Dame du Jour: Jean Mackenzie

by Maria Isabella

In reality, when most women reach 60, they start thinking of slowing down a bit. Maybe retirement. Maybe travel. Maybe more time with the grandchildren. But oh no, not Jean Mackenzie!  At 61, she decided to start her own new business, establish a professional guild, and champion a growing food movement. That was almost seven years ago—and she hasn’t slowed down one iota since.

Her story is a fascinating one: On a whim, in her sixth decade of life, Jean decided to take a cheesemaking class through the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture just for the fun of it. Instead, she discovered a real aha moment…and her “true calling,” as she puts it.

“I suddenly felt a great sense of urgency to move forward with this newfound passion,” says Jean. “I had been a gourmet cook all my adult life, growing and canning vegetables from my garden, baking breads and desserts, and cooking fun dinners for our friends. Making cheese pulled all of my interests together: my love of food, my love of people, and my independent spirit.”

Mackenzie Creamery was born, and it now churns out 13 different gourmet flavors of goat cheese, plus dulce de leche and ricotta. It has become so successful that Jean has won 15 national awards so far for her cheeses and two awards for running a green and sustainable business. She is also a founding board member of the Ohio Cheese Guild and sits on the Board of Directors for the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy.

Jean admits that her mother and maternal grandmother (whom she called "GB") were both gourmet cooks and had the biggest impact on her early love of food. In fact, Jean would often visit her grandmother at her island home on Eleuthera in the Bahamas where GB would cook with fresh ingredients from her year-round garden and fish they had plucked from the sea each day. Her grandfather also contributed by grafting a sour orange tree with a grapefruit tree, which resulted in the “most amazing fruit from which GB would make the most delicious marmalade jam.”

Later in life, Jean’s growing love of food was influenced the most by the instructors she had at different cooking schools, including fellow Dame Joanne Weir, Sarah Leah Chase, and Jacques Pepin.  And as she traveled, she also discovered a plethora of culinary gems, most notably at the extraordinary resort, Anse Chastanet, on the island of St. Lucia in the French West Indies.

“The chef there was actively involved with the island’s farmers and created a culinary delight every night,” reminisces Jean. “I dined on fresh seafood on the beach restaurant, Tour au Diable, and on locally raised fruits (avocados, passion fruit, guavas, papayas, and coconut to name just a few!) in their open air Treehouse.”

Today, Jean enjoys eating a little closer to home. In fact, the Welshfield Inn, which is just seven minutes away, has become her “kitchen away from home.” In fact, their executive chef Chris “Dome” Johnson created a salad using Mackenzie Creamery chèvre and named it the “Mackenzie Salad.”

When not eating out, Jean prefers to entertain country casual by having friends out to her farm. “There is great pleasure in seeing all of them sitting around my dining room table, laughing and having a great time,” she says. “We love to end the night sitting around our fire circle and looking at the stars!”

Jean first learned of LDEI because of her fascination with Julia Child. “But I also had some wonderful friends who were members and generously invited me to join. I have been a member for one year now.”

What does she enjoy most about being a member? “I love the networking and camaraderie of our chapter,” she enthuses. “All of our members are simply outstanding women with a shared passion and purpose. I am honored to be a part!”

Learn more about Jean as she shares some fun and interesting insights about herself.

What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten? I love sweetbreads! But the most unusual “thing” that I have eaten is the crystal line of a conch. It is said to have magical properties!

Which one chef would you want to invite over for dinner and what would you serve? Oh, wow! This is a difficult question… there are so many amazing chefs. But I would really love to cook for Joanne Weir. I love her style, and I think we would have a great time. I would purchase as many products as possible from local farmers.  I would invite each producer to come for dinner to tell us about their product and to also enjoy the festive evening. Our salad would be local greens with either a roasted fruit or vegetable topped with fresh chèvre, of course! Our entrée would be pork from New Creation Farm, located just up the road from our farm. My mother’s scalloped potatoes and local seasonal vegetables would accompany the entrée. Dessert would have to be a chocolate something! And our wines would run the gamut from rosé to white to port.

What is your favorite cookbook? My favorite cookbook is more of a cook magazine with no ads: Cook’s Illustrated.

Describe your perfect meal. Ahh… the perfect meal. Let’s start with something small but big in flavor, a serving of smoked trout paté on quinoa crackers followed by a fresh melon and mint salad.  Individual Cornish game hens on a bed of wild rice served with asparagus topped with lemon sauce. Dessert would have to be a chocolate lava cake!

What’s your favorite comfort food? Uncle John’s Meatloaf! Uncle John has THE most amazing meatloaf recipe that is the best I have ever had, bar none. 

What’s your favorite snack? Pretzels dipped in almond butter.

Do you have a signature dish? I rarely cook the same thing twice, but I would have to say my signature dish would be my wild mushroom lasagna.

