407 Honeywell Lane, Bethesda, MD. The price of admission: either an hors d'oeuvres, a salad, main course or dessert or beverages. You should have received by email an invitation with a SignupGenius link. Click here to register.
The access code is summer2017. You will need to type this in to register. Once there, if you scroll towards the bottom of the page, you will see the sign up portion.
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Janet Yu, President
Janet has been the owner and operator of Hollywood East Café since 1996. She serves on the executive committee of the Committee for Montgomery, an advocacy group in Annapolis working on issues of importance to Montgomery County and the State of Maryland and is on the board of directors of One Montgomery Green. Janet looks forward to engaging with members to bring out Dames talents as we work to educate the public and ourselves.
Julia Rutland, First Vice President
Julia is a D.C. area-based freelance writer, recipe developer, author, and food stylist. Before starting her own business, Julia served as senior editor at Coastal Living magazine, in the test kitchens with Southern Living and as a sales and marketing consultant for Wimmer Cookbooks. Her books include recently published The Campfire Foodie Cookbook.
Bonnie Benwick, Second Vice President, Education and Community Outreach
Bonnie has been deputy editor of The Washington Post Food Section since 2004 and has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She looks forward to fostering more professional development programs for members and hopes to broaden our program offerings.
Kristen Hartke, Communications Secretary
Kristen is a food writer, editor, and recipe developer/taster with more than 20 years in the communications industry working as a writer, editor, book and publications designer, and social media manager. She is eager to offer a fresh prospective to our organization as communications secretary.
Eileen Dykes, Treasurer
Eileen spent two years as second vice president in charge of programs for LDE-DC. She has been co-chair of Women in Gastronomy for the past three symposiums and will do so again in 2018. She understands the importance of the board and looks forward to serving.
Suzanne DeGalan, Recording Secretary
A transfer member from the San Francisco chapter, Suzanne is a former book editor and is now an attorney for the wine industry. She looks forward to contributing to our chapter and getting to know our membership as recording secretary.
Laurie Bell, Director
After serving as LDE-DC's second vice president in charge of education and community outreach, Laurie begins a two-year term as a director. Laurie has enjoyed a 30-year career in various aspects of the culinary world including chef, educator and tea specialist. She looks forward to supporting our organization as a director.
Alison Ricketts, Director
This will be Alison's second year in her two-year term as a director. She is employed in the hospitality industry as the convention sales manager for Destination DC. She welcomes the opportunity to continue her participation in our organization as an active board member.
Summer Whitford, Director
Summer is stepping onto our board for a two-year director term. She looks forward to contributing to LDE-DC and using her experience in public education and community outreach to help our chapter reach deeper into the culinary world to attract accomplished, deserving women. She assumes chairship of LDE-DC's public relations committee.
Polly Wiedmaier, Director
Polly is serving the second year of two-year director term. As chief communications officer for the RW Restaurant Group, she oversees all the social media accounts for their various restaurants. As a director of LDE-DC, Polly will continue to lend her expertise to our chapter as chair of our social media committee.
Ann Stratte, Director, Immediate Past President
Ann owns My Personal Chef, a catering company, in Annapolis, MD. A graduate of Cordon Bleu, Paris, Ann owned a small catering business in Minneapolis for three years and then spent twenty-five years in the corporate food world. She was a member of the Atlanta chapter before joining LDE-DC in 2000. She co-chaired the 2016 LDEI Annual conference in Washington, DC and has served in a number of positions on the LDE-DC and LDEI board. She is currently secretary of LDEI.
Susan Lutz, Alternate Director
Susan is enthusiastic about the opportunity to observe the inner workings of our board and chapter while serving as alternate director. She is a former television producer and lists multi-tasking as one of her strong suits. She chairs our Green Tables committee.
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Wendy Bazil
Wendy is owner/proprietor of Healthier Kitchen, focusing on providing healthier cooking recipes, nutrition, and food policy information. Wendy's mission is to make healthier and delicious home cooking accessible for all: developing recipes, writing a blog, and teaching youth and adults healthier home cooking skills in a variety of venues. She's a passionate supporter of our local food system and a member of the Montgomery County Food Council Wendy volunteers her time by teaching after school cooking and baking classes to Montgomery County middle schoolers in underserved areas of the county. As a former attorney by trade, Wendy has established herself in the food world by blending the two in policy oriented activism and volunteerism.
