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	Upcoming Events Recent Events Calendar Regional Groups Calendar Archive About SIGS	Stirring the Pot event, “Building Your Culinary Pedigree: Where, Who How and Why, July 26^th at the Cliff House By: Christina Mueller Welter August 7, 2006 Special thanks to photographer Matthew Carden (website) Clark Wolf Moderated by Clark Wolf , an original member of the San Francisco Food Society, now a contributor to Food Arts, this event was comprised of luminous local food names. Amanda Berne, Columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, Jim Dodge, Director of Specialty Culinary Programs at the Bon Appétit Management Company, Duskie Estes, Co-Chef and Co-Owner of Zazu and Bovolo restaurants, Traci Des Jardins, Chef/Owner of Jardinière and Mijita restaurants, and Leslie Sbrocco, author, writer and host of the recent KQED Check Please!, the panel was certainly well-seasoned and full of great stories of how they got where they are now and with whose help. Jim Dodge Jim Dodge was inspired by his family to move across the country to work in restaurants. His restaurateur family tried to push him out of the food business and into corporate. It never “took”. Gaining physical distance, Jim focused on refining his craft – pastry. Influenced by Marion Cunningham, who pushed him to write, and Mary Risley who pushed him out of the kitchen. Jim spoke directly to the audience by emphatically stating “ do not skip through experience. Remember that it takes 5-6 years and is a long journey.” His time at Stanford Court taught him the importance of building both teamwork and mutual respect. Amanda Berne Amanda Berne spoke to the individuality of the journey, and not always necessary to go to cooking school, “ but you must have a passion for food and cookery as well as incredible discipline, focus, and drive. Being in the business is something you have to want”. She started working in kitchens at age 14 but found her passion during an externship at the Chron during cooking school. Leslie Sbrocco Ms Sbrocco spoke of writing skills, previously developed, later applied to wine. Rather than getting hung up on a traditional route or putting experiences in a certain order, she emphasized that you find your path if you are passionate and disciplined in your work. She is able to reach consumers through writing rather than a restaurant kitchen to help consumers understand that wine is fun. Traci Des Jardins Ms Des Jardins believes in formal training, either with or without specific cooking school experience - she took a semester off from college to work in Joachim Splichal’s kitchen and subsequently spent the 80’s apprenticing as a chef. She never returned to college. Her time spent with Joachim Splichal made her really tough – his Patina kitchen was the epitome of the worst you have heard about restaurant kitchens. That strict working environment provided a valuable base for her to learn her own management style – and then become a respected manager. Marlena Spieler and Duskie Estes Ms Estes recommended spending a year in a formal kitchen before going to cooking school. She spent one semester each at Brown and the CCA before working in various kitchens. There is no substitute for the experience, which provides you with your own culinary pedigree. She spoke of finding a mentor or role model to guide and shape your experience. Hers’ was Tom Douglas of the Seattle restaurant group Tom Douglas Catering and Events. Guests enjoying delicious hors d'oeuvres Chef Patrick Clark of the Cliff House restaurant provided a beautiful and wonderfully fresh hors d’oeuvres; fois gras terrine with lavender lavash was my personal favorite. The Reception Roberta Klugman Katherine Pearson and Danielle Forestier	List of Recent Events August 2010 Blue Cheese Tasting August 2010 Wine Blending Seminar August 2010 Kendall Farms Crème Fraîche July 2010 Hodo Soy Beanery Tour June 2010 Japanese Knives May 2010 Semifreddi Tour May 2010 Japanese Ingredients May 2010 Spanish White Wine SIG May 2010 East Bay Networking May 2010 Vanilla Master Class March 2010 Butter Tasting March 2010 Washington Red Wines February 2010 Visit to Nettie's Crabshack February 2010 A visit to FullBloom Baking Co. January 2010 Annual General Meeting December 2009 Wine Sig: Rosé sparkling wines November 2009 Cooking Teacher SIG: Gifts from the Kitchen November 2009 Tea Pairing with Numi Tea November 2009 STP: Spice at Campton Place October 2009 Canned Tomato Tasting October 2009 Traveling Table Visits Brown Sugar September 2009 Visit