Pass the Reindeer Antlers Please!

Mary Holmes working on the Guest Gifts

Today, everyone at ZINO Society was busy scurrying around to get ready for our "Cool Yule", annual holiday party tomorrow evening.  It will be held at the beautiful new Barrier Motors Mercedes of Bellevue showroom and we expect to have around 175 members and guests in attendance.

ZINO Team Members Christine Gilbert,
Kate DesRosier, Mary Holmes

The theme is all about reindeer this year.  Our members and guests have been encouraged to unleash their inner vixen or blitzen and we will showcase a baby reindeer for photo ops.  Jazz Canvas will be performing jazz music and live art.  (I wonder if a reindeer will work its way into the art being painted tomorrow evening??)  Our featured beverages include Pike Brewing Company, O Wines, DeLille Cellars, Dineen Vineyards, Martinez & Martinez, and Sozo Planet and Ray's Boathouse & Catering will provide the hors d'oeuvres.  I am also looking forward to a rendition of "The Twelve Days of ZINO Society" which Jamee Nunnelee, Mary Holmes and Christine Gilbert have been working on.  I can't wait to hear it!

Ken & Cathi Hatch with ZiZi Zinfandel Z-Dog

Tonight Ken and I along with ZiZi recorded a video toast to be shared tomorrow evening on the big screens in the Barrier showroom.  I hope Christine does a good job of editing!!

Cheers!

"Jump the Line" with UW Student Entrepreneurs

Team "Jump the Line" Billy Watters, Gil Pennington
and Marco del Rosario with Cathi Hatch

I have been mentoring a team of three student entrepreneurs from the University of Washington Foster School of Business Introduction to Entrepreneurship 370 class this quarter.  The team included Gillian Pennington, Marco del Rosario and Billy Watters.  I met with them several times over the quarter to provide a little advice and look at their business plan, hear their nascent pitch as it was being developed, and see the powerpoint presentation in the making.

The name of the business they were developing is called "Jump the Line" and is a mobile app that will enable customers of quick service restaurants to make their food and beverage orders and handle payment remotely so they can quickly pick up their order without waiting in line.  Their customers will be both the restaurants to whom they will sell their service and the individual consumers who will use the app to place their orders.

Gil kicking off the pitch

Yesterday morning, I went to Paccar Hall for the final presentation of their pitch to their professor (Emily Cox) and the rest of their class and visitors.  They really nailed their pitch!  Marco did a fantastic job with the graphics on the Powerpoint and the pitch was divided between the three students and each really did a great job.  Congratulations, Gil, Marco and Billy!

Now they will have to make the big decision whether to follow through and actually start the business . . . or not. 

Sip. Talk. Laugh. Sip again.

Judith Kindler, Tom O'Keefe, Cathi Hatch

Yesterday afternoon, nationally recognized artist and friend, Judith Kindler and real estate and coffee magnate and friend, Tom O'Keefe joined me at my home for another edition of Virtual Vino LIVE!  My partner, Blaine Millett, was on hand to help facilitate the details of the blind tastings and serve as photographer for the programs.

We had fun together tasting a flight of red blends, another flight of Syrahs and a final flight of Cabernet Sauvignon and sharing our non-professional wine opinions with one another and the viewers of the program.  Our favorites turned out to be the 2008 Dussek Family Cellars Syrah from Woodhouse Wine Estates, the Pondera 2007 Sericus for our Red Blend first choice and the Pondera 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve as the standout for Cabernet Sauvignon.



Tom and I go way back since I met him around 20 years ago when I joined the Pacific Northwest Ballet board and he was already on the board.  At that point, he was enmeshed in working to build the Phelps Center for PNB which was successfully completed in 1993 and his first Tully's Coffee store which opened at about the same time.  Tom is a great storyteller and kept us entertained and laughing during the tastings.
Judith and I met a few years ago, and have become great friends primarily in the past year.  Judith is amazingly talented and has brought another creative element to my life that I so enjoy.  We went on a Dalmatian Coast Seaborne cruise with other friends last year and recognized that we were sympatico. We share a love of golf and Scrabble and laughing together at our foibles.