Edie Burns
Edie Burns is hospitality professional with emphasis in marketing, business development and brand management. Although she is currently General Manager of Outlets at the DuPont Circle Hotel as well as Operations and Marketing Manager of the "Wine Game", a detailed wine database, she begins a new job on Monday (see Hurrah! Below). Edie was previously Director of Operations for Derek Brown's Drink Company and event coordinator for Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans. Edie is a member of the American Marketing Association, National Association for Catering Executives and Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails. Edie's volunteerism includes YMCA, SPCA, and with the Junior League of Washington DC. Edie is currently at level 1, Court of Master Sommelier.
Sheila Crye
Sheila Crye is a Youth Culinary Educator working with Germantown and Gaithersburg, Maryland area schools. Sheila is an active speaker and lecturer, having presented at numerous conferences such as International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Hungry in the South Symposium, Maryland Out of School Time Statewide Conference, Let's Move! Regional Leadership Conference and The Association for the Study of Food and Society. She chaired the Kids in the Kitchen committee of IACP 2007-2009. From 2012-2015, she served as a founding member of the Montgomery County Food Council and chaired the Food Literacy Working Group. Her volunteer experience includes the Graceful Growing Together Advisory Board, National Food and Beverage Foundation, IACP, and St. Vincent's Hospital as well as supporting many DC Chapter LDEI events. Prior to her culinary career, Sheila was an operating room registered nurse.
Sophia Maroon
Sophia Maroon is the owner/proprietor of SoFine Food in Bethesda, Maryland with a retail presence throughout the local area and expanding nationally. Her company produces Dress It Up Dressing, a line of all natural salad dressings. Since it entered the market, Dress It Up Dressing has seen sustained growth and market acquisition. SoFine Food is a certified Woman-Owned Business (WBENC). Sophia's previous experiences include Producer, Co-Producer, and Director for documentaries such as The Art and Life of James McNeill Whistler, Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood, Golden Age of Magazines, and biographies including Deborah Norville, Michael Landon, Cokie Roberts. Sophia is active with the Montgomery County Food Counsel and has participated in several LDE-DC Chapter events.
Katherine Miller
Katherine Miller is the founding executive director of the Chef Action Network (CAN), Senior Director of Food Policy Advocacy at the James Beard Foundation (JBF), and founder and principal of Table 81. At JBF, Katherine is part of the foundation's impact team dedicated to engaging the culinary community in the ongoing process of creating a sustainable food system that provides nutritious, delicious food for all. Katherine leads the foundation's work in four areas: childhood nutrition, sustainable seafood, sustainable meat, and food waste. At Table 81, Katherine, provides specialized communications services for leaders in the philanthropic community including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, John S and James L Knight Foundation and James Beard Foundation. Before creating CAN and joining JBF, Katherine built a 20-year career working at the intersection of policy, politics, and social impact.
Louise Nielson
Louise Nielson is a director and instructional specialist at the Hospitality, Culinary Arts, and Tourism Institute at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland as well as a 20-year veteran in the hospitality industry. Louise is a Certified Working Pastry Chef with the American Culinary Federation and a Certified Hospitality Educator with the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute. Louise has won many 1st, 2nd, and Silver medals in regional and national cake shows and culinary salons. Louise's volunteerism includes student mentorship, healthy cooking seminars, and raising money for breast cancer research. In addition to her education at the Culinary Education of America and L'Academie de Cuisine, Louise is pursuing her Master of Science degree in Health and Nutritional Education.
Christianne Ricchi Christianne Ricchi is executive chef and owner of Ristorante I Ricchi in Washington DC. The restaurant has won dozens of awards including Best 25 Restaurants in North America, Food & Wine Magazine and Top 10 Restaurants in the US, American Academy of Restaurant Sciences. Chris is very active in professional women's groups. Most recently she received a Leadership Award from The Women's Center, Women Who Mean Business Award from the Washington Business Journal and named a "Woman Power Player" by Nation's Restaurant News, and "Hospitality Ambassador of Washington, DC by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and The Washington Post. Chris was inducted into the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation College of Diplomates and has served on the board of the NRA and its Educational Foundation. Carole Sugarman Carole Sugarman has been a food writer for nearly 35 years, creating a national reputation working for The Washington Post Food Section, a food policy newsletter, and Bethesda Magazine. In addition, Carole writes freelance articles for national magazines, and judged writing, cookbook and cooking contests. As such, Carole has won more than 25 writing awards, including three prestigious James Beard Awards. Volunteerism activities include membership in Montgomery Country Food Council and chairperson of Capital Area Food Bank's Empty Bowls Bethesda fundraiser. Carole has also mentored journalism students as part of the Carnegie-Knight News 21 journalism fellowship program. Monica Thomas Monica is a certified personal chef and owner of Tailored Taste Personal Chef Service. Monica was named Personal Chef of the Year at the USPCA National Conference. Monica is also a Chef Instructor teaching at a variety of public and private events. As an extension of her business, Monica created Tailored Taste Coaching, creating training videos and one-on-one coaching services for aspiring chefs. In additional to attending LDE-DC Chapter events, Monica's volunteerism includes Women Chefs and Restauranteurs, Share our Strength, Women Chefs turn Up the Heat, and Chefs Move to Schools.
