Meetings

Restaurant Association Gives Aspiring Cooks Fresh Insights

Backed by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, a new speaker series aimed at aspiring restaurateurs is set to debut in Washington, DC.

Failure in the restaurant business can make for some colorful—and cringe-inducing—cautionary tales.

I’m really hopeful that industree can bring the food and beverage industry together as more of like a community.

Which is why Alisia Kleinmann founded industree, a Washington D.C.-based speaker series that aims to provide aspiring cooks, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs with as much information as possible to make their endeavors successful.

“I’m really hopeful that industree can bring the food and beverage industry together as more of like a community,” Kleinmann, who has worked as a private dining manager for Matchbox Food Group and a personal chef for high-level clients, told The Washington Business Journal. “Put someone in a room who’s so passionate about the industry, but doesn’t have the connections or the knowledge to do it, and give them the opportunity to hear the stories of guys that have done it. Who knows what can come from that?”

The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, which represents DC food and beverage businesses, has signed on as a partner. “I think it will really show, especially for the younger/newer generation of entrepreneurs, that RAMW is involving itself in something really new, creative, and fresh,” Kleinmann said.

The series will take place six times a year, led off by an inaugural event on May 14. The speakers will include Hilda Staples, co-owner of Volt, Lunchbox, Family Meal, and Range; Tom Meyer, president of Clyde’s Restaurant Group; and Casey Taylor Patten, cofounder of Concept Steak & Ice. Presentations will feature building a brand, developing a culture within your business, hiring and training strategies, and practicing social responsibility.

In addition to the series, industree will host chef-driven pop-up dinners, late-night industry parties, mentorship opportunities, and Hispanic community tributes. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the group’s events will go to charity.

(iStockphoto/Thinkstock)

Daniel Ford

By Daniel Ford

Daniel Ford is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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