Dear Sister Dames,
I hope you've had a chance to read through the recent LDEI Fall Quarterly. Did you notice the cover with a beautiful photo of Nora Pouillon, page two with an adorable photo of CiCi Williamson, page three with a polished photo of Ann Stratte and Drew Faulkner, and pages 4-6 with Nora's story? How impressive it is to have four members of our chapter dominate the Fall Quarterly?
I don't know about you but that made me pause and reflect on what an incredible chapter of women we are. I will echo CiCi's letter From the Editor by saying, "...we can help each other accomplish great things..." If ever there is a time for this chapter to shine it's now. There are many ways for you to get involved and share your expertise. Please reach out to our committee chairs with your ideas. You'll never know what difference you can make until you take action. Who knows, maybe you'll grace our cover one day. I'm very proud to be a member of this chapter and serve you.
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.
Stacey Adams
President Les Dames - Washington, DC |
Date, time and location are to be determined so please look for more information to come soon.
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PLEASE NOTE: our LDE-DC general email address has changed. You will receive our emails from info@lesdamesdc.org going forward. Also, you will note that all officers' and committee chair addresses have changed; so, please address any LDE questions you have to the appropriate email addresses.
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Wendy Basil reports that the garden writer for the Washington Post wrote an article about the front yard "farmette" that is cultivated by her colleague at the Montgomery County Food Council. Wendy did a plant-based cooking demonstration at the colleague's open house which featured produce from that garden. Read about it and Wendy in the article.
Janis McLean, executive chef of the Sound Bites Café at National Public Radio, and Nancy Baggett, author of The Art of Cooking with Lavender, recently teamed up to present a lavender demo and menu for the NPR staff. Said Janis, "Everyone who came in to the cafe was wowed! And the recipes were beyond outstanding!"
The highest "hurrah" to our own Nora Pouillon, named as Les Dames d'Escoffier International's 2019 Grande Dame. She will officially receive this recognition at the LDEI National Conference in Nashville later this month. The owner of this country's first certified-organic restaurant, Restaurant Nora, she has been a member of our Chapter since 1991. Her support of DC Les Dames has been unwavering. Over the years she's hosted many events and meetings in her restaurant space. In fact, Restaurant Nora was where we held our annual meeting in June 2017, the very month she closed the restaurant after its unparalleled 38-year run.
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We recently launched a members-only listserv for our chapter. This is a vehicle for members to communicate with each other in real-time. Many of us have talked about the need for this; so, we are happy to report that more than half of our members are already subscribed.
We will share relevant news articles, send program reminders, conduct outreach for volunteers and use the service as a way to supplement newsletters and emails.
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The highest honor that we bestow upon one of our own is the Dame of Distinction. This recognition is awarded not more often than once in two years.
The criteria: the nominee must be a member for at least eight years, have served on the Board or as an officer in at least two positions, must be actively involved in various chapter activities and projects (fundraisers, programs, etc.), have served on at least two different committees, assumed tasks that demanded energy and hard work, regularly attended chapter and/or LDEI functions and has showed leadership in creativity, commitment and results.
The honoree is selected from nominations submitted to a Dames of Distinction Award Committee made up of past recipients of the award. The recipient will be honored at our fall general membership meeting.