Diane Welland Diane is an author, registered dietitian, and currently the Manager of Nutrition Communications at Kellen Company. She coordinates and manages research with scientists and trade and consumer media to communication scientific and dietary information with 10 published studies to date. Diane speaks frequently to various groups and organizes presentations at international scientific conferences. Diane's previous experience includes faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College, freelance nutrition writer, speaker, blogger, food editor, and Public Relations Director. Among other organizations, Diane is currently a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society of Journalist and Authors, and Nativity Italian American Heritage Society. Her books in the Complete Idiot's Guide series include: Guide to Eating Clean, Guide to Eating Local, Guide to Belly Fat Weight Loss, and Guide to the TLC Diet.
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The 2017 LDEI Annual Conference will be held October 26-29 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, CA. Hosted by the Los Angeles/Orange County chapter, the meeting will take as its theme "California Dreaming: Experiencing California Cuisine from Farm to Table." Click here for the full conference program. Online registration is available at ldei.org. Click on the Member Login button at the top of the home page.
Plan now to attend:
Educational seminars and workshops
- Chapter Leadership Forum
- Chapter enhancement
- LDEI award presentations
- Networking opportunities
- Pre- and post- conference tours
- Council of Delegates meeting
- Most of all, come for great food, fun and friendship!
The Island Hotel
October 26-29, 2017
Conference rate: $235 per night, single/double occupancy.
Occupancy tax: 13.1%
Reservation cut-off date: October 2, 2017
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La Cocina VA offers a job-training program for low-income immigrants with the goal of helping vulnerable individuals to launch a career within the food service and hospitality industry. The 13-week program comprises culinary arts classes, ServSafe and vocational English instruction, and job readiness sessions. Students obtain practical experience via field trips, a 5-day stage, a 160-hour paid externship, as well as through the Food Assistance Program in which students prepare more than 10,000 hot, healthy meals a year for residents of low-income housing centers.
For more information on how to get involved with La Cocina VA, particularly if your business is interested in hosting a stage and/or intern, please contact the organization's Workforce Development Coordinator, Kate Weschler, at kateweschler@lacocinava.org.
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Time is running out to submit your annual Les Dames d'Escoffier dues for the 2017-18 membership year which began July 1. The deadline for payment was June 30, 2017. Dues received after this date will be charged a $25.00 late fee, no exceptions. Members whose dues are not received by July 31, 2017 will not be eligible for membership in 2017-18, will be removed from LDEI and Chapter directories/email lists, and will need to reapply for membership.
For those of you who attended the LDEI conference and took advantage of the rebates available, please pay your dues in full. Once your dues have been received, you will be sent an email asking you where you would like the rebate check to be sent. Or, you can opt to donate your rebate back to the chapter for use in one of our outreach programs. The donation of your rebate is tax deductible. If you are unsure whether you qualify for a rebate, click here for a list.
TOTAL: $185 plus $25 late fee= $210.
$100.00 Washington, DC Chapter Dues
$ 85.00 Les Dames d'Escoffier International Dues
JUNE 30 DEADLINE IS PAST. Dames who pay their dues after that date will be assessed a $25 late processing fee. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Marie Ostrosky at ostroskym@mac.com
You can pay your dues via: 1) Eventbrite: pay on-line with a credit card. Please use the password: lesdames2017 or 2) By mail: Click below for the form to accompany your personal or company check. Please email Marie to let her know your check is in the mail at Ostroskym@mac.comMake check for $210 payable to Les Dames D'Escoffier and send with the completed form to our Treasurer: Marie Ostrosky 11508 Ridge Mist Terrace Potomac, MD 20854
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Click here to access instructions on how to download the mobile LDEI Directory.
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Linda Roth married Jonathan Kahn on Sunday, June 25 in an afternoon, outdoor, rooftop wedding overlooking the Washington monument. Linda thoughtfully provided an abundant array of sunscreen for the guests. 
l-r Vicki Reh, Katherine Newell Smith, Linda Roth, Ris LaCoste and Cindy Kacher Uckert celebrate Linda's marriage to Jonathan Kahn on June 25. Photo taken by Fredde Lieberman.
