Female culinary pros sign on for UNLV initiative
If there’s strength in numbers, the Women’s Hospitality Initiative is getting off to a strong start. More than 50 influential and successful women in the local food and beverage community have signed on to participate in the organization’s Feb. 18 launch event at UNLV.
The Initiative, or WHI, is a Las Vegas-based organization “committed to accelerating the development of women leaders in the restaurant and food service industry.” And as previously reported, its first public event will be a screening of the documentary film “A Fine Line” at UNLV’s Judy Bailey Theater, followed by a panel discussion and a culinary celebration in its Hospitality Hall. The list of educators, chefs, mixologists, sommeliers, restaurateurs and other culinary professionals participating in those events reads like a Who’s Who of women in the F&B industry.
The panel discussion will be led by Stowe Shoemaker, professor and dean of UNLV’s Harrah College of Hospitality, and Mary Choi Kelly, co-founder of WHI, and the film’s star, chef/restaurateur Valerie James. They’ll be joined by chefs Lorena Garcia and Mary Sue Milliken, Caesars Entertainment Vice President Lora Picini, Therese Gearhart of Women’s Foodservice Forum and Katherine Miller of the James Beard Foundation.
That, however, is just the beginning. Here’s the list of women who are signed up to make the culinary celebration an event to remember:
Alexandra Lourdes and Lin Jerome, Saint Honoré
Alyssa Ocampo, Sparrow + Wolf
Amber Ramsay, Carl’s Donuts
Anamarie Ellis and Christina Ellis, Ellis Island Casino Hotel & Brewery
Angela Ippolito, Lupo by Wolfgang Puck
Ashley Costa, Vetri Cucina
Audrey Alonzo and Stephanie Bogert, UNLV
Candace Ochoa, Bazaar Meat by José Andrés
Cathy Stamm and Emily Brubaker, Cured & Whey
Chloe Helfand, Atomic Saloon Show, Spiegelworld
Christina Wilson, Gordon Ramsay Group
Cindy Soliz, Buddy V’s Ristorante
Claudia Andracki, Desert Bloom Eco Farm
Danielle Crouch, Jammyland Cocktail Bar & Reggae Kitchen
Elizabeth Blau, Honey Salt
Elyse Petersen, Tealet
Flora Aghababyan, Wynn Las Vegas
Gina Marinelli, Ragan Kerney and Stephanie Torres, La Strega
Heidi Cole, The Barrymore
Jainine Jaffer, Shiraz
Jamie Tran, The Black Sheep
Jeneice Marrinetto, Park on Fremont
Jenna Boyer, J&P Fine Wine (Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits)
Jennifer Murphy, Caesars Entertainment
Jenny Wong, Fat Choy Restaurant
Jessica Perlstein, Main St. Provisions
Joymar Herrin, Herbs & Rye
Juyoung Kang, The Dorsey at The Venetian
Kelly Bianchi, Wynn Las Vegas
Kristine Raymer, Centerplate
Lindsey Geddes, Charlie Palmer Collective
Lorena Garcia, Chica
Mariena Boarini, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Border Grill & BBQ Mexicana
Michelle Mumar, Milk Bar
Nicole Brisson, Locale
Nicole Erle, Cut by Wolfgang Puck
Nina Manchev, The Caviar Collective
Penny Chutima and Saipin Chutima, Lotus of Siam
Rose Signor, Silver Stamp
Roxanne Gomez, The Golden Tiki
Sarah Thompson, Elio
Sonia El-Nawal, Rooster Boy Café, Rooster Boy Granola
Sonia Stelea, Ada’s
Veronica Arroyo and Vivian Chang, Stripsteak
Wyndee Forrest, CraftHaus Brewery
Tickets for the screening and culinary celebration start at $30 for UNLV students, and $60 for everyone else, with VIP packages available. You can purchase them at secretburger.com.
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Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.