I loved having them participate and look forward to a future Virtual Vino LIVE! wine tasting with them again soon.  Cheers!

Charity Wine Dinner at Pearl Chef's Table

A toast! 
Jeannie Butler, Ron, Delores & Ron Gaspers,
Mitzi & John Morris, Cathi & Ken Hatch

Last night, Ken and I were invited to join friends, John & Mitzi Morris at Pearl for a Chef's Table wine dinner featuring Lachini Vineyards wines which they had purchased at a charity auction.  Along with their other guests including Jeannie Butler and Ron & Delores Gaspers , we sat down to a sea of Reidel glasses  at the Chef's Table with a full view of the bustling kitchen.

Our hosts, Mitzi & John Morris

Pearl owner, Brad Dickinson stopped by to say hello and announced the exciting news that he will be opening another restaurant soon at Bellevue Place by the name of KORAL.  Stay tuned for more information about this soon.

Wagyu beef with Roquefort crust

Seared scallop atop risotto

Duck with root vegetable hash

We were very ably taken care of during the evening by our server, Todd, as well as Pearl General Manager Rashawd Willett and Chef, JJ Ullakko. The food and wine were paired beautifully.  My favorite courses were a light red beet salad served with a wheel of goat cheese (I promptly gave the goat cheese to Ken), a delicious seared duck course atop a hash of sweet potatoes and other root vegetables and the very best was the Wagyu beef with Roquefort crust.  Yum!

<> <> <> <> <> <>

Our server, Todd, serving the Lachini wine.

<> <> <> <> <> <>

Pearl Chef JJ Ullakko

We missed seeing Ron Lachini at the wine dinner, but certainly did enjoy the fruits of his labor!

Jim Bianco featured speaker at Rainier Club Business Leaders Forum



Dr. Jim Bianco speaking at Business Leaders' Forum

Yesterday I attended the Rainier Club Business Leaders' Luncheon Forum which included Dr. James Bianco, CEO & Co-Founder of Cell Therapeutics Inc. as the featured speaker.  Business Leaders Forum chairman, Brendan O'Farrell, introduced Jim to the full room of Rainier Club members and guests who had come to hear Jim speak.  A few of Jim's many supporters in the audience included Sue Bianco, Ken Hatch, Mike Kunath, Lou Bianco, Kjell Schei, Dan Eramian, Ron Elgin, Michael Hatch, and Renee Braun.

Brendan O'Farrell introduces Jim Bianco

Jim shared the fascinating and very long journey of what it takes to get a drug approved today.  It was interesting to understand that only one in five drugs actually gets approved by the FDA and that the average time it takes for this to happen is 15-17 years!

Since it takes such a long time, there is a huge cost to bring a new drug to market and many investors are skittish about investing in a company in which their investment will be illiquid for such an extended length of time.  However, Jim suggested the best times for investors to invest in biotech companies is one of these three inflection points:

1. When the drug is ready for Phase 3 clinical trials.  The likelihood of approval is much higher at this stage than earlier.
2. When the drug does actually receive FDA approval.
3. When the drug is on the market and beginning to perform with compounded annual sales volume.

Listening to Jim's insights in the bio-tech sector.

It was also fascinating to understand that in this genomic era as bio-engineered targeted drugs are aligned with the patients that actually have the bio-marker indications of the disease that there is a much higher rate of success in treating and/or curing the disease.  This allows clinical trials to be much more targeted and show high success rates with fewer people involved.

CTI Mission Statement

Jim ended his remarks by suggesting that most important for the future in this genomic era is for regulatory agencies to re-think the approval hurdles that are currently in place which will help bring these drugs to market more quickly.

Congratulations PSBJ Women of Influence 2011

Jan Hendrickson, Kelly Tweeddale, Janet True,
Cathi Hatch, Bobbe Bridge

Last night I invited my daughter, Katie Laramore, to join me to attend the Puget Sound Business Journal's 8th Annual Women of Influence award event.  The event was held at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency and appeared to be a sell out as it was last year too.  Monica Alquist of Puget Sound Business Journal along with the rest of the PSBJ team organized a great event.
I have had the honor of serving as a Women of Influence judge for the past few years. This year, along with Phyllis Campbell, Jeff Raikes, Constance Rice and Patti Payne and facilitated by PSBJ Assistant Managing Editor Becky Monk, we once again had the difficult task of choosing just a handful of women to recognize. Each year there are literally hundreds of nominations for these honors and I am amazed each time that there are so many dynamic and accomplished women that have not already been recognized that are so deserving of the award. Just look at the list below at the end of this blog post and you will see what I mean.