What’s your go-to, quick-and-easy dinner? Chicken piccata.

What’s the biggest cooking mistake you’ve ever made? When I was a new bride, I was making a dish that called for “soda.” The author assumed that everyone understood “soda” meant baking soda. I added club soda!

Name 3 kitchen gadgets you can’t live without. My LamsonSharp knives, Cuisinart, and hot pads!

Mid-Winter Update on the Usage of the Les Dames d'Escoffie​r Cleveland Green Tables Grant Funds

With the generous grant funds awarded to the Farm Food Program at CWRU Farm, we have been able to undertake much of the work that was referenced in our proposal.

Funds allowed us to purchase materials for our new cold frames. Several have been built, planted in, harvested from and used to teach students from the Cleveland Municipal School District about eating locally and season-extension in Northeast Ohio. We were able to install a crop of radishes with some success before the first of the polar vortices came through and took their toll. We will be planting lettuces and endives in the cold frames in the coming weeks and harvesting from them in the coming months; a full 6-8 weeks before we could normally plant and harvest the same crops without the frames. The remainder of the as of yet unbuilt frames, are scheduled to be done so before the end of the month.

The other large portion of the grant funds allowed us to upgrade and expand our hydroponics activities by purchasing new and additional grow lights. Renovations of our hydroponic system are underway and should be completed before the end of the month at which point the lights which have been purchased, will be installed and the system will be put back into use shortly thereafter.

We expect to take full advantage of the items that we were able to purchase with the grant funds and the progress that we were able to make before the end of this winter season. These additions and improvements to our existing program should serve us for many years to come.

I am happy to be able to report on our progress and look forward to answering any questions and to give further updates as requested.
 
Sincerely,

Chris Bond
Farm Horticulturist/ Farm Food Program Coordinator/ Instructor at the Laura and Alvin Siegel Lifelong Learning Program
Case Western Reserve University Farm 37125 Fairmount Blvd. Hunting Valley, OH 44022

Dame du Jour: Elaine Cicora

by Maria Isabella

Four thousand, one hundred and eighty-two. That’s exactly how many words Elaine Cicora used to write her profile of Michael Ruhlman, entitled “Soul Kitchen,” which appeared in Scene magazine on February 1, 2006. Those are also the exact same words that won Elaine what is widely regarded as the highest possible honor to be bestowed on a food writer: a James Beard Award for Feature Writing.

“Yes, it was great!” Elaine allows. “After the awards, which were held in a ballroom just off Times Square, there was an amazing party to celebrate. I got a high five from Michael’s pal, Thomas Keller, and a big hug from Michael Symon. To this day, that remains the high point of my career as a writer.”

Growing up, Elaine enjoyed being part of a very close-knit Italian family. “My earliest childhood memory is of my grandma making ravioli and Bolognese sauce for Sunday dinner when I was only four or five.

“My mom was also great in the kitchen,” continues Elaine, “but my father, who was a cook in the Army during WWII, always insisted he was a better cook…although he never actually made any meals to prove it! I wanted to become an awesome cook to please him. And that’s what first sparked my interest in food.”

Over the years, Elaine has traveled extensively and enjoyed myriad memorable meals. But when pressed about when and where she enjoyed the best food, she responds with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and a chuckle, “It was a summer’s evening circa 1976 at a dear friend’s home in Cleveland Heights. We had carryout submarine sandwiches and a bottle of 1965 Lafite Rothschild. Some mind-altering substances were also possibly involved.”

Elaine’s connection to the food industry spans more than 14 years. Twelve years collectively were spent with Scene magazine, mostly as their restaurant critic but also as their arts editor. Two years were spent with Crop Bistro as their Director of Communications. Currently, Elaine is enjoying a slower pace of life as a freelance writer/editor and culinary instructor.

A four-year member of LDEI, Elaine was initially recruited by fellow Dames. What does she enjoy most about being a member? “The fellowship,” she responds instantly.

Learn more about Elaine as she shares some fun and interesting insights about herself.

What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten? Pigs’ tails. They were delicious but boney.

Which one chef would you want to invite over for dinner and what would you serve? I think it would be fun to break bread with the hugely intelligent Tony Bourdain. Man, can he turn a phrase! Maybe I would make chili and a cherry pie.

What is your favorite cookbook? A 1947 copy of Woman’sHome Companion Cook Book that was my mother’s. All the homiest dishes from my childhood—soups, stews, pies, cakes—are in there, along with plenty of homemaking advice, including the ever-important guidelines on how to throw a dinner party if you no longer employ servants.

What’s your favorite comfort food? Pasta in any shape, size, or sauce.

Any favorite indulgences? A chocolate malt from Rosati’s custard stand in Northfield Center. Thank God they close for the winter or I would be twice my size!

