Cocktails, Cuisine & Conversation
Heighten Your Culinary Senses with this Tantalizing Menu Presentation . . . .taste your way through the flavors of the South as chefs , Jennifer Hill Booker, Deborah VanTrece and mixologist Tiffanie Barriere take you back in time to your very first food memories.
December 4, 2017 from 6:30 to 9:30 at Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours.
Tickets are $125 and can be purchased here: LINK
Three African American, Female Culinary Talents Hosting Event Series to Debunk the myths of ‘soul food’ and gender representation in the industry. Cocktails, Cuisine and Conversation, an intimate cocktail soiree and open panel to ignite discussion about the journey of the industry’s female trailblazers and the challenges they face on
About Chef Jennifer Hill Booker
Chef Jennifer’s culinary path has not always been a linear one. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Tulsa before graduating first in her class; eighteen months later, with an Associate of Occupational Science from Oklahoma State Institute of Technology. Extensive travel while married to an United States Army Officer pushed Jennifer to blaze a trail that fit her unique situation-a female African American chef, living abroad; as a result Your Resident Gourmet was born. During her time living in Germany, Jennifer honed her culinary talents by providing cooking classes for both military and German families. She was also able to fulfill a lifelong dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Paris, where she once again graduated top of her class. Twenty years later Jennifer finds herself once again blazing culinary trails as she wears many culinary hats as chef, cookbook author of Field Peas to Foie Gras and Dinner Deja Vu, reality TV personality, culinary educator and business owner. She is a Georgia Grown Executive Chef for the GA Department of Agriculture, the Culinary Explorer for the Georgia Department of Tourism and Travel, is the founder of Southern Divas of the New SouthTM Dinner Series, and currently sits on the James Beard Foundation Food Waste Advisory Council. Weaving her love of traditional Southern cuisine with her belief in incorporating healthy, seasonal foods and her classic French training, Chef Jennifer created a unique style of cooking that she termed Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent. Chef Jennifer shares this brand of cooking through her cooking segment ‘Chef Jenn to the Rescue’, on CBS46’s Atlanta Plugged In, with original recipes in such publications as Garden & Gun and Essence Magazine as well as her Food Network debut as a finalist on Cutthroat Kitchen.
About Chef Deborah VanTrece
Twenty-five years of globetrotting culinary adventures will give you a good idea of what people like to eat. Chef Deborah VanTrece draws on a literal world of experience to feed people comfort food that crosses cultural divides and speaks more languages than a guidebook. Well-known for her gourmet catering in the Atlanta area, Chef VanTrece began her culinary career in 1994 when she graduated as the valedictorian of her class at the Art Institute. Working as an executive Chef for a catering company by 1996, Chef VanTrece enjoyed great success during the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta. She was hired to cook for many foreign dignitaries and international executives, and won acclaim for her mastery of imported cooking techniques and delicious globally-informed cuisine. After the Olympics, Chef VanTrece opened Edible Art, a small restaurant and catering operation. Edible Art was a hit and helped to put the East Atlanta neighborhood on the map, laying the groundwork for the cultural epicenter that it’s become today. At a time when fusion restaurants and apple-tinis were all the rage, Chef VanTrece was lifted up as a champion of great food with a clear vision. Her thoughtful take on soul food was a fresh reminder of the virtues of purity in cooking and eating. At Twisted Soul, Chef VanTrece revived and updated the soul food principles she established at Edible Art. What Chef VanTrece continues to serve is the concept of global soul food; the soul food of different cultures around the globe as she has experienced them. First opened in late 2014, transitioning locations in 2016, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours’ first iteration was voted best new restaurant in Atlanta by the Georgia Voice, ranked among the best new openings in Atlanta by Thrillist and has been rated by Zagat. Chef VanTrece was featured twice on NBC’s Food Fighters in the summer of 2015, winning each of her challenges. Her recipes have been featured in the American Cuisine Cook Book, and she continues her catering business with a list of distinctive clients such as Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead, the government of Fulton County, Alston & Bird and the Bureau of Cultural Affairs. Chef VanTrece has honed her skills over the course of a 25-year career, but her passion for food and feeding people has always been a foundational piece of her life.
About Mixologist Tiffanie Barriere
Tiffanie is an active member of Atlanta’s dynamic cocktail scene and is often known by her nickname “The Drinking Coach” due to her passion for and knowledge of spirits and their history. Previous secretary of the Atlanta chapter of the United States Bartender’s Guild and a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, she is frequently in cocktail challenge events and festivals around Atlanta and the Southeast. Tiffanie Barriere whose family is from the country sides of south central Louisiana who now calls Atlanta home, has previously overseen and operated the award-winning beverage program at One Flew South 2009-2016 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Under Tiffanie’s creative direction, One Flew South has been hailed as one of the best airport bars in the world by press outlets such as Esquire, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and more. Under Tiffanie's direction, One Flew South was named "Best Airport Bar in the World" at Tales of the Cocktail in 2014. Barriere’s background and training included the Bar Smarts program, the late Chef Ria Pell, Chef Duane Nutter and her family. Her latest projects included working with the #3 premium tequila in the nation Avion, Pernod Richard, her own marketing team Drinking with the Girls, and the dynamic Diversity Council supported by Tales of the Cocktail committee in New Orleans. Smiles, charity work and providing great service are indeed the intentions in her every pour along with education on the craft and culture of cocktails.