Simon Woods, Dale Chihuly, Evelyn Zabo, Katie Laramore

Katie and I arrived early to attend the VIP Honorees reception and once again I was so impressed with the women we had selected this year.  We had a chance to interact with the honorees and then PSBJ Publisher, Gordon Prouty raised a champagne toast to the 2011 Women of Influence.

Once we were seated in the ballroom and the dinner event began, Patti Payne and Gordie Prouty invited all the past honorees to come on stage for a photo op prior to announcing the current winners.  While we were on stage, Gordie surprised Patti completely by announcing that although she can't be recognized as a PSBJ "Woman of Influence" since she has been a judge from the onset of the Women of Influence program, that we all recognize her as one of the Women of Influence anyway.  She was asked to answer a question and share some of her thoughts with the audience and then presented with a big bouquet of flowers, applause and hugs all around.

In addition to the women being honored last evening, we saw and talked with so many friends that were there to help celebrate including Renee & Carl Behnke, Lorna Kneeland, Doug True, Sue Hovis, Patrice Auld, Glenna Olson, Andrea Baseler, Patty Barrier, Betty Tong, Angela Wu, Jessica Blixseth, JJ McKay, Barbara Cahill, Dale Chihuly, Evelyn Zabo, Simon Woods, Alta & Stan Barer, Nancy Pellegrino, Kim Richter, Deborah Jensen, David Wu, Jon Bridge, Karen & Chuck Lytle, Jill Ashton, Detra Segar, Norm Rice, and Angie Lepley.

Congratulations to Patti and all the 2011 PSBJ  Women of Influence!

Publisher Gordon Prouty toasts 2011 Women of Influence

The 2011 PSBJ Women of Influence honorees include:
Marla Beck, Founder and President, Andelcare
Bobbe Bridge, Founder and CEO, Center for Children and Youth Justice
Harriet Bullitt, President, Owner and Founder, Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort and Icicle Broadcasting Co.
Janet Denyer, CEO, Gene Juarez Salons and Spas
Sheila Edwards Lange, Vice President Minority Affairs/Vice Provost Diversity, University of Washington
Anne Farrell, President Emeritus, Seattle Foundation & Co-founder, City Club and Washington Women’s Foundation
Jan Hendrickson, Managing Partner, Denny Hill Capital
Leslie Jackson Chihuly, President, Chihuly Inc.
Lynette Johnson, Founder and Owner, Lynette Johnson Photography & Founder, Soulumination Photography
Sharelle Klaus, CEO & Founder, DRY Soda Co.
Jennifer Potter, President and CEO, Initiative for Global Development
Mary Snapp, Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Products & Services, Microsoft Corp.
Myra Tanita, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Janet True, Co-owner, Iron Springs Resort & Immediate Past President, PONCHO
Kelly Tweeddale, Executive Director, Seattle Opera

Your Local Market Opening

Mary Holmes and Cathi Hatch

This week Mary Holmes and I joined Jason Brown at the opening of his new Bellevue grocery store, Your Local Market.  Jason showcased his company at our recent ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum in September, so we were eager to see the finished product that he had described.  He has taken over the old Safeway store location on the corner of Bellevue Way and 4th Street.  It is an interesting concept which includes organic food and mainstream brands as well.

Cathi Hatch congratulating Jason Brown

As we arrived, we were warmly welcomed and handed a beautiful long-stemmed rose and a branded burlap shopping bag that included lots of interesting food products available at the store.  The produce displays were beautiful and Mary and I had fun looking at all the wine selections offered too.  There were tasting stations throughout the store that included fresh salsas, white bean hummus-style dips, sliced high-quality deli meats, sushi, cheeses, dessert bites and high-end bottled fruit juices and teas.

