Food for Thought: A Culinary Conversation Among Women

A Culinary Conversation Among Women will strive to set words into actions, with the discussion moderated by Founder of Speaking Broadly and former Editor in Chief at Food & Wine, Dana Cowin in association with the International Culinary Center. Through this event, the International Culinary Center & Journee aim to inspire and influence policy, support community engagement, and positively impact all women working in culinary and hospitality careers.

PANELISTS INCLUDE:

• REBECCA DEANGELIS (Executive Pastry Chef at Babbo NYC)
• MELISSA RODRIGUEZ (Executive Chef at Del Posto)
• GABRIELLE HAMILTON (Chef/Owner of Prune, Author of Blood, Bones & Butter)
• ANITA LO (Chef/Owner of Annisa) 
• ALLISON KAVE (Co-Founder of Butter & Scotch)
• JACKIE MCMANN-OLIVERI (Director, Human Resources of Bold Food | Bobby’s Burger Palaces)
• CHEF CANDY ARGONDIZZA (Vice President of Culinary and Pastry Arts at ICC)

We invite you to join us, participate in the discussion and have your voice heard by the NYC community! Light food and wine will be served throughout the event to foster community building & networking opportunities. 

DATE:  Wednesday, March 29, 2017

TIME: 6:00pm-8:00pm
Discussion Begins at 6:30pm

LOCATION:
International Culinary Center
462 Broadway
New York, NY 10013

ABOUT THE PANEL:

Melissa Rodriguez (Executive Chef at Del Posto) Melissa J. Rodriguez succeeds Mark Ladner as Executive Chef of Del Posto. Melissa is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, where she earned a degree in Culinary Arts in 1999. After graduation, Melissa spent time cooking with Elaine Bell Catering and at Oceana under Chef Cornelius Gallagher. In 2006, Melissa joined the team at Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Daniel, where she was promoted to sous chef. After five years at Daniel, she joined the team at Del Posto in 2011 and was promoted to Chef de Cuisine in 2015. She lives in Jersey City with her husband, Garrett.

Rebecca DeAngelis (Executive Pastry Chef at Babbo NYC) A New Hampshire native, Rebecca DeAngelis started her pastry training at the age of 15 at Jacques Fine European Pastries in Suncook, NH. Soon after high school, DeAngelis entered the prestigious Société Culinaire Philanthropique’s 137th Salon Commanderie des Cordons Bleus de France competition and became the youngest person ever awarded 1st Prize for Pastry. That accomplishment awarded her a full scholarship to The French Culinary Institute in New York City where DeAngelis honed her skills in classic French pastry techniques. DeAngelis’s skill and determination won the attention of Gina DePalma at Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca. DeAngelis trained under DePalma for five years before taking the helm of the Babbo pastry kitchen. When DePalma left Babbo in 2013, DeAngelis assumed the role of Executive Pastry Chef where she leads one of the most respected and decorated pastry departments in the nation. In October 2016, DeAngelis worked with Mario Batali to prepare the last state dinner during the Obama administration, honoring Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Chef Candy Argondizza (Vice President of Culinary and Pastry Arts at ICC) ICC’s head of culinary and pastry Chef Candy Argondizza leads a staff of 50 chefs and oversees curriculum changes for the professional and amateur programs, keeping pace (and ahead of) an ever-changing industry. Chef Candy brought considerable experience with her when she joined ICC’s faculty in 2000 as a chef-instructor, having cooked professionally since 1979. Tapping her natural talent and determination to succeed in New York City, she landed a sous chef position at Remi, followed by several executive chef positions and invitations to cook at the James Beard House. Her strong interpersonal skills and depth of knowledge led to her quickly rising up the ranks at ICC to a leadership position at the school. Chef Candy’s most trusted resource as a chef and educator is Jacques Pepin’s La Technique, the book she most returns to and always recommends. As an accomplished tri-athlete, she also believes that a balanced lifestyle is the key to success, a wisdom she hopes to impart to her team and to ICC’s students. Her accomplishments as a teacher and administrator were recognized by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) when she received the coveted “Educator of the Year” award in 2012.

Anita Lo (Owner and Chef at Annisa)  As the chef/owner of Annisa in New York City, Anita Lo is one of the most respected chefs in the country, earning numerous accolades for her inventive Contemporary American cuisine that reflects her multicultural upbringing and classic French training. Lo, a first generation Chinese-American, grew up with her family in Birmingham, Michigan and earned a degree in French language at Columbia University. While studying at Reid Hall—Columbia’s French language institute in Paris, she fell in love with the food culture and vowed to return. Back in the U.S., Lo accepted her first kitchen job as garde-manger at Bouley, but after a year, decided to move back to Paris and enroll in Ecole Ritz-Escoffier, a revered culinary institution. After receiving her degree, graduating first in her class with honors, she returned to New York, working her way through all the stations at David Waltuck’s Chanterelle. In 2000, Lo opened Annisa (whose name means ”women” in Arabic), an intimate, upscale restaurant in Greenwich Village serving Contemporary American cuisine. Lo was named one of ten “Best New Chefs in America” in 2001 by Food & Wine and proclaimed “Best New Restaurant Chef” by the Village Voice. In 2014, Annisa received the prestigious three star rating by The New York Times.