What’s your favorite snack? I’m not much of a snacker, although a bit of gorgonzola is always welcome.

What’s your favorite dessert to prepare? I bake a mean fruit pie, including a lard-based crust from scratch.

What’s the biggest cooking mistake you’ve ever made? Trying to please a four-year-old.

What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? EVOO.

Name 3 things that are always in your refrigerator. Plain fat-free yogurt, skim milk, and Gennie Cream Ale.

Using Local/Sustainable Foods for Every Day Meals - A Green Tables Wrap-up from the Annual LDEI National Conference

By Molly Reams Thompson (Cleveland)
and Heather Hunter (San Antonio)

What if one conversation could literally change the course of a community environmentally, socially, and economically? The Green Tables team set out to do just that by serving up a generous helping of interesting conversation at the annual Saturday morning breakfast on October 26, 2013.

Five extraordinary women representing the perspectives of policy and community, producer/retail, restaurant/chef and community service/nutrition perspectives.  Whether  born and/or raised in the food community, some thing or event - or series of events - led each of the participants down the path to making a difference and participating in a vibrant local food system.

Four different regions within Texas were represented in this lively presentation.

Three common threads emerged from the conversation as ways to strengthen and change the conversation about local food: Communication; collaboration; and education.

Two simple words, Green Tables, convey an important mission within the LDEI community.

Finally, while each panel expert revealed a distinct journey of food, they all converged into One shared commitment to change the way that people think about, relate to, and consume food.

This year's theme, "Serving Local Foods for Everyday Meals," was established by  committee members Wendy Taggert (Dallas-Ft. Worth), Shubhra Ramenini (Houston), Julia Rosenfeld (San Antonio), Heather Hunter (San Antonio), Molly Kaminski (Houston), Drew Faulkner (Washington, DC), and Molly Thompson (Cleveland), local foods advocate who also served as the morning's moderator.  Others who were integral but worked behind the scenes included GT Chairs Linda Geren and Lynn Fredericks, as well as Ashley James (creator of the GT blog and Pinterest sites).

The panel featured four stars of Texas—one shining example from each of the Texas chapters and included:

• Wendy Taggert, Dallas-Fort Worth Dame and co-founder of Burgundy Pasture Beef, demonstrated not only the power of producing a dry-aged beef but also networking with other local producers to offer a range of superior products for everyday meals. 
• San Antonio Dame Heather Hunter, founder of Cowgirl Granola and the Quarry Farmers Market, and Silbia Esparza, executive director of Time Dollar, shared the impact of their unique partnership whereby surplus produce and other fine edibles are donated to the food pantry each week.
• Houston chef, Monica Pope, shared how her commitment to real food brings together people in her local community as well as celebrities from around the world.
• Ronda Rutledge, executive director of Austin’s Sustainable Food Center (also the organization that hosted the Day of Service on Food Day on October 24) enlightened the audience about the importance of access to local food in any community.

One of the biggest barriers to getting people to shift their perspective on what local food provides is that they don’t immediately see the connection between eating locally and the bottom line. This panel helped to shed a light on different ways that local food impacts our communities.  With growers, producers, and educators all seated at the table, attendees were treated to a well-rounded discussion of a topic that is impacting communities all around the globe.  Each speaker each gave her own unique perspective from all across the farm to table continuum on the value of local foods and what it provides for their own communities.

Following the panel, there was an outpouring of interest and support.  One Dame was so moved she wrote a check on the spot to support Silbia Esparza's Time Dollar Community Connections program in San Antonio.

As arbiters of excellence in fine food, beverage and hospitality, it is incumbent upon us as Dames to be champions of change in the food communities in which we live.  Not sure how you can make a difference in your own back yard?  Here are a few ideas to plant the seeds of change regarding food in your community:

• Consider one thing you would change about the current conversation people in your community have about local food.
• Be unapologetically present when it comes to your food.
• Contemplate one food discovery you'd like your community to make and share about it with your friends, family and neighbors.

Hungry for more? Please visit the Green Tables page on the LDEI website as well as the new blog!

Dame du Jour: Gloria Cipri-Kemer

by Maria Isabella

With a paternal family that owned a deli and pizza parlor in Connecticut and a maternal family that owned a neighborhood café in Colorado, it’s no wonder Gloria Cipri-Kemer is in the hospitality business today.

“Hospitality is my main concentration,” says Gloria. “Making people feel comfortable and feeding them is what I love to do.”

Clevelanders are certainly very lucky to have her. In fact, they’ve been flocking to her ever-popular establishment, the Emerald Necklace Bed-and-Breakfast Inn in Fairview Park, Ohio, ever since it opened in 1999. But make no mistake. This is no ordinary inn; it’s also a tea room, a spa, a beauty salon (Gloria is a licensed cosmetologist), and a gift shop.

