Chers Confrères et Consoeurs:

This is the time of the year where I would like to share with you some Chaîne business. One of my goals since I have been a Bailli has been to improve the communication with our members and keep you informed as much as possible in regards to activities, reports, events, announcements, invitations and anything related to the life of our Chapter .

The good news is that most of you have renewed your membership, however we do have a few members who have dropped out and the size of our Chapter has slightly decreased compared to last year. We currently have 128 members and with a few more late dues to come in, we probably will be in the 130 range. I feel that considering the sluggish economy, this is a good number and I would like to thank you all for your loyalty and commitment to the Chaîne.

Another important aspect of our Chapter is the financial situation. I am glad to report that, although we have lost a bit of our revenue due to the decrease of our local dues in 2009, we are still in a very favorable financial situation. This is due to more careful planning of our events in an attempt to keep costs and the scope of events at a reasonable level thus allowing most of you to attend. For your information we have been able to maintain our operating costs in line with our budget without breaking our CD’s safety cushion. Lynn, our Vice Chancelier Argentier will be giving you a more detailed report at our April 16 business luncheon.

Our intimate dinner program has been in his second year of implementation and seems to be more and more well received, particularly with our new members who enjoy the opportunity to meet and become better acquainted with other fellow members in a more intimate setting. We will continue this program in 2010. Our next intimate dinner is planned on Thursday, June 24 at the Steelhead Diner.

The 2009 scholarship auction held last Summer at the Baxter’s residence was quite successful and has enabled us to award a special scholarship of up to $3000 to a culinary student; This award was awarded after the candidate went through a comprehensive selection process. Eight candidates applied for this scholarship. They had to write an essay, clearly define their goals and objectives, and finally to participate in a cook off. The cook off required the candidate to prepare a three course meal from a mystery basket. The competition took place in January under the leadership of our Scholarship Chair, Barbara Walker and our Vice Conseiller Culinaire, John Fisher. We had a clear winner and her name is Emily Young from Renton Technical College. She received a scholarship of $1,000. Jesse Rahn from Bellingham Technical College came in second and received $500 and Aurea d Aquino from Seattle Central took third place with a grant of $250. Congratulations to all the participants and winners! This is another area where our Chapter is very committed and is proud of making a difference in the culinary community.

Young Student competitors for the Special Scholarship Award (winner Emily is in the middle)


“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” Winston Churchill

This year as you probably know we are very proud of hosting quite a few important events starting with:

• Regional Jeune Sommelier competition on Wednesday, March 3rd at the Rainier Club. Mike Perie, Greg and Christopher Chan have put many hours and effort into orchestrating this event and on that day three young men will be competing for the a spot at the National Jeune Sommelier competition that will be taking place next May in Monterey California. We wish the candidates great success.
  
  
• National Jeune Commis competition on Saturday, May 22nd. Many Chaîne members will be coming from all over the country to encourage their candidates and I really hope that you will be attending the Award Dinner where the winner of the competition will be announced. The dinner will be held at the Westin Bellevue and will be well appreciated by all of us as the Chef is thrilled to host this event and these young chefs. It will be a great menu and our Vice Echanson, Greg Chan will select great wines to match the food. Priorities for 2010 .
  

1. Recruiting of new members. As we all know, this is the bloodstream of our organization and each of us as Chaîne members can help by sponsoring a new member. I would like to take this occasion to thank those of you who have sponsored new members. In order to recruit new members, it takes enthusiasm and most importantly the desire to bring a new friend into an organization that shares the same passion for the pleasures of the table and appreciates the long time established French traditions of our Society. You can make a difference by helping to sponsor a friend or family member that will enjoy and appreciate the hospitality of our Chapter.

   I would like to remind you that for every member you are sponsoring, we will be thanking you by offering you a credit of $55 to use toward the price of an upcoming event.

   One reason why potential members are sometimes reluctant to join is the amount to pay to join our Society that tops close to a $1,000. $400 of this amount is assigned to the one time wine cellar assessment. To make it easier for potential members, we will offer the option to pay this assessment in four payments: $100 when signing up and then $100 every six months.