Please submit nominations by OCTOBER 4, along with a few sentences detailing why this nominee should be accorded this honor, to Lori Gardner, membership@lesdamesdc.org
The eligible members based on the criteria for this award are:
Eileen Dykes
Marsha Echols
Drew Faulkner
Cynthia Glover
Linda Roth
Judy Rusignuolo
Ann Stratte
Past Dame of Distinction honorees are:
2014 Kate Jansen; 2013 Gail Forman; 2011 Katherine Newell Smith; 2009 Goody Solomon; 2007 Susan Derecskey; 2005 Ann Yonkers; 2003 Carole Palmer; 2001 Lizette Corro; 1999 CiCi Williamson; 1997 Phyllis Frucht; 1995 Carol Cutler
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Registration for our 2019 LDEI conference Nashville: Rhythm and Roots, October 24-27 is available online. Click here to register. Book soon to receive the discounted hotel rate at the fantastic Loews Nashville. This vibrant metropolis, known as Music City - and capital of the state that tipped the scales and gave women the right to vote - is now a national culinary destination with so much to share. It's filled with history, beauty, and an amazing chapter of LDEI that is ready to roll out the "BLUE" carpet for all of us in October. The Nashville chapter has worked diligently to make your LDEI conference experience one you will not forget. |
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Do you have food and beverage books that you would like to donate to the LDEI Collection of the Boyd Hospitality and Culinary Library in New Orleans? If so, contact LDEI Collection Committee Chair Sheila Crye (crye4@aol.com) or (301) 512-8631 to arrange to transfer your donations to her in Silver Spring and save the cost of media mail. Sheila is transporting a carload of books to our LDEI conference in Nashville where Liz Williams will pick them up and deliver them directly to the Boyd Library.
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PROGRAMS
OCTOBER 6: BETHESDA CENTRAL FARM MARKET TOUR - PUBLIC PROGRAM
Want to know more about who grew the microgreens, gathered the eggs or crafted that chocolate bar? Join sister Dames in a locavore tour of the Bethesda Central Farm Market with co-owner Debbie Moser, and learn about the history of the market and back stories of the vendors as you nibble on some of the market's offerings. Stops will include visits to Sophia Maroon (Dress It Up Dressing), Sandra Miller (Painted Hand Farm) and Susan James (Stonyman Gourmet Farmer). Each attendee will receive a $10 gift certificate to use at any market stand. Group size is limited to 15.
DATE: Sunday, October 6
TIME: 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
PLACE: Bethesda Central Farm Market, in the parking lot of Bethesda Elementary School, 7600 Arlington Road, Bethesda. Meet at the information booth.
PRICE: $10 will go to the LDE-DC Scholarship Fund. Moser will generously distribute $10 gift certificates to each attendee to use at the market.
RSVP: Click here to get your tickets on Eventbrite.
PARKING: Limited parking at Bethesda Elementary School parking lot; free parking at Montgomery County Garage #40 at 4935 Cordell Avenue, Garage #49 at 4805 Edgemoor Lane, and at the Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library, 7400 Arlington Road.
METRO: Bethesda
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, give insight on how they handle the heightened political mood in DC's dining rooms and 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 Café, a weekly talk show.
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
DATE: Monday, October 14
TIME: 3 to 5:00 p.m.
PLACE: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington D.C.
PRICE: $35 (includes light desserts + cash bar)
RSVP: Click here to purchase your tickets on Eventbrite.
MEDIA: Media may request credentials by emailing name, media affiliation, phone number to Jill Collins at jill@JillCollinsPR.com
NOVEMBER 2: FRENCH GRILL: A LUNCHEON AND TALK BY AUTHOR SUSAN HERMANN LOOMIS - PUBLIC PROGRAM
Acclaimed author Susan Hermann Loomis, who lives in Normandy, France, will be with us on Saturday Nov 2 from noon until 3 pm to speak about the French art of the grill (she says that barbeque was invented in France!) and to talk about her book French Grill: 150 Refined & Rustic Recipes. The luncheon will be at RIS Restaurant (Ris Lacoste) and will include a French-themed lunch and dessert.
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 2019
TIME: Noon to 3:00 p.m.
PLACE: Ris Restaurant, 2275 L Street, NW, Washington, DC
PRICE: $59 for Dames; non-members $69
RSVP: Click here to purchase your tickets on Eventbrite.
