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

 

         
Home  |  About SFPFS  |   Become a Member  |  Calendar/Events  |  Resources/Links  |  Member Services  |  Newsletter  |  Food in Perspective  |  Contact Us