Industry Night

The stars were out on this show! First we spoke with the Washington City Paper’s food editor extraordinaireLaura Hayes about how food/dining coverage in DC has morphed from “what to eat, where, and why” to meatier issues, such as sexual harassment in the kitchen, fair wages and tipping, sourcing and sustainability in an age of climate change.

The, the couple with the golden touch, Andrew Dana and Dani Moreira, co-owners of nationally-hailed Timber Pizza and Call Your Mother bagel/deli shop, talk about how instinct and hard work shot both those concepts to the top of the industry in such a short time.

Join us!

Across the past, several years, Greater Washington has joined the exclusive “club” among the world’s most revered dining destinations. From Bon Appetit to Michelin, DC area restaurants are acknowledged as “must dine there!”

Across the past several years, Greater Washington has joined the exclusive “club” among the world’s most revered dining destinations. From Bon Appetit to Michelin, DC area restaurants are acknowledged as “must dine there!”

Joining us on today’s show are three of the many who have helped to elevate DC’s dining rep to global status: Kathy Hollinger, president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), Christianne Ricchi, chef/owner of DC’s legendary i Ricchi, and Grace Shea, a member of the family team that owns and operates the ultra-successful Lebanese Taverna restaurants. They’re talking the growth and blossoming of the regional dining out industry; challenges and opportunities facing its continued expansion and evolution and, of course, the RAMMYs, RAMW’s annual, “Oscars” gala celebrating the best of the best for 2019.

Join us!

Join us!

Tonight on Industry Night, we have the distinct honor of gathering individuals who have worked in every corner of the earth in one DC studio to share their cultures, ideas, and values.

First, Terry "TK" Harvey comes to us from Meridian, a diplomatic and global leadership institution that strengthens U.S. engagement with the world and accelerates collaboration through the exchange of leaders, ideas and culture. TK has worked with over 20 countries and to build sustainable relationships and connections across the diplomatic, government, and cultural sectors.

Next, Dana al Marashi, manager of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, speaks to us about the rich cultural heritage of the UAE, especially Emirati art. Under her direction, the Embassy of the UAE has arranged diplomacy programs through sports and the arts, working to highlight shared values between the UAE and United States.

Then, we can hardly sit still as Junious "House" Brickhouse, the Director of Next Level Dance Company, enlightens us about how he uses Hip Hop music and dance as international cultural exchange, how it facilitates conflict transformation programming, and nurtures entrepreneurial skill-building.

Finally, Jay Raman is currently assigned to Washington, DC as director of the Cultural Programs Division in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He is responsible for the State Department's global performing arts, visual arts, film, and humanities exchanges. He emphasizes to us the value of government investment in cultural diplomacy.

It is our distinct honor to bring together so many cultural figures with such beautiful and unique stories to tell. You won't want to miss it!

Nate Mook is a Renaissance Man – He serves as executive director of World Central Kitchen, the non-profit organization founded by Chef José Andrés to leverage the expertise of chefs and implement smart solutions to hunger and poverty. He also recently produced the HBO Documentaries film "Baltimore Rising", which documents the peaceful protests and destructive riots that erupted in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death in police custody in 2015, while the city waited to hear the fate of the six police officers involved in the incident, reflecting the deep divisions between authorities and the community -- and underscoring the urgent need for reconciliation.

Nate has also been a producer and filmmaker with What Took You So Long since 2012 after working for TED and spending his earlier career as an entrepreneur in the technology and software industries. He has recently led film productions in Somalia, Haiti, Colombia, Panama, Uganda, Kenya, Iraq, and Liberia, working with clients such as UN Women, USAID, UNDP, and the World Bank, along with smaller NGOs. Nate has traveled throughout Africa with President Clinton, and was selected as a Gates Foundation “Change Hero”. In 2015, he completed a documentary on Haiti with world-renowned chef José Andrés, which he co-produced with National Geographic and PBS.

With all that to Nate’s credit, we knew that his multidimensional talents and pursuits would make for an engrossing hour of radio – and, they did!

Tune in to hear more!

"Bill Thomas is the owner of Jack Rose Dining Saloon, home to the one of the largest publicly available whisk(e)y collections in the world with more than 2,700 different expressions.

Thomas opened Jack Rose in 2011, but he has been in the whisk(e)y & bar business for more than 20 years.

Considered one of the foremost authorities on whiskey in the United States, Thomas is often featured on judging panels, in whisk(e)y history documentaries and leading tastings across the country. Thomas is also an avid personal collector, with more than 6,000 bottles in his private collection.

Thomas is soon opening up a new restaurant and bar, The Imperial, in Washington, DC in mid-2019, and, since Foodie and the Beast are about to head for a week in Scotland, we thought it the prefect time to discuss whisky, whiskey and all of Bill’s endeavors with the man himself!

Cheers!

