At the Table:
Toasting Women Chefs & Restaurateurs
Thursday, June 29, 2006
by Liz Warton
On Thursday, June 29, the Prince George ballroom filled
with women who love to eat and the talented female
chefs who love to feed them. Women Chefs & Restaurateurs
celebrated their first annual At the Table New York
with fourteen prominent women chefs who hosted the
reception, auction and five-course dinner. At the Table
is a series of events taking place around the country
to benefit the WCR scholarship and internship program
for women in all sectors of the culinary field.
The reception
featured a wide range of innovative hors d’oeuvres
that paved the way for the lavish five-course dinner.
Guests were greeted with beautiful plates of brightly
colored radishes dressed in olive oil from Jody Williams
of Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano in New York. Nora
Pouillon of Nora & Asia Nora in Washington D.C.,
who was one of the first chefs to lead the way for
sustainable seafood, showcased her expertise with a
Ginger-cured Wild Salmon Tartar with hints of Kaffir
lime leaf perched on top of a crunchy nori tempura
crisp. Chefs Margaritte Malfy
and Barbara Sibley of La Palapa in New York, showed
off their authentic Mexican cuisine with Black Bean
and Epazote Empanadas Doraditas dotted with Serrano
Chili Salsa, Chile de Arbol and fresh Crema. The favorite of the evening was the Lobster
Roll, a signature dish from Chef Rebecca Charles of Pearl
Oyster Bar.
Dinner was prepared
by six influential New York chefs and included an unusual
Duck Schnitzel with Beet and Orange Salad in Hazelnut
Brown Butter and a Hoisin Duck Spring Roll from Patricia
Yeo of Sapa. Other standout dishes included a Fava
Bean & Escarole Salad with Mint, Basil and Pecorino
from Jody Williams of Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano
and a Smoked Barramundi with Sweet Peas, Shiso and Wasabi
from Anita Lo of Annisa. Other participating chefs included
Amy Scherber of Amy’s Bread, Mary Cleaver of the
Cleaver Company, Elizabeth Katz of Fiamma Osteria, Heather
Carlucci-Rodriguez of Lassi, Ellen Mirsky of Public,
and Amanda Freitag &Vera Eisenberg of Sette Enoteca
e Cucina.
Honorary chair Sara Moulton
introduced the evening’s
program with a story about looking for work in the
male dominated restaurant world of the 80s. When she
applied to what was considered at the time the best
restaurant in the country, the French chef politely
told her he was so sorry but he had no positions open.
Later she found out from someone who had worked there
that he had been known to say on many occasions that
he would rather close his restaurant than hire a woman.
WCR
has worked hard over the past thirteen years to promote
the education and advancement of women in the restaurant
industry and the betterment of the industry as a whole.
This year the organization will offer 37 educational
opportunities through their Scholarship & Internship
program, designed to provide education, travel, wine studies
and internships to women in the restaurant industry. |
