Fall 2001
For Immediate Release
Contact: Heather Freeman 800-987-9806
www.heatherfreeman.com

The Spirit of Community Service Adds a Special Dimension to Chef Ris Lacoste's Life and Her Role at 1789 Restaurant
      Ris Lacoste is one of the most generous chefs, volunteering time and food for numerous fundraising and charity endeavors within her community. Her volunteerism addresses both social concerns and personal passions including the arts, hunger, education, support for independent, small farmers, conservation, and assistance for both women and children in need of help. Ris participates annually in numerous fundraising events for organizations such as Taste of the Nation, American Farmland Trust, Zoofari, Share Our Strength, DC Rape Crisis Center, Arena Stage, St. Jude Hospital For Children, and Food and Friends.
      Lacoste is an active member of the National Board of Directors of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF). She also served as Chairman of the National Capital Area Chapter for four years for which she received the Outstanding Leader Award 2000. She also contributed to the Chapter's newsletter, Capital Wine & Food. Through her leadership role in AIWF, she gained added support for the first chartered high school for hospitality industry students, the Marriott Hospitality Public Charter High School. Under her direction, the High School became the official charity for AIWF's fundraising efforts in Washington, D.C. Ris also joined their Board of Trustees and serves as a mentor for enrolled students, training them in her kitchen.
      "I have known Ris Lacoste for nearly ten years, during which time we have worked together on several AIWF programs and various other culinary projects. Ris and her team handle these demands with great skill and ease. She has made significant contributions to our group through her years of service as a chapter chairman and as an active member of the national board. Her expertise, hard work, and enthusiastic support are invaluable. I feel very fortunate to know Ris because we both hold the same high standards for doing absolutely the best work we possibly can. She and the members of her staff are careful, competent, and utterly professional people. I continue to enjoy working with Ris and partaking of her culinary successes; visiting 1789 is always a special treat for me," says Julia Child, Co-founder of The American Institute of Wine and Food.
      L'Academie de Cuisine, the acclaimed cooking school in the Washington area, looks to Ris Lacoste for assistance with their students through internship programs at 1789 Restaurant. As many as four L'Academie de Cuisine graduates have worked together simultaneously in the kitchen at 1789, and they have all loved their workplace. Furthermore, Ris volunteers as a judge and internship mentor for Careers Through Culinary Arts Programs, Inc. (CCAP).
      "What a role model Ris Lacoste is for both men and women in this industry! I cannot say enough nice things about Ris. She devotes so much of her time and energy to helping the students at L'Academie de Cuisine reach their potential. Coupled with her devotion to helping others, is her great sense of humor. Ris defines the generosity of spirit," says Barbara Cullen, Director of Marketing at L'Academie de Cuisine.
      Ris Lacoste's dedication to helping others also extends to her fellow chefs. She recently assisted Tracy O'Grady of Kinkead's as a Bocuse d'Or supporter by participating in four fundraising dinners for her.
      "Ris is the nicest, most generous person in the industry and she taught me the value of being good and being kind. We were at Kinkead's together for two years, and this is the most valuable lesson I have learned thus far. She is also the most inspirational person I have ever worked with," says Tracy O'Grady, Executive Chef at Kinkead's.
      Her own staff at 1789 Restaurant can attest to her generosity and capacity for helping those around her to learn, grow and excel. In her workplace all questions are important and Ris Lacoste's patience and generosity with her time and knowledge are remarkable. This results in having a team that is enthusiastic and ready to pitch in so that Ris can dedicate her time to numerous charities and community endeavors.
      "I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Ris for about 10 years, at Twenty-One Federal and for the past five years at 1789 Restaurant. I am where I am today because of Ris. She never tells me what to do. Instead she asks pointed questions that help me figure out what is best which is empowering. I have never met anyone that strives for such an amazing level of quality, and yet she does it in such as way that everyone feels good and comfortable and able to excel in her kitchen. This makes her an excellent teacher and Ris loves her work, she lives and breathes it. In my eyes, she is the next Julia Child," says Terri Horn, Pastry Chef at 1789.
      Lastly, Ris Lacoste is so highly regarded within her community that she has been initiated into the International Women's Forum, which is the world's preeminent organization in 16 countries for women leaders to foster association and communication between women in diverse professions and to provide a network of support. A member is "a woman of substance and renown who has reached the top of her field, and her influence reaches beyond her immediate circle of power." Madeleine Albright, Rosalynn Carter, Kitty Kelly, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are just a sampling of the members within this dynamic group. Without question, Ris Lacoste's generosity throughout her community was a catalyst for her invitation into this circle of achievers.