Les Dames D’escoffier’s Outstanding In Her Field Farm Dinner Celebrates Ann Karlen

Les Dames D’Escoffier Philadelphia will honor the pioneering farm, food and community work of Ann Karlen at the Outstanding in Her Field Farm Dinner on Sunday September 17, 2017 at 4:00pm to 7:00pm. This annual awards fundraiser will be held among the vineyards at The Inn at Grace Winery (50 Sweetwater Road, Glen Mills). The dinner is designed to recognize talented women making a difference in the culinary field. This year’s honoree is Ann Karlen who lives and breathes what it means to be “farm-to-table,” by creating a community of farmers and food artisans to encourage the use of local produce and goods. Karlen succeeds last year’s winner Chef Esther McManus, a culinary pioneer and local food legend. Guests and friends of the honoree will feast on a locally sourced communal meal created by talented chef-members of LDEI Philadelphia, paired with luscious wines crafted on the property. Funds raised by the event will help to fund scholarships for women entering the culinary field.

Tickets are on sale now starting at $125 and can be purchased at bit.ly/ticketslesdames2017

Philadelphia has a storied culinary history, and professional women have been integral to the development of restaurants, catering companies, farms and food production since the city was founded. In order to honor this heritage, Les Dames d’Escoffier Philadelphia developed Outstanding In Her Field in 2016 to recognize a Philadelphia-area woman for her accomplishments in the food, beverage or hospitality  industry.  

“We are thrilled to return to Inn at Grace Winery for our 2nd Annual Outstanding in Her Field Farm Dinner,” said Les Dames d'Escoffier Philadelphia Event Co-Chair and President Natanya DiBona. “Our annual dinner an incredible event that  brings together chefs, producers and foodies alike in a beautiful setting among the vines of this famous vineyard.  It celebrates the accomplishments of a pioneering woman in food, like Ann Karlen, while raising scholarship money to support the next generation of women in food.”

As a true food advocate, Ann helped to create Fair Food, a non-profit organization formed in 2000 to build a local food economy for the Delaware Valley region by connecting family farms to the Philadelphia marketplace. In 2003, Karlen opened the Fair Food Farmstand, Philadelphia’s first all-local food retail grocery store, in the Reading Terminal Market. Karlen was a founding member of the Philadelphia Food Policy Advisory Council from 2011 – 2016, where she served on the Good Food Procurement sub-committee. In 2013, she worked with a team of industry professionals to develop curriculum for a Food Hub Management Certificate Program, and in 2015 she joined the faculty at University of Vermont as Director of the program.

“We are very excited to host this communal meal that celebrates the local producers that Ann has worked with since founding Fair Food and the culinary expertise of the Les Dames chefs and friends of our organization, added DiBona.  

 
Patrons will have the rare opportunity to feast on farm-to-table specialities using farm products from Fair Food Farmstand at the Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia’s first all-local food retail grocery store founded by Karlen herself. The area’s most innovative chefs will saute and sear a variety of culinary creations such as Pocono Rainbow Trout from Chef Jon Jividen and Michelle Leff, braised brisket with fall fruit from Lynn Buono at Feast Your Eyes Catering and Eileen Talanian, cookbook writer and former owner of an American Kitchen is making Jam from the recent blackberry harvest and last year’s honoree, Chef Esther Press McManus will be whipping up her famous croissants and palmiers.

Other area chefs such as Chef Jacquie Peccina Kelly from Taste 4 Travel and Michele Haines from Spring Mill Cafe will be showcasing their culinary talents. No meal would be complete without dessert from Pastry Chef Marie Stecher of Walnut Hill College serving up individual cakes for all and certified organic coffee from local small batch coffee roaster, Golden Valley Farms.

“The menu’s theme this year reflects Ann’s values and dovetails beautifully to one of the core missions of Les Dames d’Escoffier, our Green Initiative, which strives to support farming and farmers, and promotes efforts to educate school children about healthy, local food sources,” said Owner of Feast Your Eyes Catering Lynn Buono.

Outstanding in Her Field promises to not only honor Karlen and raise funds for Les Dames’ Educational, Scholarship, and Green Tables initiatives, it will also shine a light on the many talented local women working in the culinary, hospitality, farming, beverage and educational fields. And of course, it will be a lot of fun savoring what the Dames enjoy most, “Je seme a tous vents.”

Proceeds from the event will support LDEI’s scholarship programs that offers aid to women pursuing careers in culinary arts, hospitality, fine beverage and agriculture. Scholarships are awarded annually to women of all ages who are enrolled in accredited programs in the Philadelphia region. For more information, go to http://www.lesdamesphilly.org/scholarships/

ABOUT LDEI INTERNATIONAL

Les Dames d’Escoffier is a worldwide philanthropic society of professional women in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality. The invitation-only membership, composed of 36 individual chapters across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico, is highly diversified and reflects the multifaceted fields of contemporary gastronomy and hospitality. Members are committed to the advancement of education and philanthropy in food, beverage and hospitality for the good of the global community.

The Philadelphia Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier was created in 1984 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local women and their endeavors in the food, beverage, farm and hospitality industries. In addition to mentoring members, the Philadelphia chapter provides scholarships for women in culinary-related educational programs, from high-school through continuing and professional education. For more information, go tohttp://www.lesdamesphilly.org/.