Throughout the store, there are thought-provoking sayings painted on the walls.  My favorite is one by Benjamin Franklin, "Beer if proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." 

A big congratulations to Jason and his entire team!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Add caption

Piper O'Neill's Solo Art Show Opening Party

Artist Piper O'Neill and Gallery Owner, Stacey Winston Levitan

Wednesday evening was artist, Piper O'Neill's opening party for her new body of work which is being showcased by Stacey Winston Levitan at the Winston Wachtner Gallery.  Piper's proud husband, Billy O'Neill, was there cheering her on along with Leslie & Dale Chihuly.  Wine was being poured courtesy of Eric Dunham of Dunham Cellars.

Ken was especially impressed with the details on the "boxes" that Piper had created.  Also a few more of the people there toasting and admiring her work were Renee & Carl Behnke, Howard Wright, Kelly & Peter McLoughlin, Lorna Kneeland and Susan & Larry Winn.

Dale & Leslie Chihuly

There were many luminaries from the art world also in attendance including Rock Hushka, Chief Curator at Tacoma Art Museum, Vincent Kitch, Director of the Office for Arts and Culture for the city of Seattle, and Suzanne Beal who is a writer for Art Ltd. Magazine and recently interviewed Piper.

Other artists also in attendance supporting Piper included Joe McDonell, Flora Mace, Joey Kirkpatrick and Charlie Parriot.

It was a wonderful turnout and the buzz was that Piper sold a lot of her work on that very first evening of her solo show.  Congratulations, Piper!

Jr. Achievement Dare to Dream Gala

Soup please!  Cathi Hatch, Nicole Vogel, Pam Pearson

On Sunday evening, the Party Curmudgeon was under the weather so I attended the Junior Achievement Dare to Dream Gala at the Marriott Seattle Waterfront alone as a guest of Pam Pearson of KCPQ 13 FOX and her husband, Mike.  Pam has been on the board of Junior Achievement for several years and is a past board chairman.  Bright young JA students were on hand to greet and check in each arriving guest.

I was seated at the table between Nicole Vogel, who always makes me laugh with her irreverent comments and quick wit and the new KCPQ News Director, Jon Brady.  I also enjoyed meeting Marni Hughes and Matt Lorch, new KCPQ 5:00 pm news anchor people who were kept very busy at the event on stage and in the crowd carrying around the little Labradoodle puppy to be auctioned off, giving impromptu back rubs to encourage higher bidding, and serving as cheerleaders to help bring in more funding for a very worthwhile cause.

Matt Lorch and Marni Hughes

The event began with a high energy young magician and former JA student, Sterling Dietz who entertained the crowd with family friendly illusions.  Somehow, I can never figure out any of the magic tricks and continue to be amazed with each new trick.  Following Sterling's performance,  Pam was kept busy jumping up and tracking down the servers to get wine and food served to our table since somehow we were seated in what appeared to be the Bermuda Triangle where no servers ventured to enter.

Pam and Nicole and I held up our spoons to show that they were still unused midway through what appeared to be the soup course for the rest of the room.  Jon Brady was sitting in what was the especially unlucky seat at our table since he was almost never served when the rest of us finally received service.  At one point, he was stockpiling a small pile of sesame seeds that had fallen off his roll to consume while we were busy with the next course.  It just wasn't his night because even when his glass was finally poured with a generous portion of wine, it turned out that the wine was corked and it took us awhile to search for another server to bring us a different bottle.

In spite of the service issues, we all actually had a wonderful time together and were able to laugh about the challenges of the evening.  And of course, most importantly, we were all very pleased that needed funding was raised for Junior Achievement of Washington.   

A Delightful Master of Wine Tuesday at Ray's Boathouse

ZINO Society members Sandra Fowler, Brad Vancour
and Randa Mirkovich

Last evening ZINO Society members and guests joined Ken and me along with Wine Gurus, Greg Lill of DeLille Cellars and Stacy Lill of O Wines at Ray's Boathouse for a beautiful Master of Wine food and wine tasting event.  Ray's Senior Catering Manager, Amy Stevens worked with Catering Chef David Saunders, to develop an evening that featured Northwest food and wine including fresh chanterelle mushrooms foraged by Chef Markus Donier.