2. Events planning. Like last year we will pay close attention to the selection of our venues where the cost factor will always be carefully watched. We will continue to price our intimate dinners, annual picnic, business luncheon, and Christmas party below $100. Not compromising on the quality of our Chaîne events, we take into consideration the price and make certain it stays below $100 whenever it is possible. On the other hand this year we have in store three very exciting events. We will for the first time take over the Lark Restaurant on March 28; then we will be holding our black tie gala induction at the Rainier Club on May 7, and finally, per our commitment to our restaurants partners, Café Juanita will be opening their doors to host our Chapter on October 17. For these kind of events we are looking for the best culinary experience in selecting the most reputable and famous places and we expect high quality where the food and wines selected have to be at their best and the whole evening memorable. To achieve these quality events, requires more effort, time and resources and this is reflected in the price charged, which will be above the $100 range.
   

1. Recruiting of new members. As we all know, this is the bloodstream of our organization and each of us as Chaîne members can help by sponsoring a new member. I would like to take this occasion to thank those of you who have sponsored new members. In order to recruit new members, it takes enthusiasm and most importantly the desire to bring a new friend into an organization that shares the same passion for the pleasures of the table and appreciates the long time established French traditions of our Society. You can make a difference by helping to sponsor a friend or family member that will enjoy and appreciate the hospitality of our Chapter.

   I would like to remind you that for every member you are sponsoring, we will be thanking you by offering you a credit of $55 to use toward the price of an upcoming event.

   One reason why potential members are sometimes reluctant to join is the amount to pay to join our Society that tops close to a $1,000. $400 of this amount is assigned to the one time wine cellar assessment. To make it easier for potential members, we will offer the option to pay this assessment in four payments: $100 when signing up and then $100 every six months.

2. Events planning. Like last year we will pay close attention to the selection of our venues where the cost factor will always be carefully watched. We will continue to price our intimate dinners, annual picnic, business luncheon, and Christmas party below $100. Not compromising on the quality of our Chaîne events, we take into consideration the price and make certain it stays below $100 whenever it is possible. On the other hand this year we have in store three very exciting events. We will for the first time take over the Lark Restaurant on March 28; then we will be holding our black tie gala induction at the Rainier Club on May 7, and finally, per our commitment to our restaurants partners, Café Juanita will be opening their doors to host our Chapter on October 17. For these kind of events we are looking for the best culinary experience in selecting the most reputable and famous places and we expect high quality where the food and wines selected have to be at their best and the whole evening memorable. To achieve these quality events, requires more effort, time and resources and this is reflected in the price
   
   
3. Local dues. The local dues are used for our operating expenses and wine cellar. They are important to properly run our Chapter. Since our financial status is solid, like last year we will maintain a reduction of the local dues from $125 to $100. The dues for the spouse will stay at $50. I realize that it is not that much but it is a step in the right direction that hopefully will be helpful to most of you. Despite this decrease, if the local dues are still an issue for you, please let me know. We are here to help. Lynn, our Vice Chancelier Argentier will be sending you your statement in the second half of March by regular mail. Your cooperation will be much appreciated by responding promptly. A Chaîne member is in full due standing upon payment of his national and local dues.
   
   
4. Partnership Restaurants. We are now in the fourth year since we started this program and based on the feedback of our partners, they all acknowledge that they like this program as it shows them your support and concern in helping with their business. Most important it shows our real commitment not only to bring our support with words but by putting our words into concrete actions with our presence. You know that as a Chaîne member you always will be very warmly welcome in their restaurants and enjoy these special attentions that make all the difference. When making a reservation, always indentify yourself as a Chaîne member. Our current partners are Madison Park Café, Café Juanita, Steelhead Diner and Olives Café and Wine Bar. Please patronize our partners.
   
   
5. Website. After being operational for the last five years, we have decided that it was time to give a lifting to our website and Robert Cugini, our Chargé de Missions is working hard on it so he can present us with the final result at the April business luncheon. One of the features that we might be adding will be a page where you will be able to post comments of local restaurants you have experienced or read the comments from others members to select your restaurant. It will be our own “Zagat” reference book. This new website will be quite a dramatic change, but for the better.
   
   

I hope this information will be helpful and give you a better feel of what direction and actions we are taking to make some necessary adjustments due to circumstances that are difficult to control. I know you have to make some choices and attending all our events has become difficult. We need you to attend our events whenever you can as your presence makes our Chaîne more meaningful and stronger. Each of you represents a link that is a personal contribution to the unity of our Society.

Bien Amicalement et Vive la Chaîne!

Bertrand

PS: The invitation for our March 28 Lark event will be e-mailed to you by the end of this week