James Beard House to Host Boozy Vegan Dinner

To celebrate Thursday’s International Women’s Day, culinary organization The James Beard Foundation (JBF) will host “Women Chefs Rule: The Vegan Edition,” an all-vegan dinner featuring female vegan chefs, winemakers, and proprietors. Trade organizations Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) and Women of the Vine & Spirits (WVS) are partnering to host the celebratory event in New York City, where guests will interact with WCR vice president Nina Curtis while dining on gourmet dishes from vegan chefs Sophia Hoffman, Cara Mangini, Carrie Summer, Makini Howell, and Peggy Chan. The five-course wine dinner will start with hors d’oeuvres such as Carrot-Beet Borscht Shooters, Toasted Quinoa Cakes, and Mozzarella-Style Nut Cheese Cubes paired with wines sponsored by WVS. Founder of wine club Vegan Wines Frances Gonzalez—WVS brand ambassador for the event—will choose a red wine from small vineyard Burgess Cellars and a white wine from local New York vineyard Whitecliff Vineyards to pair with main course dishes—such as Disguised Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic and Vietnamese Yellow Curry—prepared by chef Hoffman. “The women in the alcoholic beverage industry are strong and help each other [as] being a female entrepreneur where men have dominated this field can be challenging,” Gonzalez told VegNews. “We want to highlight the talents of female winemakers and give them a stage to showcase their work.” Gonzalez (who was recently a guest on VegNews’ Facebook Live) launched Vegan Wines—a monthly vegan wine subscription service—in February with the mission to bring transparency to the wine industry. “I feel that this is such a delicate yet powerful movement,” Gonzalez said. “I am so grateful that JBF is part of a historic event. We are all very excited for the opportunity they have given us to express and show the world what positive things women bring into this world.”