Cathi Hatch, Chef David Saunders, Amy Stevens

It was an intimate evening with room for 20 guests seated at a long table sparkling with dozens of wine glasses centered in front of the blazing fireplace.  One of the members attending was Sandra Fowler, who had definitely travelled the furthest to attend since she flew over from Tri Cities just for the evening.  We also welcomed new Elite Roundtable member, Randa Minkarah, who was attending her first ZINO Society event and Brad Vancour, long-time ZINO Society member who has probably attended the most Master of Wine events over the years.  We also welcomed back returning member, Bruce Sanchez, who has recently relocated back in Seattle from California.  We had a very interesting discussion about his new book which has something to do with the bell curve of a marriage.

Greg Lill

Stacy Lill

Mary Holmes, Lisa Mikesell, Cindy Hales

It was also fun to see and catch up with members Michael Zachary, Elisabeth Bodal, who admitted to the group that she is an emigrant (gasp!), Denny Dochnahl, who was there with one of his and Bernie's "daughter-type persons", Dehanna Jones, and ZINO Society sponsor members, Darlin Gray, David Riley, Lisa Mikesell and Cindy Hales.  We also welcomed members Eden & Hank Waggoner and recent ZZIF sponsor, Irene Retel.

Greg and Stacy shared some of their background and history about getting into the wine business and Stacy once again gave Ken credit for introducing them to one another.  Ken really is a successful male version of a "yenta"!

The menu food and wine pairings were delightful:

Reception

O Wines Chardonnay 2009

Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

ginger meringue, lemongrass cream

Pleasant Valley Gouda Wafer

Dinner Menu

DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 2010

Chatham Strait Sabelfish in Sake Kasu

jasmine rice, honey, soy an scallion oil

O Wines Red Blend 2007

Warmed Escarole Salad

chevre, dried cherries, crispy bacon, pecans, shallot vinaigrette

Doyenne AIX 2008

Braised Port & Green Lentil Stew

DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Red 2008

Open-Faced Sirloin and Mushroom Slider

carmelized shallots, espresso demi-glace

Doyenne Syrah 2008

Double Chocolate Emmer Bites

Roquefort Blue Cheese   

A big THANK YOU is in order for Amy, David and Markus of Ray's Boathouse and their team and Stacy and Greg of DeLille Cellars and O Wines.  Cheers!

Bruce Sanchez, Mary Holmes, David Riley

A Toast to the Rindlaubs

John & Sarah Rindlaub, Najma & Firoz Lalji

Last evening, Ken and I attended a lovely dinner party at the spectacular home of friends, Najma & Firoz Lalji in Newport Shores in honor of Sarah & John Rindlaub.  It was a Farewell Party (one of the many coming up) to wish John and Sarah well as they get ready to undertake their new adventure with Wells Fargo in Hong Kong.

Sarah Rindlaub and Cathi Hatch

The Lalji home is built for entertaining large groups.  Most fantastic is the long, grand table running down the center of the Great Room that can actually seat around 60 people all at one table!  But there is plenty of room to add other tables around the perimeter too with cozy seating areas at either end of the room.  Also, Najma was kind enough to let the Husky football game run silently in the background on the big screen so we could all keep track of the final game in Husky Stadium.  University of Washington Michael G. Foster Business School Dean, Jim Jiambalvo who was there with wife Cheryl, and staunch Husky fan, Mike Garvey and was there with wife, Lynn, kept pretty close track of what was happening.  (Unfortunately, the Huskies lost to the Oregon Ducks.)

Alison & Dan Chester, Cathi & Ken Hatch, Sarah Rindlaub

The three beautiful Rindlaub daughters were there for the celebration; Alison with husband Dan, Susan with husband Alex and Julia with friend Blake.  Following Firoz & Najma's gracious welcoming remarks, several guests toasted (maybe roasted just a bit) John & Sarah beginning with Craig Williamson who was there with his wife, Janet.  Other toasters included Bob Wallace and was there with wife Joan, Jim Coles who was there with wife CK, Mike Garvey and me.