to AG Ferrari September 2009 Cooking Teachers SIG report September 2009 Lark Creek Steak hosts Australian Traveling Table September 2009 Recession-Buster Wine Sig August 2009 Over $6000 raised at BBQ August 2009 2009 BBQ a big success July 2009 Cooking Teacher SIG: Korean cooking July 2009 Traveling Table: Estate July 2009 Sustainable Meat and Seafood June 2009 C.J. Olson Cherry Farm Tour June 2009 Ice Cream Tasting May 2009 Wine SIG Tastes Gewürztraminer May 2009 Master Class in Chocolate April 2009 Protecting Intellectual Property March 2009 East Bay Networking Event March 2009 Cheddar Tasting February 2009 Rhone whites delight February 2009 M.F.K Fisher January 2009 2009 AGM and NMR January 2009 SFPFS Cooking Teacher SIG Meeting January 2009 Traveling Table to Chez Papa December 2008 Burgundy Wine SIG September 2008 Cooking Teacher SIG September 2008 Minutes from September board meeting (Word doc) September 2008 Peanut Butter Tasting September 2008 SF Networking event at Local Kitchen September 2008 Stirring the Pot: Celebrity Chefs September 2008 Traveling Table at Mantra September 2008 30th Anniversary of SFPFS August 2008 Board Meeting Minutes (Word Doc) August 2008 Coffee Cupping July 2008 Cooking Teacher SIG June 2008 Honey Tasting SIG June 2008 Food Writing Book Club SIG June 2008 Digs Bistro June 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Showdown May 2008 A Visit to Careme 350 May 2008 Cooking Teachers SIG May 2008 San Mateo Members Meet May 2008 South Bay Members Connect April 2008 Wine SIG takes a Beaujolais Cruise April 2008 Demystifying the Food/Wine Dilemma March 2008 Pasta tasting March 2008 Cooking Teachers' SIG March 2008 Traveling Table to Ubuntu March 2008 Gelato Making February 2008 Best of Show Cabernet Sauvignons January 2008 AGM 2008 January 2008 Cooking SIG at Ramekins January 2008 Stirring the Pot: Future of Chinese Cuisine December 2007 Marmalade tasting November 2007 Wine SIG samples sparklers November 2007 United States of Arugula review November 2007 Decoding Molecular Gastronomy October 2007 Career Change Roundtable October 2007 B Star Bar September 2007 Barbary BBQ on Maiden Lane September 2007 Vanilla Tasting August 2007 Wine SIG tastes Rieslings June 2007 Wine SIG Rosé Tasting June 2007 Wines from Livermore June 2007 Tasting Sig Explores Fetas June 2007 Dinner at B Restaurant May 2007 An Evening with Jaques Pepin April 2007 Knockout Santa Cruz Wines March 2007 Feasting at Chef Chus February 2007 Annual General Meeting February 2007 Lessons from a Master Taster: Darrell Corti February 2007 East Bay Urban Wine Tour January 2007 Traveling Table: Radio Africa and Kitchen December 2006 Holiday Cookie Exchange November 2006 Southern Foodways Alliance October 2006 Stirring the Pot with Chuck Williams October 2006 Wine Sig Looks for Varietal Character August 2006 SFPFS Barbeque on the USS Hornet August 2006 Stirring the Pot: Building your Culinary Pedigree June 2006 Antony Bourdain at the Commonwealth Club May 2006 Expo West 2006 May 2006 Table Travelers visit Old Mandarin January 2006 The Annual General Meeting January 2006 Impressions of Fancy Food, the 31st annual trade show September 19, 2005 Stirring the Pot: The History, Dynamics, and Ethics of Luxury Dining June 22, 2005 Stirring the Pot with Nell Newman, Els Cooperrider and Guinness McFadden May 25, 2005 Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust Fundraising Dinner May 18. 2005 Philippe Stark and Michel Rolland at the SF W Hotel April 28, 2005 Roundtable: The Food and Culture of Burma February 15, 2005 Stirring the Pot with Harold McGee October 22, 2004 Food Fight! A Lively Discussion of Today's Most Challenging Food Choices July 12, 2004 Blenheim Apricot Food Tour May 17, 2004 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Hubert Keller, Michael Mina and Bradley Ogden March 15, 2004 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Gerald Asher February 10, 2004 SFPFS Traveling Table goes to New Delhi Restaurant January 26, 2004 AGM / NMR Review November 10, 2003 Reel Food - Castro Theatre September 25, 2003 Food Tour - Heritage Fruit Orchard at Filoli Gardens September 17, 2003 Rick Knoll on Organic Farming June 16, 2003 A Conversation with Thomas Keller: The Soul of Haute Cuisine in America May 19, 2003 The SFPFS Traveling Table - Roxanne's in Larkspur April 28, 2003 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marian Burros and Marion Cunningham March, 2003 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marion Nestle


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