Fighting Hunger at the 6th Annual Sips & Suppers

WASHINGTON, January 23, 2014 –The sixth annual Sips and Suppers will take place January 25th and January 26th, 2014. The city’s leading culinary fundraiser, the two-day event highlights food and drink from over sixty nationally renowned chefs, artisans, mixologists, brewers and viticulturists. All proceeds support the fight against hunger in the nation’s capital.
 
The annual celebration is the brainchild of celebrated cookbook author of Jewish cuisine, Joan Nathan, California sustainable food pioneer, Chef Alice Waters, and DC’s beloved Chef José Andrés, who serve as hosts for the weekend.
 
Food, wine and cocktail lovers and food industry professionals will all come together in support of Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen. These two vital non-profits work to equip the poorest in the region to address and overcome the challenges of poverty by providing an extensive range of services including balanced meals, job training, meal planning, career assistance, education and childcare support.
 
In its sixth year, this will be the largest celebration yet with an expanded and exciting program at Sips on Saturday evening, and many more Suppers with some of the country’s finest chefs cooking in private homes on Sunday evening.  Hosts will include a bevy of innovative, up-and-coming local food and drink professionals at both Sips and Suppers. Listed below are details on Sips at the Newseum, and the many creative dinner collaborations happening at private homes throughout the DC metropolitan area for Suppers. Sips & Suppers has raised over $1 million since its inception in 2009.  
 
Sips
The weekend kicks off with Sips on January 25th at the Newseum from
7:00 p.m. – 10:00p.m.
 
VIP Reception—100 guests will be granted early and exclusive access to Sips with the opportunity to meet Alice Waters, Joan Nathan and Eric Asimov, chief wine critic at the New York Times. The purchase price of $200 includes signed copies of both Alice Water's new book, The Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden, and either Eric Asimov's new book, How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto OR PBS's video Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan.
 
The VIP reception will be held in a private room of the Newseum, where authors will be on hand for a book signing. In addition, guests will receive an exclusive sampling of Virginia wines from Jean and Steve Case's Early Mountain Vineyards and the celebrated RdV Vineyards along with bites from Ramon Martinez of Jaleo,Chef Luigi Diotaiuti of Al Tiramisu and Pastry Chef Caitlin Dysart of 2941 Restaurant.
 
Main Reception—Sips attendees can look forward to an exciting evening of libations and live music from blues-rock ensemble, the Billy Thomas Band. Local spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages will flow from homegrown establishments like Sweethshine Bloomery, Don Ciccio & Figli, Capital Kombucha, the Beer Institute, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard and Jrink Juicery. Mixologists including Owen Thompson, Firefly's Jon Harris, and Jon Arroyo from Farmers Restaurant Group will be on hand to shake up their signature cocktail creations.
 
To complement the evening’s sips, tastes will be on hand that capture Washington’s culinary talent, including Asian-inspired bites by Chef Jennifer Nguyen of Zentan, cheese from FireFly Farms, a cheese-making demonstration from Armenian cook, Maro Nalabandian, bivalves from Rappahannock River Oysters, pickles from Gordy's Pickle Jar, spreads from Cava, lamb from the American Lamb Board (partnering with John Critchley from Bourbon Steak) and Jamison Lamb as well as selections from Art & Soul, BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier and Oyamel to name a few. Award-winning Capitol Hill bakery, Sweet Lobby, Dolci Gelati and Sugar and Ice Candy Bar are among those providing desserts.
 
For a complete list of participants, visit: www.sipsandsuppers.org/sips/artisans-mixologists
 
Suppers
Suppers will be held on the evening of January 26th at 33 homes and restaurants across the greater DC area. Both local and celebrated chefs from around the world will lend their talents and expertise to prepare dinners for intimate groups of guests that are passionate about great food, cocktails, wine and community.
 
Top toques include chefs from Berkley's Chez Panisse, Carmen Quagliata from Union Square Café, Michael White from Altamarea Group, Michael Solomonov from Philadelphia's Zahav, Spike Gjerde of Baltimore's Woodberry Kitchen, Peter Chang from Peter Chang China Café, Alon Shaya of New Orleans’ Domenica Restaurant, Paul Qui from Austin's Qui, Daniel Asher from Denver's Root Down and Linger, and more.  
 
Leading chefs from the DC area include Sebastien Archambault of Blue Duck Tavern, Katsuya Fukushima of Daikaya, Victor Albisu from Del Campo, Haidar Karoum of Estadio, Proof and Doi Moi, Mike Isabella of Graffiato, Cathal Armstrong from Restaurant Eve, Ris Lacoste of Ris, Scott Drewno from The Source, Frederik de Pue from Table, Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground, Michael Costa of Zaytinya, and many others will be participating.  
 
Hosts, including José Andrés, Joan Nathan and Alice Waters, as well as representatives from Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen, will lead discussions on food access and security, the impact of food insecurity on the local economy and what individuals can do to help. Other hosts include members of the media, politicians, business leaders and philanthropists.
 
Chefs are partnered together to collaborate on dinners, which are arranged thematically, with themes ranging from regional American, farm sourcing, ethnic, kosher, and international cuisine.
 
For a complete list of Suppers chefs, visit: www.sipsandsuppers.org/suppers/chefs/or see the full fact sheet below for details on what each participant is preparing.
 
Ticket and Location Details
 
Sips
When: January 25th, 2014 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
**VIP reception begins at 6:30 p.m.
Where: At the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001.
Tickets: $95 per person*
VIP event tickets: $200 per person*

Purchase Tickets to "Sips"
                       
Suppers
When: January 26th, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Hosted at 30homes across the DC metropolitan area.
Tickets: $600 per person*

Purchase Tickets to Suppers
 
*All proceeds benefit DC Central Kitchen and Martha’s Table. $70 of the Sips ticket price; $115 of the VIP ticket price, and $500 of the Suppers ticket price is tax deductible.