The entrepreneurial entrepicurean

Last night's Entrepicurean dinner was the most entrepreneurial to date: every single one of the eight diners has had some entrepreneurial experience -- and this was reflected by the sheer number of different conversation topics that surfaced during the course of the evening.

The list of Entrepicureans, shown in the photo clockwise from the lower left, included Andrew Moss, Vicki Godfrey, Tara Cousineau, yours truly, Carrie Stalder (the evening's co-host), Rod Brooks, Rich Ramirez and Vaughn Tan. I won't even try to list all the companies with which this combined group has been involved, but let's just say that in one way or another this group has probably touched more industry sectors and application areas than your typical VC firm. Another interesting facet of last night's group is that for the first time there were two people that I had never met before (Andrew and Vaughn). This is something that I hope will happen more frequently as the Entrepicurean community expands.

Interestingly, I find myself having a hard time remembering what we all talked about, which is a bit surprising given that we talked about so many things. My fuzziness may have to do with a combination of factors: being pretty involved with the cooking, which distracted me from the conversation; the fact that there were several conversations going all at the same time; or perhaps the consumption of a fair amount of alcohol? Whatever the case, the conversations must have been good, because people seemed to be enjoying themselves and some stayed as late as midnight. I have vague memories of snippets of conversations involving healthcare, teens, Zeppelins, robots, TiVo, coffee makers, travel nightmares and numerous other topics. Rod's story of having a 3pm flight from DC delayed and finally canceled at midnight - forcing him to rent a car drive back - probably took the prize.

Carrie was great as co-host, helping with last minute errands, making a yummy salad, and doing an excellent job ensuring that everyone was having a good time even when I was completely distracted with the cooking. She also brought a couple of special treats, including a piece of some lovely Italian truffle cheese that I selfishly hid in the fridge rather than adding it to the appetizers platter (sorry, everyone!).

Tara had a good idea: before the dinner she contacted everyone on the list and connected with them on LinkedIn. I had created an Entrepicurean group on LinkedIn but did not set up any members. I will see if I can get that done today, and then we'll figure out how best to use it. Also, the subject was brought up once again about having two or three events per year at a larger venue, where everyone on the list is invited. There should be some venues that would be happy to sponsor a gathering of this sort.

The Food

Thanks to Carrie (who had done her homework and read the previous blog entry), I remembered to take a few pictures of the food. After the usual complement of appetizers, the first course consisted of gnocchi with a very simple butter and sage sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan. The second course consisted of saltimbocca: thinly sliced veal with sage and a slice of prosciutto, sauteed with white wine. A side salad made by Carrie featured a wonderful vinaigrette kindly made by a friend of hers who is chef at Garden at the Cellar (thank you!). Dessert consisted of a tropical fruit salad. I am learning that cooking for a large crowd requires a more careful selection of ingredients and timing. I thought the gnocchi was good, but it was a large enough batch that trying to stir the entire pot threatened to make them stick together, so the sauce was not distributed as evenly as I would have liked.

I was not particularly happy with the veal: the flavor was good, but some of the slices were tough and dry. Next time I will be more aggressive in tenderizing them (or start going to a proper butchery instead of the local grocery store). The salad was great, and the fruit salad I thought was delicious - Whole Foods has some great mangoes and kiwis. As to timing, I realized as I dumped the gnocchi in the boiling water before I started the veal that I lost my opportunity to do a single main course -- so instead I opted to do it the Italian way and serve the first course, then take a healthy break as I cooked the second course. This was actually fine, though it made it harder to interact with the guests, which in this case was fine given the larger crowd.

The drinks

We all enjoyed a great selection of libations. Everyone started by sipping some lovely Bonal Gentiane-Quina, a traditional apéritif best enjoyed with a bit of ice. Between appetizers and dinner we enjoyed three bottles of red and one of white, including a 2010 Owen Roe Kilmore Pinot Noir, a 2007 Sartori Valpolicella, a 2006 Veramonte Primus and a 2009 Glen Carlou Chardonnay. The fruit salad was accompanied by a bottle of Il Prosecco. The dinner ended with a few cappuccinos, espressos and a bit of limoncello. I also now have a nice bottle of Red Giant by Element brewery that perhaps I will enjoy with the truffle cheese and a bag of Lindor chocolates - all gifts from the guests that I stashed away...

Good things in small sizes

Owing to some last-minute changes and my crazy travel schedule, this episode of the Entrepicurean dinner featured the smallest crowd to date, with a total of five diners. Not surprisingly, the tone of the evening was different from previous dinners, with most of the time spent on a single conversation thread. This made for a more relaxed, intimate evening, with many topics being covered and people naturally taking turns during conversations.

The list of Entrepicureans, shown in the photo clockwise from the lower left, included yours truly, Maryellen Towle of KaiZen Coaching, Mary Chiochios of Chiochios Studios pitching in again as co-host, Claire Spofford of J. Jill and Walter Carl of ChatThreads.

As already mention, this seemed like a small crowd compared to some of the previous dinners, but that in no way reduced the amount or energy of the conversations. In fact, nobody left until around 11! Along the way we covered a wide variety of topics, both personal and professional. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the evening was that, without any prompting or plan, we naturally fell into a pattern whereby at some point or another each of us gave a summary of our own work and experience. In a larger crowd this might have seemed affected, but with the smaller crowd it was a very spontaneous. Maryellen was at the center of some fascinating reflections about the value of coaching, and when in a professional's career (or in a company's life span) executive coaching can be most useful and beneficial. Claire entertained us with stories from past and present experiences, which included her involvement with Timberland as it went from a predominantly domestic brand, to one with unique cachet around the globe. Walter's description of the genesis of ChatThreads and the way it is used by a variety of brands was quite fascinating and led to a lot of questions.

The Food

Usually we remember to take pictures of at least some of the food, but this time we forgot until everything had been cleaned off the plates! And with the late hour and my traveling the next morning, I also forgot to write down the wines we had with dinner. In fact, perhaps the wine itself was the reason why we forgot to do these things... Whatever the case, at least I have a clear memory of the dinner, which had an overall seafood theme. In addition to the usual selection of cheeses, tonight's appetizers included salmon pâté, smoked salmon tartines, shrimp cocktail and sliced bread with butter and anchovy filets. The main course was Farfalle alla Puttanesca, a tomato-based sauce with capers, tuna. The second course was anchored (pun intended) by Filetti di Tilapia alla Mugnaia, lightly floured and pan-sauteed (note: I am aware that tilapia is a fresh-water fish and thus not seafood, technically speaking; however, I was not able to find Filets of Sole, which is what I was planning to use!). The tilapia was accompanied by two vegetables: sautéed kale and a grilled mix of radicchio and endives. All of this was washed down by what I vaguely recall as a combination of a variety of red and white wines - including a sparkling Lambrusco. The dinner was capped off with apple pie à la mode.