Looking back on 2007, our Houston Bailliage had a wide range of grand events.  The year started off with dinner at Courses Restaurant at The Art Institute, followed by dinner at BiCE Restaurant, the Grand Induction Dinner held at The Hotel Intercontinental, our members-only dinner at Café Annie, our fall event at Mockingbird Grill, and culminated with the formal Dinner-Dance at Bistro Moderne.  Interspersed among these functions were our wonderful Société Mondiale du Vin USA events, the Gulf Coast Island Seafood Extravaganza in Galveston, and our always-fun Dines Around Dinners.  In addition to the local events, several Chaîne members attended the trip to Calgary and Banff, experiencing some of the best of what our neighbors to the north have to offer.

Planning the dinners is becoming more challenging every year.  Dining establishments face a constant battle to hold the line on costs, which are constantly rising due to increases in rent, staff and/or food.  Despite what the Federal Government tells us about CPI, food prices have been moving higher and higher, and so have the prices of quality wines.  All of these factors have continued to put upward pressure on the costs of our dinners.

As you can see, the Chaîne is something special.  The Chaîne is not only about having great dinners, but sharing memorable events with your fellow members.  It is a time of joy and laughter.  It is being part of the world's oldest and largest gastronomical society.  It is the Chaîne Foundation that has provided more than $1.5 million in scholarships to young people pursuing culinary and hospitality studies at our country's finest schools.  It is the Gastronome magazine, setting the standard for all other wine and food publications worldwide.  It is the Young Chef's Competition, at which our country's best young chefs compete in the most rigorous of conditions to earn the right to represent the United States against the best young chefs in the Chaîne world.  It is the Young Sommelier Competition, where again we see the best and brightest young people devoted to bringing the pleasures of the grape to your table.  It is the Société Mondiale du Vin, with its love of wines and crafted beverages and its cavalier disregard for singing on key!  It is the Brillat-Savarin, with its travels to experience regional and international cuisines.  And yes, it is the National website at www.chaineus.org that brings all of these above attractions together and opens up an even more fulfilling world.

As for the Houston Chapter, we are one of the largest Bailliages in the country, with 147 members.  We have a good representation of professionals, with nearly 1/3rd of the members from the professional ranks.  Our Bailliage always has openings for candidates from the professional fields, and we are seeking a limited number of nonprofessional members, as well.

The first event in 2008 for the Houston Bailliage will be a Dines Around Dinner at Gravitas Restaurant on January 22.  February  brings a "Walk-Around" Dinner beginning at Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant, and ending at Del Frisco's fabulous new steak restaurant in The Galleria. February 29-March 2 brings the Regional Young Sommelier's and Young Chef's Competitions, followed by the awards dinner.  Later in March will be our  Induction Dinner.  Additionally, Vice Echanson Bruce Weiner will be setting up two more of his excellent Société Mondiale du Vin dinners, most likely in May and October.  There will also be a Members-Only Dinner at Mark's in June, along with several other dinners, still in the planning stages.  So check the Events Calendar on our website regularly for dates and locations.  Be sure to bookmark www.chainehouston.org to keep up with the latest developments in our Bailliage.

Vive la Chaîne,

Michael Leiser
Bailli de Houston