CiCi Williamson presented "Kitchen Confidential: How the Culinary Scenes for Downton Abbey Were Filmed," in St. Louis on June 7 for the St. Louis-LDE program and dinner held at Mary Ann's Tea Room. Nearly 40 Dames and guests enjoyed recipes from the cookbook, The Book of Household Management, by Mrs. Isabella Beeton (London, 1861), which was used extensively during the Edwardian period. The dinner was held in a 1921 historical building that existed during the "Downton Abbey" period. Several Dames and guests dressed in period clothing. Front row: Roberta Duyff, Beth Heidrich, and CiCi lean on a piano in front of a china-filled breakfront. The two ladies in the back were guests. |
Carole Sugarman, as chair of the Capital Area Food Bank's Empty Bowls Bethesda fundraiser, is looking for a volunteer to help her recruit restaurants to participate in the event at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. October 30. The event features a lunch of soup, bread and desserts provided by Montgomery County eateries. Guests will choose a hand-crafted pottery bowl donated by local artisans. To volunteer or for more information, contact Carole at carolesugarman@comcast.net
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Edie Burns begins her new job at Marriott International on July 10th as its new Senior Manager, Service and Guest Experience, Culinary Concepts Hospitality Group (CCHG). She will open and maintain the bars and restaurants in Marriott's top-tier national and international luxury hotel brands: St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, EDITION Hotels, W Hotels, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts and Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts.
Teresa Farney, dual-member and food editor at the Gazette in Colorado Springs, was named the 2017 Outstanding Media Professional for Colorado by the Colorado Restaurant Association. The award was presented at the organization's annual Industry Spotlight Award dinner on June 27.
Ruth Gresser opens her Pizza Paradiso Hyattsville this Saturday, July 8 at 4800 Rhode Island Avenue. This fourth location of Ruth's Neapolitan-style pizzeria, which also houses Art Works Now, a non-profit creative community center, will serve her signature pizzas and offer a robust beer program. It will be open daily for lunch and dinner.
Celeste McCall and her husband, Peter, just celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary. To celebrate, they sailed on the Queen Mary June 15 to London, then visited Paris and returned, via Iceland, on July 2.
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LDE-DC ANNUAL SUMMER SOCIAL POTLUCK
DATE: Tuesday, July 11
TIME: Board meeting 5:00 p.m.; dinner 6:30 p.m.
PLACE: The home of Drew Faulkner, 7407 Honeywell Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814
PRICE: Either an hors d'oeuvres, a salad, main course or dessert or beverages. You should have received an email invitation with a SignupGenius link. Click here to register. The access code is summer2017. You need to enter this code to register. Once there, if you scroll towards the bottom of the page, you will see the sign up portion.
ICE CREAM FACTORY TOURS ARE BACK! AUGUST DATE ADDED! DATE: Saturday, July 15, 2017 (SOLD OUT) and DATE: Saturday, August 12, 2017 TIME: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. PLACE: Moorenko's Ice Cream Factory, 8810 Brookville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910 NOTE: Do NOT go to the shop on Georgia Avenue! COST: Members $25, Non-members $35 (price includes a $5.00 tax exempt donation for LDEI-DC scholarships PARKING: Plenty of free parking METRO: Silver Spring Metro, 2 miles away RSVP: Registration information coming soon for August program
DAMES WHO DINE
Sfoglina is a Fabio Trabocchi Restaurant, named for the female artisans and Italian cultural icons that carry on the tradition of rolling sheets of pasta by hand with a rolling pin, a technique passed through the generations.
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2017
TIME: 6:30 pm
PLACE: Sfoglina Restaurant, 4445 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20008
PRICE: Dutch treat and a la carte ordering
PARKING/METRO: Two-hour parking validation at the Colonial Parking garage and street parking available. VanNess-UDC (Red Line) is a .15 mile walk. No valet parking.
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Saturday, July 8, 2017, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Restaurant Nora, 2132 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008. Nora Pouillon is selling and giving away cookbooks from her library of approximately 1000 volumes which she has collected over the last 40-plus years. Her library includes works that delve into Italian, Indian, American, French and vegetarian cuisines....and, of course, desserts.
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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
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.
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Suzanne DeGalan
Financial Officer
Eileen Dykes
Communications Officer
Kristen Hartke
Directors
Polly Wiedmaier (Social Media)
Summer Whitford (Public Relations)
Laurie Bell (Programs)
Alternate:
Susan Lutz (Green Tables)
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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, Polly Wiedmaier, at lesdamesdc.list@gmail.com
Once you log in under Members Only, 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 "Bravo!"
Submit your news to:
The deadline for sending in Member Milestones and Chapter News for the FALL issue of the LDEI Quarterly is August 1, 2017. 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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