We have figured out a way to combine a love for fine food and wine and also celebrate Women in the new event; Women BELONG in the Kitchen. This Sunday afternoon event (March 18 from 2:00-5:00pm) will feature 14 food and wine purveyors for the guests to taste, a fierce “Chopped” style cooking competition. We will also show a new documentary, produced by and featuring women in the restaurant world called A Fine Line. All this to benefit the Women’s March San Luis Obispo and honor the local women who work in the restaurant businesses.
Women have long been synonymous with cooking, recipe creation, grocery shopping and answering that tiring, daily question – “Mom, what’s for dinner?” So why is it that so few women are working in commercial kitchens or running restaurants?
Our special guests for this foodie event are proud to be in the minority and will be sharing with us their talents, their stories and most importantly, their creative dishes when they go head-to-head in a classic culinary battle on the stage of the Fremont Theatre. Four female chefs will be paired with four female restaurant owners as they prep and plate four distinct dishes based on what they receive in a Talley Farms Box of fresh fruit and vegetables. Creativity, sassy discussion, and fun will all be the ingredients of this exciting Cooking Challenge.
The contestants have all made their mark in the local culinary scene, some of the brightest and delicious eateries are operated by them. Contestants include:
Shanny Covey of Robin’s, Nova, Mint + Craft, Luna Red has long been synonymous with innovative recipes and fine dining. Shanny is originally from Singapore where fresh and healthy food is abundant. It is this love and passion for eating healthy that drives all her menus. She is paired with Sarah Paddack is the creative chef behind Chipwrecked in Pismo Beach where she sells gourmet Potato Chips, homemade dips sandwiches, salads, and soups. Sarah’s flavor palette is one of the most sophisticated and original.
Debbie Thomas of Thomas Hill Organics, with the success of the CSA and the abundance of produce from the farm, came the decision to open an organic restaurant in Paso Robles’ charming Park district. The result was Thomas Hill Organics, a locals-driven fresh market eatery which continues to source organic fruits and vegetables, locally-baked breads, and natural, grass-fed meats. Debbie is paired with Kari Ziegler of Comfort Market and Stax wine bar. Kari started in the restaurant industry at a young age in her local pizza establishment in NJ. After a stint in the internet boom in the 90’s, she decided to come back to the restaurant industry and opened Gather Wine Bar in the Village of Arroyo Grande. After five years at Gather, food became Kari’s focus, and she opened Comfort Market across the street, serving comfort favorites with a twist, In addition to Comfort Market, Kari has taken on Giovanni DeGarimore’s passion project STAX Wine Bar, as GM and executive chef.
Brooke Town on The Spoon Trade is a friendly and fierce force to be reconded with when it comes to providing the best food and service. She dumped the first bucket at The Cracked Crab and took San Francisco by storm leading the NOPA restaurant, where she was exposed to a variety of new challenges. Managing this high volume, late night gathering space heightened the meaning of service, hospitality, and dining. Talking to farmers, winemakers and other industry people reinforced the value of relationships that now resides The Spoon Trade. She is paired with Hannah Avila of Surfside deli. Born and raised on the central coast, Hannah Avila has always had a passion for cooking. At the age of 19, Hannah convinced her aunt Willette Vey, pastry chef at Apple Farm, to hire her by making her soups, homemade pizza and muffins. Hannah spent 4 years as pastry chef at the cliffs resort and then ventured out on her own and bought Surfside Deli in Grover Beach.
Cindy Forsee of Zorro’s Café is the queen of brunch offering spectacular Mexican and American fare at the neighborhood favorite that is Zorro’s. She is paired with Sierra Day of Rosa’s of Pismo Beach. Sierra is the only female chef at Rosa’s; she was plucked from Culinary school and taken under the wing of the award-winning chef, Douglas MacMillan.
The teams got a glimpse of the Talley Box and have prepared delightful treats for the judges at the event. Items include swiss chard, Kiwi, kale, baby spinach, carrots, red potatoes, and a few surprises. They will create using the raw ingredients and add their flare on stage. They will talk and offer banter moderated by French Stewart, famed actor of Third Rock From the Sun and now playing a Chef on the comedy starring Allison Janney, called Mom.
Before the competition, guests will sample women winemakers including Lane Tanner of Lumen, Grace Kegel or Deovlet Wines, Clarrisa Nagy of CNagy wines, Nicole Pope of Stolo Family Vineyards, Molly Bohlman of Niner Wine Estates and Katie Povah of Cambria Estate Vineyard.
Culinary treats will be offered by Chris Dillow of Fig @ Courtney’s House, Williette Vey of the Apple Farm, Danika Gordon of Vivant Cheese, Heidi Hornikel and Tami Ardron of Flora and Fauna Fine Food, Dina Marks of Dina’s Delicious Delights, Savanha Starr of Haute Sugar Company and Mint + Craft.
After the chef competition, we will watch the movie, A Fine Line. Did you know that over 50% of culinary graduates are female, but only 7% of restaurants are owned by women?
This documentary made by Joanna James. This tantalizing culinary look into women in the professional world stars such celebrated chefs as Cat Cora, Dominique Crenn, Elena Arzak, April Bloomfield, Elizabeth Falkner, Maria Loi, Sylvia Weinstock, Barbara Lynch, and Mashama Bailey. It shows the raw details of what it is like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry and also details the perseverance and skills each woman has to become a famous chef.
When Joanna James began working on the film, it was going to be about her mother’s journey as chef/owner of Val’s Restaurant in Holden, Mass. But when Joanna learned that less than 7 percent of chef-restaurant owners are women, the movie morphed into a larger investigation of gender inequality. World-renowned female chefs are “stirred into” the central narrative focusing on Val. This personal story helps advance the national dialogue on issues of gender inequality, the challenges of balancing motherhood and career, and how inequity in the kitchen is not the only place in which it exists.
Tickets are $60 for everything, and only 400 will be sold.
Tickets can be purchased at https://slofilmfest.org/2018-special-presentation-films/special-presentation-women-belong-in-the-kitchen/ or at the door.
Tickets are all-inclusive. Partial Ticket sales will benefit Women’s March SLO who stand in solidarity to protect women’s rights, human rights, our safety, our health, and our planet, as we move toward a positive and just future. We are actively nonviolent in words and action. We work to unify our nation’s diverse communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots. We recognize that there is no true peace, freedom, or inclusion without equity for all.
Contact Teri Bayus at 805-305-0579 or at [email protected] for questions or interviews.