Empire State New Members Nov 8th

Every month we try to put together a new member mixer to give other people the opportunity to come meet the group and see if it is something they would like to be a part of. Thus far the events have had modest turn-outs, usually around 5 new members. Well, this month the response was tremendous. Our thread got so many hits on seriouseats.com that it was featured on the home page of Eater. The responses kept rolling in. The list of yes's, no's and maybe's kept growing. In total we had almost 100 responses, 58 of which ended-up rsvping for the event. It got to the point where I dreaded opening my email. I was somewhat terrified!

Where could we possible have an event of this size? I thought about contacting the James Beard Foundation about borrowing a space, but then I realized that I worked in a potential location already. I asked The Boss if I could use our office for "a little meeting of my culinary club", she agreed.

By the end of the week I had submitted all fifty-some-odd names to security and sent out the final instructions to the group. The magnitude of the response made me realize how special this group is and how many people are out there in New York, seeking connections with people who share their special passion. Some of the core members were a bit concerned about growing at such a rapid pace, not wanting the group to become impersonal.

I prepared a dish of stuffed mushrooms, filled with bacon, cheese and braised in marsala wine,which was fabulous. I also threw in two bottles of wine for good measure. I arrived, checked in with security and headed up to the office. Upon walking into the office I saw a light had been left on, then someone came around the corner. I nearly had a heart attack! My coworker was there working overtime, after I composed myself, I invited her to join the party. Thankfully a core member arrived shortly and helped me set-up.

I arranged food in the conference room, overlooking the east side of Manhattan, and set-up the bar in the reception area. Then they began to arrive. Thirty people came in all. I greeted and mingled and drank and drank and drank! I met an amazing group of people and five hours later stumbled home with a few of them in tow. They were so enthusiastic, and they liked us, they really liked us!

I added 20 new names to our permanent roster. Some have left, but some have truly become part of the family!

EWI is here and we are a force to be reckoned with!