Dinner for 15

If America runs on Dunkin, then I run on lists. I have them for everything: groceries, packing, my “day job”, even lunch time runs to Sephora. I approached my first dinner with Common Good City Farm, A Taste of History, with the same fervor. Lists of flowers, lists of spices, lists of props for the table decor. I knew that I wanted my first dinner to be a success, and for that to happen I needed to be organized. More importantly, I wanted to set the tone for how I wanted my company, Kutlery, to work with clients and execute events. First, I did my Googles (research) and submitted a workshop proposal to Common Good City Farm. I decided that I wanted the theme to be mutually beneficial for the both of us and aligned with my company’s ethics.

A Taste of History would highlight the legend behind one of Washington D.C.’s oldest neighborhoods, Le Droit Park. What was once an all-white community, slowly integrated into an enclave that was home to notable residents like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Mary Church Tyrell. Knowing that Common Good City Farm is committed to equitable access to healthy food and invested in the surrounding the community, I felt this was a perfect match. The next step was submitting the proposal and preparing a chef tasting for the Outreach Program Manager-then the real fun woul begin.

I had a crash course in client management (tons of emails), project management, and even logging and expensing receipts. I took this seriously. I ordered eco-friendly palm leaf bowls and cutlery. I made two trips to Potomac Floral Wholesaler just so that I could begin to learn how to pick, design and arrange my own flowers. There were the nights I had to test recipes after work and practice my lines in the mirror. What would be my elevator pitch for how I got started with cooking? How can I show someone how to chop and prep a ratatouille in 7 minutes?

While exhausting, I loved every second of it. If I had not lead and managed almost every aspect of a dinner, I would have no idea what it entailed like checking deliveries of fresh herbs from California or picking up fresh vegetables the night before the dinner from the farm. I experienced a few blips early in the year that included me cancelling what would be my first food workshop. I was devastated and worried that my time wouldn’t come. When I was tired or stressed about money, that it was kept me going-knowing that I had been given a unique opportunity to live out my dream.