“I was developing children’s beauty salons in Southern California and designing hair products and styling equipment before I moved to Cleveland. Once here, I decided to open up my own inn/beauty salon, and the rest, as they say, is history!” explains this award-winning entrepreneur.

As a child, she loved helping her Italian mother and grandmother in the kitchen. She particularly remembers Sundays, when she would savor the aroma of meatballs cooking. No wonder, of all the places she’s traveled, she loves the food of Northern and Southern Italy the best.

“The sauces were garden fresh,” she reminisces, “and the bread was a meal in itself.”

As for how she likes to entertain herself these days, Gloria says it’s all about making it special. “I love taking the time to carefully set my table, the time to cook home-style food, and the time to eat leisurely with family and friends.”

Gloria has been a member of LDEI’s Cleveland chapter from the very beginning. “I joined after I saw a small ad in the Plain Dealer,” she explains.

As for what she enjoys most about being a member? “Besides all the great food,” she reflects, “I enjoy meeting very interesting women and learning about different styles of restaurants.”

Learn more about Gloria as she shares some fun and interesting insights about herself.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you usually order there? Pier W. I really enjoy all their fish meals.

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten? In Colorado, I ordered an appetizer called “Rocky Mountain Oysters.” Turned out, it wasn’t fish.

Which one chef would you want to invite over for dinner and what would you serve? I would love to meet Martha Stewart and hang out with her. I would fix her my grandmother’s home-made tacos.

Describe your perfect meal (including wine if desired). I love steak and seafood. I’m not a wine drinker.

What’s your favorite comfort food? My husband’s pork and sauerkraut over mashed potatoes. I’d never heard of this dish until I moved to Cleveland. He’s Irish and German.

Any favorite indulgences? Fresh strawberries and pound cake topped with real whipped cream.

What’s your favorite snack? Any hot drink with any creamy dessert. Then I’m in heaven.


What’s your go-to, quick-and-easy dinner? My quick-and-easy signature dish is chicken cutlets.

What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? It’s a toss-up between tomatoes and garlic.

Name 3 kitchen gadgets you can’t live without. A good knife, zester, and hand whip.

Inspirational Keynote Address at the Conference

By Shara Bohach

Much was inspirational at the Les Dames d'Escoffier conference this October in Austin, Texas. Each session offered valuable insight into running the chapter and/or running one's business. The keynote address by Roz Mallet, "Texas Roots to National Stage" was particularly energizing.

Rosalyn (Roz) Mallet offered inspiring words about actively managing your career and moving it forward through instinct, innovation, mentoring, and values-based leadership. Overcoming odds as a double minority, Roz states that you never know what you cannot do until you try. She spoke with passion about opportunities in the restaurant industry, asserting that if you work hard, develop and believe in your instincts, and proceed with confidence, you can do anything.

In her ten tips for outstanding leadership, she includes “seek mentors and seek to mentor.” The giving back is equally, if not more important. With the help of mentors at every step of her career path, Roz has gone from working summers in college as a restaurant cashier to high-level positions with restaurant brands we all know, to becoming the first African-American woman to lead the National Restaurant Association (only the third woman to be chair of the board in their 96 year history).

Always a well-prepared risk-taker, Roz left a highly successful corporate career to start an entrepreneurial business, at the start of a recession, no less. She succeeded in building PhaseNext Hospitality, a multi-brand franchise operating company, in non-traditional foodservice locations such as airports and military bases. She consistently seeks out unique opportunities, and creates business from them.

Roz encouraged Dames to "learn the bad lessons very, very well, because those are the most important," and to "allow someone to ask you what could you have done better." These are the insights that will guide you toward your next success.

Annual Meeting at Lucky’s Cafe

By Shara Bohach

22 Cleveland Dames were in attendance at the 2013 Annual Meeting at Lucky’s Cafe in Tremont. After the chapter meeting's business including a "Year in Review," Dame Heather Haviland and her fabulous staff dished up an amazing, as-local-as-it-gets menu. She detailed out the ingredients which came predominantly from Ohio farms, and as close as the garden next to the restaurant.

Dinner started with the savory and sweet Butternut Squash Maple Soup followed by a Mixed Green Salad with warm blue cheese dressing and candied pecans. Dames had their choice of House-made Pesto-Ricotta Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce or the Pan-Fried Breaded Chicken Breast with Wild Mushroom Gravy, Roasted, Herbed Fingerling Potatoes, and Sautéed Vegetables. The chicken breast was such a large portion, that every Dame who had it took home lunch for the next day! Dessert, a Chocolate Mousse Bombe made by Heather's pastry chef (pictured here), was as beautiful as it was decadent.

Dames brought their own wine to share over this truly delectable dinner. The table, decked out in a beautiful fall theme with candelabras and fresh flowers, added to the cozy ambiance. A big thanks to Lucky's Cafe for such a great evening! See more photos...