January 2019

On Thursday, January 10 FCS Professionals and guests gathered at the Cambria Gallery in downtown Minneapolis for “An Evening of Awesomeness”.  The evening began with an antipasti skewer paired with a glass of Cantina di Capri “Piazza Grande” Lambrusco Rose wine.  A time for mingling in the gallery was held prior to the official start of the program.

The Cambria Gallery is not just home to samples of beautiful countertops but also has a bar, kitchen space, and even a stage.  The walls are adorned with photographs and autographs from musicians who have stopped in for a concert in the gallery.  WCCO radio is located upstairs and several musicians who are touring the radio stations will then stop for a concert.  The Cambria Gallery offers free event space including a conference room for 10 and they can hold up to 250 people in the actual gallery space.

Program co-chair Gerry Luepke introduced the evening’s speaker Leslee Miller.  Leslee is a certified Sommelier and owner of Amusee and Sip Better . Amusee is her wine consulting business and Sip Better is a wine club.  When not working with her two businesses you can find her making appearances on local television like The Jason Show, sitting on the MN Grape Growers Association, and even teaches courses at the University of Minnesota.

Leslee provided a wealth of information during the course of the evening (too much to recap here!) but here are a few bits of information!

• When pairing wine and food match to either the preparation of the dish, sauce, or the dressing
  • Heavier sauces (think Caesar or creamy) you can lighten up with something acidic.  Heavy food + lighter wine = balance
• If your dish is spicy do not go acidic with the wine.  Try a Malbec
• Pork and Syrah go well together
• Pair a sparkly rose with a meat and cheese tray
• Vegetarian dishes like curry —> Pinot Noir, Grenache
• What grows together, goes together!

She also talked at length about health conscious choices with wine.  Many are concerned about monitoring sugar intake in food yet forget to think about how much sugar they are consuming in wine.  Popular brands like Apothic and Yellow Tail are full of sugar (as much as a can of Coke!).  Leslee recommends choosing old world wines with a lower alcohol concentration (9-13%) to reduce sugar consumption.  She said our first wine we tasted was between 0-5 calories per 5 oz glass.  This is a link to her recent segment on the Jason Show talking about this very topic!

The wines served throughout the evening were interesting and paired perfectly with our small bites.

On December 11, FCS Professionals and guests gathered at Quincy Street Kitchen in Minneapolis for our December meeting.  Quincy Street Kitchen is a new business started by FCS Professionals member Kristen Olson and Rose Daniels.  Kristen’s background is in food styling, food photography and recipe development. Rose is a designer and has owned a company called Rose&Co.  They met at Chef Camp where Rose is the creative director and Kristen is a counselor!  Their passion is food and drink and together they have formed a business that helps businesses (big and small) to support and build their food brands through strategy, design, recipe development, photo and video content.  They even host parties and events (such as ours) in their beautiful studio space.

Members and guests were treated to delicious food including a cheese &  charcuterie board, flatbread pizzas, spa water, hot apple cider, and assorted dessert bites while listening to Rose and Kristen describe their journey in the past year getting their business up and running!  As an added treat, they gave an excellent food photography demonstration in which they taught the group various tricks and tips in food styling and photography.

As you move through your career after college, it’s important to plan your career path; don’t leave it to chance! Nicole Norfleet, a writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune creates a list of initiatives that need focus during the various work life age decades to put yourself in charge of your career. Here is a sampling from her list:

* In your 20’s, gain work experience in your field, look for leadership opportunities, connect with good networking groups and find a mentor.

* In your 30’s, take charge of your career by identifying your long-term work goals and continue to look at the job market for a better or higher paying job via your network group.

* In your 40’s and early 50’s, determine if you need more education or certification for advancement and consult with a life coach (a mentor). If you want or need to look for a different job, the best place to look is within the network group.

* In your late 50’s and early 60’s, make a career exit plan, network with other others that have retired and look for self-satisfaction within your career world. Giving back through mentoring is an excellent way to share your career knowledge.

Three initiatives remain consistent throughout all the work life decades. They are leadership, networking, and mentoring. Food & Consumer Science Professionals offers members opportunities in those three areas; take advantage of them! If you aren’t a member or know of someone who should join, it can be done on our website FCSProfessionals.org.   The original Star Tribune article can be found here

Thank you to Marge Ryerson and Gerry Luepke for providing this article and summary. 

Here are a few snippets from the world of food and consumer science!

• In case you missed it, our own Debra Sheats was interviewed on WCCO-TV on the “Good Question” segment asking about the ketogenic diet craze.  The segment can be viewed HERE
• Are you ready for this food trend for 2019?  Crickets?  Read about it HERE
• Americans are eating 82% of meals at home (up from 75%) but…..only 31% of those meals are completely homemade! This article talks about the competition between restaurants (think take-out) and meal kits. Click HERE