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OCTOBER 11-12. COOKING UP HISTORY. The National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Ave N.W., Washington, D.C. Click here for more information
*Friday, October 11, 1 p.m.: The Moosewood Cookbook, Guest Chef Molly Katzen
*Saturday, October 12, 1 p.m.: Salsa con Salsa, Guest Chef Daniela Hurtado
OCTOBER 20. REMEMBERING MICHEL RICHARD & JEAN-LOUIS PALLADIN DINNER
Ris Lacoste will be among twenty-one noted chefs honoring the legacy of Chefs Michel Richard and Jean-Louis Palladin. The proceeds of this event will go to benefit DC Central Kitchen. The participating chefs (among them Todd Gray, Robert Wiedmaier, Jeff Buben) were part of an informal group called DC Chefs About Nothing Club made up of these legendary toques who would regularly gather to eat and drink at each other's restaurants after dinner service. Tickets may be purchased here at ($300 pp, all inclusive).
NOVEMBER 1. THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB BOOK FAIR AND AUTHORS' NIGHT. 5:30 to 8 p.m. 529 14th Street, N.W.
Club members who have published a book since November 2018 participate in the annual Book Fair. Socialize with your favorite authors during a special reception in their honor prior to discussing their work with fans and signing books during an exciting evening celebrating all things literary. Book Fair tickets are $5 for Club members and $10 for the public and can be purchased online beginning at 8:15 a.m. Monday, September 16 and at the door on November 1. The Book Fair is a fundraiser for The National Press Club Journalism Institute. The Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. The Institute is partnering with Politics & Prose to coordinate the event.
NOVEMBER 3-10. DMV BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK Nearly 50 participating black-owned restaurants in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will offer special menus and pricing. Additional events include a cocktail competition on November 4 featuring local bartenders who will showcase their signature drinks; a Business of Food and Beverage Summit on November 6; tasting events featuring spirits from black-owned businesses; and an awards ceremony and dinner recognizing area culinary talent on November 8. The theme of the dinner will be "conversations and cuisines of the African diaspora." A list of participating restaurants and tickets for the various events will be available through the DMV Black Restaurant Week in the coming days.
NOVEMBER 7. 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 and the Culinary Arts. Click here for Tickets.
NOVEMBER 16-17. METRO COOKING DC - WALTER WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER Among the Dames participating in this two-day culinary extravaganza will be Emmy-award winning television host, cookbook author and successful restaurateur Lidia Bastianich plus our own Amy Brandwein, Amy Riolo, both who will conduct cooking demonstrations, and Maria Kopsidas, whose Cookology culinary school will host cooking classes. Celebrity chefs Martha Stewart and Wolfgang Puck will do demonstrations of the James Beard Foundation and more than 300, specialty food exhibitors will be selling their products and wares. Click here for information and tickets.
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Entre News is our LDE-DC chapter e-newsletter. It 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 eneditor@lesdamesdc.org in a succinct 75 words of less.
DAMES CORNER is a brief feature to help us get to know our sister Dames a bit better. We will randomly choose Dames to profile who have differing professional backgrounds so the coverage is more interesting.
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
dameswhodine@lesdamesdc.org
Membership - Engagement:
Carole Sugarman
Women in Gastronomy:
Laurie Bell
Eileen Dykes
Grants:
Jessica Botta
Scholarships:
Nona Nielsen-Parker
Green Tables:
Karen Vartan
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
(Programs)
Karen Lippold
(Dames Who Dine)
Diane Neas
(Parliamentarian)
Karen Vartan
(Green Tables)
Alternate:
Carole Sugarman
(Member Engagement)
Janet Yu
(Past President)
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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. We are revising the members only section but the password remains as above. See Stacey's President's Letter for more information.
If you are having trouble logging into the website please contact our Communications Officer at communications@lesdamesdc.org
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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LDEI Quarterly Deadlines:
The deadline for sending in Member Milestones and Chapter News for the WINTER issue of the LDEI Quarterly is NOVEMBER 11. Our 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 info@ldei.org to make sure you are on the mailing list.
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.
Member Milestones - Edited by Dorothy Koteski (Phil)
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 Member Milestones by filling out the interactive form at: http://link.ldei.org/ldei-member-milestones. 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. Press releases and cookbook covers are not accepted. Entries received after the deadline may appear in a following issue.
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.
Submit Chapter News by filling out the interactive form at: http://link.ldei.org/ldei-chapter-programs.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.
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