Bailli's Review

Les Lacs et Les Bois

State of the Bailliage

Dear Confrère:

I am writing to bring you up-to-date on the State of our.  The year 2007 again provided high quality events at a variety of venues.  We held six dinners, a new member social, and three wine events, two which were exclusively for our Mondiale members. This schedule is similar to what we offered in 2006 and what we have planned for 2008. The success of our events is a testament both to the dedication and hard work of our board and the enthusiasm and conviviality of our members.  Hats off to both!  Let’s look back on our series of successful events:

1.      We began the year at Masa’s Sushi & Robata Bar with a traditional nine-course dinner that exposed us to a variety of Japanese flavors.  In addition to exploring new foods and wines, we all learned more about Japanese traditions.

2.      Valentine’s Day was celebrated at Café Annie where Robert DelGrande, Executive Chef and co-owner specially created every item on the menu for our enjoyment.  No item served could be found on his regular menu, so this evening was a unique experience for all.

3.      In March, we held a Mondiale wine event at Courses, the Art Institute of Houston restaurant, which was open to our entire membership.  The theme was Zinfandel – The Uniquely American Immigrant.  We had an opportunity to compare 9 top Zinfandels and one mystery wine (which turned out to be a Primitivo from Italy).

4.      May took us to Fleming’s, where Conseiller Gastronomique Shelli Moran brought in Aaron Pott, Quintessa wine maker.  The evening started with a tasting of unreleased wines from four blocks on the Quintessa property and included the final release of the 2004 vintage of this sought-after Napa wine.

5.      August introduced us to Barolo and the food of the Piedmont region of Italy at Amerigo’s Grille.  Our Conseiller Culinaire Honoraire Casey Kosh created an authentic menu representative of the region.

6.      Executive Chef Stacy Simonson & Maître de Table Restaurateur Scott Simonson provided a fabulous Napoleon themed dinner at Chez Nous.  Each dish tied to Napoleon, who to our surprise actually joined us for the reception and posed for photos with our members (thanks to Les Jones).  During the dinner we learned that Chargé de Missions Fred Tresca’s grandfather was a cabin boy on the ship that took Napoleon into exile!

7.      October brought the New Member Wine Social as a lively and casual way to introduce potential new members to our organization. 

8.      November marked our annual Black Tie induction dinner at the new Carlton Woods Creekside Clubhouse.  Vice Conseiller Gastronomique Honoraire Bill Langley provide a beautiful venue and Executive Chef Michael Parker worked his culinary magic on the menu.

9.      December finished out the year with “Hot Rocks”, a Mondiale members’ discovery of the great red wines of the Rhone Valley.

You can see pictures and information from these events plus our 2008 schedule on our web site at http://bailliages2.chaineus.org/woodlands/

In addition to our Bailliage schedule, we had the opportunity to attend the Southwest Region Young Chef Rotisseur Competition at the University of Houston - Conrad Hilton School in March that was followed with a buffet dinner.  In July, we enjoyed the hospitality of the Galveston Bailliage at the Summer Seafood Extravaganza where we were treated to copious amounts of seafood.  This year a number of our members took advantage of Chaîne travel opportunities including a trip to Piedmont, Italy, the South East Regional Assemblage in Florida, and a Grand Chapitre in St. Petersburg, Russia.  As mentioned in the letter from National that contained your National dues statement, there are a number of travel opportunities available via the Chaîne and all are first-class. Some of our members signed up for the Board of Directors Meeting next January in San Antonio.

Our Bailliage wine cellar continues to grow and we plan to continue building our cellar with high quality wines that we will be able to enjoy at future events when these wines will no longer be available, or would be cost-prohibitive to acquire. 

The Chaîne offer us so much.  Not only do we have great dinners at our local chapter, but we have many opportunities to attend Regional and National events, enjoy dinners at other Bailliages when we travel on vacation and join two other “arms” of the Chaîne.  With about 7,000 members in the USA and 24,000 world-wide, it is the world’s largest Gastronomical Society.  Through it the Chaîne Foundation has provided over $2 million dollars in scholarships to young people who want to pursue culinary and hospitality studies at our country’s finest schools.  The Young Chef Competition and Young Sommelier Competition provide an opportunity for our best young chefs and bright sommeliers to compete under the most rigorous conditions to earn the right to represent our country against best young chefs and sommeliers of the Chaîne world. 

There are two additional subgroups of the Chaîne that you can join.  First is the “Société Mondiale du Vin” with its love of wines and other crafted beverages.  Today there are more than 2,000 members of Société Mondiale du Vin in the United States.  The Société Mondiale du Vin holds tastings, and encourages the dissemination of information on fine wines and spirits and provides recognition for those professionals who are beverage oriented.  Our Bailliage held three Mondiale events in 2007.  One was open to all members: “Zinfandel – The Uniquely American Immigrant,” a blind tasting and dinner.  Two more events were for Mondiale members-only: both held in private homes.  The first was “Classic Carryings-in” where each attendee brought a bottle of Parker 92 or better rated wine.  The second was “Hot Rocks – Great Wines of the Rhone Valley”.  Our Vice Echanson, Charlie Bennett, heads up Mondiale events for our Bailliage.  For 2008, we have three new Mondiale events on our calendar, one of which will be open to our general membership. 

Second is the “Brillat Savarin” which offers travel to experience regional and international cuisine.  The Brillat Savarin is an Academy dedicated to upholding and popularizing regional cuisines. It is a natural extension of the Chaine’s commitment to education and they organize yearly trips to different regions.  Société Mondiale du Vin and Brillat Savarin each have nominal dues and induction fees, and it is an opportunity for you to add a pin to your Chaîne ribbon!

Members can find out more about these organizations and additional events by accessing the Chaîne National Website at www.chaineus.org.  The Lacs et des Bois local web site can be reached by selecting LINKS (Chapter Websites) from the Chaîne National Website.

In 2008, Les Lacs et des Bois Bailliage hosted the Super Regional Young Sommeliers Competition in conjunction with the Regional Young Chefs Competition.  This was a spectacular weekend starting Friday, February 29^th with dinner at one of Houston’s hottest new restaurants, Reef, which included wine commentary from the Master Sommeliers in town for judging the Sommelier Competition.  Saturday night included the Young Sommelier Competition awards, a Société Mondiale du Vin Induction, with robes included and a wonderful five-course dinner.  Not to be out-done, the Southwest Regional Young Chef’s Competition and Banquet provided an enjoyable day at the Hilton College at the University of Houston, with wine and cheese tasting, seminars, young chef interviews, and a sumptuous awards dinner to follow. Yes, it was a grand weekend and at a super price.

This year we sent out a survey soon to take the pulse of the membership about a potential Bailliage-sponsored trip.  As with the previous survey to determine what you would like to see in our event schedule, survey respondents again have a chance to win a bottle of wine as a reward for filling out the questionnaire.  The winner this year was Les Jones.

Vive La Chaîne!

Cheryl Kenny

Bailli – Bailliage des Lacs et des Bois