Exciting News!

I had a wonderful evening at the Four Seasons last night, and I will be back with a full report later today. After I left the cooking class at the Four Seasons, I went to a very exciting meeting of the American Institute of Wine and Food, Boston chapter, where I was voted a new Board member, the Marketing and Public Relations Chair.

Do you know about AIWF?

Well, first I will tell you that the organization was founded by, among others, the late Julia Child and the late Robert Mondavi. Enough said, right?

Here’s a little more:

The American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1981 by the late Julia Child, the late Robert Mondavi, the late Richard Graff and others to provide a forum for the study and enjoyment of gastronomy.  The AIWF is one of the few national organizations with the unique combination of dedicated wine and food enthusiasts and professionals. Wine and food enthusiasts get to meet and learn from renowned chefs, winemakers, authors, culinary historians, and food producers, while industry professionals have the opportunity to know and understand their core consumers. We recognize Heidi Barrett, Michael Chiarello, Michael Escoffier, Tyler Florence, Gale Gand, Michel Richard, Gail Simmons, Rick Tramonto, and Roy Yamaguchi as AIWF ambassadors carrying on the legacies of our founders and promoting The AIWF.

If combining my loves of wine and food was not enough, the AIWF does much more.

The mission of the AIWF is to enhance quality of life through education about what we eat and drink.

And there’s more. . .

Through its Days of Taste program, the AIWF educates youth about fresh, natural food. It brings together 4th and 5th graders with chefs and farmers about the importance of fresh food in their lives.

I can’t say it any better than this.

In this age of fast and frozen foods, we want to teach school children about real food-where it is grown and how it is produced-so they can develop an understanding and appreciation of how good, fresh food is supposed to taste.

— Julia Child

Days of Taste^® Founder

Part of my new journey is to spread the word about AIWF and to get more people of my generation involved. I would love it if you could join me! I’’ have updates and will be posting Twitter and Facebook information soon. If you know of any local restaurants who might be interested in partnering for events or becoming sponsors, I would love to send that information to the other Board members at AIWF.

And, of course, members are a huge part of AIWF’s success. If you are interested in membership benefits, please visit the website.

Have you heard of the AIWF before? What do you think of their mission?