Carol & Buster Brown

Jim Jiambalvo, Mike Garvey

We all enjoyed a beautiful buffet dinner catered by Bis on Main, one of my favorite restaurants, where you can always count on great food and service.  Some of the other friends gathered to help celebrate were Carol & Buster Brown, John Otter with Molly Gregg, Mark & Denise Tabbutt and Margaret & Randy Talbot.

Following dinner, John and Sarah stood together while John remarked on each guest in the room and why each is an important friend that John & Sarah value.  It was a lovely tribute to the people there who care so much about both John & Sarah.

As the evening wound down to an end, I sensed that John & Sarah may be a tiny bit worried that we ALL are planning to come and visit them while they are living in Hong Kong.  Ken and I are looking forward to it!  :-)

Culinary Charisma with Mario Batali and SAMS



Leslie Chihuly, Colette Courtion, JJ McKay

Last evening, Ken and I attended "An Intimate Evening with Mario Batali" event at the Seattle Art Museum.  It was organized by the Seattle Art Museum Supporters (SAMS) group whose president is  friend, Colette Courtion.

We began in the South Hall where we sipped on Rosemary Mandarin Sparkle specialty drinks, recipe courtesy of Kathy Casey, and excellent Italian wines courtesy of David LeClaire and Wine World while we were photographed with Mario Batali and special guests Dale Chihuly and Thierry Rautureau. 

Ken Hatch with Kathy Casey

In addition to the three featured amigos, we visited with lots of friends including Leslie Chihuly, Douglas Howe & Robin DuBrin, Sherryl Wilson, Jolie & Gatis Roze, Ernie Pino & Richard Gray, Mardi Newman, Glenna Olson, JJ McKay, Pat Wallace, Duell Fisher, Pamela Ebsworth, Barney Ebsworth, Kate Janeway & Howard Wright, Connie Blumenthal, Janet Ketcham, and Betty Lou & Irwin Treiger.

Thierry Rautureau, Mario Batali, Dale Chihuly

From there we proceeded to the Arnold Board Room for a family style seated dinner where we were seated at the Tuscany table with our table mates, Leslie & Dale Chihuly, Andrew Taper, Gemma Daggatt, JJ McKay and Pat Wallace.  Colette welcomed us thanking the evening sponsor, Michele Havens of Northern Trust and then Mario Batali introduced the food menu items while David LeClaire introduced the wine pairings. 

Heather Sullivan, Darren Pym

We began with lightly pickled vegetables and the incredible artisan meats from Salumi, the Italian Salumeria owned by Mario's parents, Marilyn & Armandino Batali which was paired with an extraordinary 2006 Antinori Marchese Chianti Reserva.  The next course was Strangulapreti alla Sorrentina which was homemade potato gnocchi with tomato, basil and mozzarella.  Mario explained that the translation of this item means "strangle the priest" which refers to the story that claims the only time they could keep the priest quiet was while he was eating this delicious gnocchi.

The main course was a very flavorful Arista alla Porchetta served with a sausage, brussell sprouts, pecorino and thyme stuffing paired with a 2008 Antinori Il Bruciato and followed by a braised fennel salad served with gorgonzola crostini.

Steve Pool, Mario Batali, Thierry Rautureau

We were then whisked downstairs via the elevator to the Plestcheeff Auditorium for a presentation by Mario Batali and Thierry Rautureau moderated by Steve Pool of KOMO.  Steve got one of the biggest laughs of the night when he exclaimed that he has the best job in the world since he is wrong 80% of the time but gets paid for being wrong anyway.  Mario and Thierry shared fascinating comments and tidbits as they discussed their views and some of the pros and cons of French and Italian cooking.  Others we saw and talked with in the auditorium included Heather Sullivan, Darren Pym, Jamee Nunnelee, Patricia Stone, and Nona Battistella.

Andrew Taper

The evening ended with dessert, live music by Mark Soltys and the Soul Siren Band and dancing in the Brotman Forum.  As the SAMS group promised, it really was an extraordinary epicurean event!  Congratulations to Colette and all of the SAMS members who made it happen!