Gabrielle Hamilton (Chef / Owner of Prune, Author of Blood, Bones & Butter) Gabrielle Hamilton is an American chef and author. She is the chef/owner of Prune, a restaurant in New York City, and the author of Blood, Bones, and Butter, a memoir.Hamilton said her way of eating and cooking was heavily influenced by her French mother, saying she didn’t waste food and the family often foraged for fresh ingredients from their garden and from the forests and fields surrounding their house. Hamilton received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. Following a career in catering, Hamilton opened the restaurant, Prune, in New York City’s East Village in 1999. Having no formal experience in restaurants, nor culinary school education, her 30-seat restaurant garnered widespread acclaimed admiration from diners, critics and other chefs including Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain. Prune earned a spot in the Bib Gourmand section of the Michelin’s 2014 New York guide. Hamilton was featured in the fourth season of the PBS show The Mind of a Chef as well as the first season of The Taste on ABC as a guest judge.

Allison Kave (Co-Founder of Butter & Scotch) Allison Kave is the co-founder of Butter & Scotch, a bakery & cocktail bar in Crown Heights, Brooklyn known for creative riffs on classic American desserts and craft cocktails. She is the author of First Prize Pies, the coauthor of Butter & Scotch: Recipes from Brooklyn’s Favorite Bar & Bakery, and the coauthor of the recurring “Drunk Bakers” column in Bake from Scratch magazine. Her work and recipes have been featured in a wide range of publications and media, including The New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, The Food Network, and Cooking Channel, and she has taught pie workshops at the James Beard House, the International Culinary Center, and in private homes throughout NYC. Her passions are baking, booze, feminism, and puppies (not necessarily in that order).

Jackie McMann-Oliveri (Director of Human Resources / Bold Food, Bobby’s Burger Palaces)  Jackie McMann-Oliveri recently joined the Bold Food and Bobby’s Burger Palace family as Director of Human Resources with a focus on people and culture for all Bobby Flay branded restaurants. With over 15 years of HR experience mostly in Hospitality, a strong FOH and Operations upbringing and a genuine love of food and service, she knows this next part of her journey will be amazing. She has a BS in Business, Management and Economics and Advanced Graduate certificate in HR and is a certified PHR. Her passions are leadership and talent management and she strongly believes that as leaders in this wonderful world of hospitality, we should always be selecting and hiring amazing people, giving them the support, tools and opportunities to succeed and partnering on accountability for all. She most recently served as HR Director for The Meatball Shop for around three years (will forever be a baller) and had fun opening and staffing Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center (still feels like home) over a decade ago. She is a founding member and Steering Committee member of HR Professionals in Hospitality, a lecturer at The International Culinary Center and lives and breathes an open-door policy for all her circle. Jackie has also been an active volunteer event lead for Food Bank of NY / No Kid Hungry serving NYCWFF events wearing many hats to give back to the city she loves while benefiting hungry children and being around the industry she loves for the past five or so years.

ABOUT OUR MODERATOR:

Dana Cowin ( Founder of Speaking Broadly / Ex-Editor in Chief of Food & Wine) Dana Cowin, best known for her two decades as the Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine Magazine, is a tastemaker, talent scout, author, lecturer and radio show host. During her tenure at the award-winning magazine (1995-2016), she oversaw every editorial aspect of the brand from print to web to books to social media. She expanded and introduced several honor programs to highlight emerging talent including the magazine’s annual Best New Chefs award and Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink. After Food & Wine, Cowin joined the ground-breaking restaurant group Chefs Club to continue her role as a scout, selecting chefs from around the world to be featured on their curated menus. Cowin has moved on to become host of “Speaking Broadly” on Heritage Radio Network, interviewing extraordinary women in the food industry about their greatest challenges and triumphs.  A sought-after speaker, Cowin has been a judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” a presenter at TedXManhattan, a lecturer at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival and multiple food festivals and other events.  A noted author, Cowin in 2014 published “Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen: Learning to Cook with 65 Great Chefs and Over 100 Delicious Recipes,” which garnered a spot on many “Best of Fall” lists. Cowin serves on the Board of Directors of City Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, and Hot Bread Kitchen, a work force development group. For her many contributions to the culinary world, Cowin was inducted in to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Drink.  If you’re not afraid of mouth-watering images of food, follow her @fwscout on Instagram and Twitter.

This blog post was originally published by the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Explore your culinary education where the legacy lives on.