By Donna Cornelius
Southern Soirée may be the perfect event for food-focused Birmingham.
Set for Oct. 7, the twilight dinner will bring to the table a tempting menu, support for budding chefs, and, through a silent auction, chances to participate in culinary learning experiences and adventures.
The outdoor event is hosted by the city’s chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a worldwide organization for women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality. Appropriately enough, the venue is a Birmingham urban garden: Jones Valley Teaching Farm.
Susan Swagler, incoming president of Les Dames’ Birmingham chapter, said Southern Soirée will be “casual and fun.”
“The food is on farm tables, and you can wander through the gardens,” said Swagler, a food writer for Alabama NewsCenter and Portico Mountain Brook and the owner of savor.blog.
LDEI is named for Auguste Escoffier, one of the most important figures in food history. Kathy G. Mezrano, Southern Soiree chairman, said the event’s dishes will pay tribute to the French-born chef.
“These are all Escoffier-based recipes with our spin,” she said.
Mezrano is the owner and CEO of Kathy G & Co, a catering and event design firm. She’s also the author of a cookbook for entertaining, “Food, Fun & Fabulous: A Southern Caterer Shares Recipes and Entertaining Tips.” She and other Dames will be the chefs at Southern Soiree.
When guests arrive, they can sip a signature cocktail made with Cathead Vodka, manzanilla sherry, fig syrup and lemon juice with a fresh basil garnish. Steva Casey, a bartender at The Atomic Lounge, created the drink especially for the event. Mezrano said French wines also will be served.
An appetizer plate will include anchovy butter on artisan rye bread – Kay Reed of Iz Wedding & Events is preparing the butter – and cornichons, pickled okra and other vegetables with a whole-grain moutarde from Deborah Stone of Stone Hollow Farmstead. Mary Grace Viado of Village Tavern is making a cold soup with leeks and potatoes.
Mezrano’s contribution is beef bourguignon with mushrooms, and there’s rice pilaf from Carey Thomasson, chef and co-owner of Dinner. Also on the menu are cucumber and pimiento salad from Ashley McMakin of Ashley Mac’s and Reed’s Provençale-style beans.
Dessert is another of Reed’s creations: banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers.
Baker Corey Hinkel is donating bread – French baguettes and rye bread – for the dinner. Nick Hartmann of Ice by Design will create an ice sculpture with the LDEI logo, and Stone Hollow Farmstead will dress up the tables with colorful dahlias.
Auction Opportunities
The Birmingham LDEI group has for several years hosted fundraising dinners, including events at Stone Hollow Farmstead and, more recently, one with a theme featuring both a Southern and a French favorite: fried chicken and Champagne. Mezrano said the name of this year’s dinner was chosen for a purpose.
“This is the first time for it to be called Southern Soirée, and it gives us more flexibility – a French twist with a Southern touch,” Mezrano said.
Another innovation this year is a silent auction, with Dames pitching in to offer one-of-a-kind experiences.
One winning bidder and a friend can join Jan Walsh and Dolester Miles, James Beard Award-winning pastry chef at Highlands Bar and Grill, in the kitchen as they prepare a special dish that will be featured on Walsh’s BirminghamRestaurants.com.
Another auction item is a private tour of Pepper Place Market with its executive director, Leigh Sloss-Cora, and then drinks and brunch at OvenBird with Idie Hastings.
Katherine Cobbs, Rachel West and Anne Cain will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of the Time Inc./Meredith Food Studios. Swagler will take the winning bidder and one friend to three international markets on Green Springs Highway and then treat them to lunch at the new Mr. Chen’s location in Hometown Supermarket.
Rosemary Dallam and Pat Terry will host winning bidders at Samford University’s Wellness Kitchen to watch, learn and taste with the two registered dietitians.
Other experiences include bagel-making with Jennifer Yarbrough of Crestline Bagel; biscuit-making with Becky Satterfield, owner of Satterfield’s Restaurant and her brand-new Latin-fusion restaurant, El ZunZún; a professional knife skills class from Ashley Tarver of Copper Pot Kitchen and Domestica; and professional knife sharpening for the winning bidder and up to nine friends from Susan Green, owner of Birmingham Knife Sharpening.
Creating a Chapter
Mezrano and Swagler were among the Birmingham LDEI chapter’s founding members, as was Martha Johnston, who was vice president of food marketing and director of business development for Southern Living/Southern Progress Corp. She also was on the start-up team for Cooking Light magazine and helped start the Southern Foodways Alliance.
“We had one of the largest initial memberships when we started the chapter,” Johnston said.
Swagler said Birmingham chefs Becky Satterfield, Angela Schmidt and Pardis Stitt started the group in 2013 with 55 women. Membership is by invitation.
“We support each other, and we’re a philanthropic organization,” Swagler said.
The money raised by Southern Soirée and past fundraisers supports people from a range of ages and food-based fields. Last year, LDEI’s Birmingham chapter presented $10,000 in scholarships for culinary and college students and in grants to teachers, entrepreneurs and Jones Valley Teaching Farm.
Mezrano said volunteers from Birmingham-area culinary programs will help out at the dinner.
“Part of what we do is mentor young ones,” Swagler said. “To have them work alongside these experienced Dames is an experience they can’t get elsewhere.”
The Birmingham LDEI members get together for an annual meeting, host programs and trips to places such as cheese-making farms and dairies, and even have a food-themed book club.
“Sometimes what we do is serious – and sometimes it’s just fun,” Swagler said.
Southern Soirée is 4:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Jones Valley Teaching Farm, 701 2th St. N, Birmingham. Tickets are $125. To buy tickets, visit accelevents.com/events/southernsoiree. To learn more about the Birmingham LDEI chapter, visit ldeibirmingham.org or follow the group on social media.
