As a woman entrepreneur, I want to give my customers opportunities to learn more about the significance of women in our culture. Joan Wages, the President and CEO of the National Women’s History Museum, has passionately raised awareness about women’s roles in history for almost 20 years. In December 2014, her tireless efforts moved Congress to create a Congressional Commission to study the creation of a National Women’s History Museum which the president approved. Find out more about the museum We are very pleased to welcome her this Thursday at 7 pm 
to talk about how food preparation has influenced women throughout history at our Dinner with Joan Wages: Women’s History with Food. We are also donating $10 of everyone’s $69 entrance fee to help build the museum!
The menu we will serve was custom designed to highlight women who have had a marked influence on American restaurant culture. In 1938, during the Great Depression, newly widowed Hattie Moseley Austin opened Hattie’s Chicken Shack in Saratoga Springs, NY, investing only $33. She fed people from every class and was known for feeding even those who couldn’t pay. She would say, “Whenever anybody comes to the door, give ’em something to eat. They may be Jesus.” Although Hattie sold the original restaurant in 1993, Hattie’s Chicken Shack is still operational serving her original recipes, notably her famous fried chicken and biscuits. Read more
It was my great honor to meet Ruth Fertel before her passing in 2002. She has been an inspiration to me and countless others. In 1965, as a divorced, single mother of 2, she mortgaged her home to buy the failing Chris’ Steak House in New Orleans. She had no restaurant experience and knew nothing about steak, but she was determined to make it work. The community supported her making Ruth’s Chris Steak House an unprecedented success. In an effort to achieve a better life for her children and herself, Ruth transformed a difficult situation into an inspirational story: she became the quintessential female, risk-assuming entrepreneur. Read more about her
Ella Brennan is, without a doubt, the mother of American restaurants. She put New Orleans on the map as the centerpiece of the whole American food movement. In the 1940s she was pushed into the business by her brother when she was very young and inexperienced. When he died suddenly, she was forced to learn all she could as quickly as possible in order to carry on. That was the beginning of the Brennan culinary empire. Today she is the matriarch of an extended family of restaurateurs that employ nearly 1400 people. At her flagship, Commander’s Palace, she has mentored numerous talents including celebrity chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. Learn more Her documentary “Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table” was released last month on Netflix.
Want to taste dishes created by these historic women? See the menu, and get your tickets now!