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Presidents Message - June 2005
A cold, dark and very rainy month of May has thankfully
come to an end, as Memorial Day ushers in what we've been waiting
for -- some relatively decent weather! However, for a moment,
I must return your thoughts to May to speak about the ECB's May
16th meeting held at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in
Boston. This unique meeting was held in one of the many private
dining rooms at MGH, usually occupied by many of MGH's high profile
guests and families. ECB members and guests were greeted with
passed appetizers, a fruit and cheese display and a complimentary
bar. After the business of the club was conducted, I, along with
Scholarship Committee Members Jeffrey Barr, Denise Graffeo, CEC,
AAC Anthony Graffeo, CEC, AAC and Despina Makredes, CCE awarded
3 scholarships to Bunker Hill Community College and to Newbury
College. After these presentations, I introduced our speaker,
Lorraine Allan, MBA, RD, LDN of MGH, who spoke about how the
MGH dieticians, nutritionists and chefs work together to prepare
healthy foods that meet the dietetic needs of patients as well
as taste good. Speaking of "good", ECB members and
guests received 1 hour of CEH for attending this meeting.
Dinner began with a choice of 3 wonderful salads: Mixed Greens
Salad with Marinated Mushrooms; Roasted Beets, Walnuts and Blue
Cheese Salad and Marinated Cucumbers and Vidalia Onion Salad.
Our entrées were served on an elegant buffet consisting
of Champagne Chicken with Barley Risotto and Bay Zucchini; Tamarind
Honey Lamb Kebobs with Mashed Sweet Potato and Grilled Cajun
Salmon with Potato Salad Provencale. Dessert consisted of a delicious
Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Cheese Cake; Fresh Berries with Whipped
Cream and Blonde Brownie with Ganache Icing.
Sincere thanks are expressed to Host Chef David Gauvin for a
wonderful meeting, Lorraine Allan, the kitchen and service staff
at MGH, the ECB Scholarship Committee. Our appreciation also
goes to all of the hospital staff, nurses and doctors who have
given outstanding care to many of our ECB members and their families
throughout the years.
Our June meeting will be held on Tuesday June 14th, at the beautiful
Café Escadrille in Burlington, at 6:00 p.m. We will again
be co-hosting a joint meeting of the ECB and The Pioneer Valley
Culinary Association of Springfield. Please note that we are
expecting a large turnout for this meeting, as we have invited
all of the ACF Chapter Presidents in New England, as well as
their members. This meeting will also offer unique opportunities
to meet and network with your fellow N.E. ACF colleagues, renew
old acquaintances and of course, make some new ones. The ECB
hosted this meeting in 2003 and co-hosted it in 2004, and both
times it was a great success! It is certainly worth noting that
last year was the only the second time since the 1980's that
many of the New England ACF Chapters met at a venue other than
at the ACF Northeast Regional Conference or at the ACF National
Convention. Another important reason to attend this meeting is
that the ECB will be awarding 8 additional scholarships to the
following schools and colleges: The New England Culinary Institute,
Montpelier, VT; The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park,
NY; Johnson & Wales, Providence, RI; Endicott College, Beverly,
MA; North Shore Community College, Danvers, MA and Massasoit
Community College, Brockton, MA. Therefore, it is our hope that
you will attend this event for all of the above reasons, as well
as a wonderful meal, as always at The Escadrille!
Also in June, the ECB will be hosting our 6th annual "Children's
Charity Golf Classic" Tournament. It will take place on
Monday, June 27th at Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland. Please
note that Golf Committee Chair Jim DiMarzio, CEC is in need of
prizes, hole sponsors & foursomes, so please contact Jim
DiMarzio or Steve LaCount, CEC, AAC if you would like to lend
a hand. We thank you in advance for your help with this great
event. Speaking of Steve LaCount, we have some exciting news.
Steve and Joe Rocco will be soon leaving The Country Club to
embark on a new adventure, the opening of a restaurant in Westwood,
MA. We're all very excited for Steve and Joe and want to wish
them the very best with the September opening of the restaurant!
In closing, I wanted to share some news with you regarding my
continuing research on the Epicurean Club's history. After several
years of searching, I have finally located the first printed
story of the forming of the Epicurean Club!! Of course I have
to share this with you, so you will find two stories about the
forming of the Club in this newsletter. Please note that the
date of the very first meeting was June 11, 1894. The ECB uses
the date of November 2, 1894 as our founding date because this
is the date that the State of Massachusetts granted the ECB a
charter officially recognizing the ECB. I hope you will find
these stories as interesting as I have!
I look forward to see at our June meeting.
Warmest regards,
Rico DiFronzo, CEC, AAC
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