May 18-19, 2019, DC celebrates Capital Trans Pride, drawing together members of the transgender and gender non-conforming community, allies, colleagues, family, and friends for a weekend of celebration, workshops, networking, and panel discussions on a variety of issues important to the Trans comm

One such issue is the impact and legacy of the Stonewall riots, also called Stonewall uprising, were a series of violent confrontations, between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. The riots began in the early hours of June 28, 1969 and, as they progressed, an international gay rights movement was born.

Today on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast, we remember and honor Stonewall and what those turbulent days started and produced with several guests involved with celebrating and marking the riots’ 50th anniversary, including:

Sultan Shakir, executive director of SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders), an organization supporting and empowering LGBTQ youth in the DC area

Stephen Rutgers, director of sales and marketing for the Washington Blade, the nation’s oldest, LGBT newspaper, who is responsible for implementing the paper’s marketing, such as the Pride Pils can contest and Best of Gay DC Awards; graphic designer

Brandon Skall, CEO & Co-Founder, DC Brau Brewing Co. - This is the 3rd year DC Brau & The Blade have partnered to design specially wrapped cans for Capitol Pride

Graphic designer Maggie Dougherty, label designer for DC Brau’s 2019 Capitol Pride Pilsner

Christy Wallover, the Newseum’s exhibit writer, in to discuss the museum’s commemorative, Stonewall exhibit.

Join us for a fascinating, roundtable discussion.

The evening’s show has “winners” written all over it.

Joining is are Spanish winemaker Ivan Lopez and legendary, DC restaurateurs, Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray. Ivan and his wife live in the shadow of the Pyrenees where they lovingly grow some of Spain’s most heralded grapes. Their Bodegas Claudalia wines are prized for their dedication to traditional winemaking and distinctive tastes and structures. And Ellen and Todd are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the opening of their signature, downtown DC restaurant, Equinox, that has led the way on tastes and food movements for these past, two decades. Equinox was among the first restaurants to focus on sourcing only sustainable foods and humanely raised animals. Today, the focus is on their newest program, “Not Wasted” – that is, not wasting any aspect of foods, including using technology from Cuisine Solutions (the world leader in sous vide techniques) to ensure that the excellent nutrition and tastes to be derived from vegetable cuttings (e.g., carrot stems, mushroom stems etc.) that in past have just been thrown away, have viable and delicious uses. Think of it as “snout to tail” for veggies!

Join us for two fascinating discussions!

The last time you looked in the mirror or stood on a scale, did you recoil with horror? Fact is, people tend to gain (a lot of) weight over the winter months. Then spring rolls in, pool openings loom on the horizon, and commitments to dieting and living a healthier lifestyle start rolling off our tongues. But what diet will it work, keep the weight off and leave you looking and feeling better?

The answer for you may be EMP 180, as it is for Industry Night host, David Nellis. Join him and his wife and EMP 180’s founders, nutritionists and other clients with real world weight loss and health benefits stories. Learn about the program, how it works, what you eat, health benefits and how it can change your food relationships for the better.

Our guest this week on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast is Christian Eck, Assistant Food and Beverage Manager and Tea Specialist at Michelin-starred, Blue Duck tavern in Westend DC’s glorious, Park Hyatt Hotel.

As well as being Blue Duck Tavern’s tea specialist, Christian is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, so he is able to offer pithy parallels between the farming and production of wines and teas. Even better, he delivers incredible knowledge into the origins and history of tea varieties (Remember that all tea comes from the same plant and leaf – production techniques are what deliver such a range of tea types) and had tons to offer about the tastes and health benefits of the more than 30 varieties he serves at Blue Duck’s unique Tea Cellar, a one-of-a-kind, tea-centric experience here in DC.

Join us for a spot of tea, won’t you?

Let’s play word association. We say, “Napa Valley” and you say, “Wine!” Of course! What else would you say to America’s top, vinicultural brand. With all due respect to Virginia, Oregon and every other, wine producing state in the union, California’s Napa Valley is it, when it comes to producing America’s finest wines and for marketing America’s most powerful, regional wine brand. The Napa Valley Vintners is nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its more than 525 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, to provide environmental leadership and to care for the extraordinary place they call home.

So, representatives of the Napa Valley Vintners Association were in DC , and we snared several for a deep dive into the association’s mission history, but also into the history and world of Napa Valley wine growing and, of course, some Napa Valley wines tastings! Joining us were Rex Stults, Senior Director of Industry Relations for the Napa Valley Vintners; Dawnine Dyer, Partner, Dyer Vineyard, a real-deal, longtime Napa Valley winemaker who spent 25 years as Winemaker at Domaine Chandon and a partner in the award-winning, Meteor Vineyard and Emma Swain, CEO at St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery: Emma Swain, CSW and CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery who also serves as the Board Chair for the Wine Market Council and is a board member of the Napa Valley Vintners.

If you’re serious about wine – or even if you not – this is a roundtable discussion not to be missed!

Cheers!