A Message From Our Founder | September 2024

Written by La Soupe’s Founder, Suzy DeYoung

‘Tis the season for awards ceremonies! This month we celebrated the best of the best in Hollywood and beyond – People’s Choice, Emmys, American Music, and Hispanic Heritage, to name a few. Our turn in the restaurant industry has to wait until April, when the coveted James Beard Awards will be announced.

We may not be New York, LA, or Chicago, but throughout the years, Cincinnati has managed to hold its own with some powerhouse chefs and restaurants – the late Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel and 5-star Maisonette come to mind. As a foodie, this makes me proud and excited to showcase the incredible talent we have living in our backyard.

Last year at our signature event, Chef Talks, we honored three iconic restauranteurs who call Cincinnati home. Jeff Ruby, Mike Wong, and Buddy LaRosa shared hysterical stories, bantered back and forth, and provided our guests with a glimpse into the lives of their incredibly successful careers.

This year, I am delighted to host three talented chefs in our city who were nominated for a James Beard. The award was created “to celebrate, support and elevate the people behind America’s food culture” and recognizes both restaurants and chefs. If you haven’t already purchased tickets to the event, I encourage you to buy them today and join us for another lively evening of specialty food, curated cocktails and mocktails, and friendly chatter.

Jose Salazar, our friend and a member of our Bucket Brigade and Community Kitchen network during Covid, has been a semi-finalist SIX times! I teasingly call him the “Susan Lucci of awards” - doing incredible work, watching the ceremony live each year, and then being beyond disappointed when I do not hear his name called as the winner. He’ll share his story, the challenges and the triumphs he’s faced along the way, and his thoughts on how the dining scene in Cincinnati has changed since Covid. As he juggles his three restaurants while building a fourth, we are honored that Jose said yes to our request.

Elaine Uykimpang Bentz provides our city with some of the most unique and delicious pastries with her husband at Cafe Mochiko. Their small cafe, located a few blocks from La Soupe, serves some of the best ramen and Asian American dishes in our city and beyond. They have worked in some of the greatest restaurants on the West Coast and, as husband and wife, brought their talents to us.

Jeff Harris, a culinary talent transplanted to Cincinnati after Hurricane Katrina, has significantly enriched our city’s dining scene. Nolia, his brainchild, offers a unique dining experience that pays homage to Jeff’s heritage while presenting a delightful twist on classic dishes.

The stories they share are some of the best “behind the kitchen door” stories. Their unique heritage and travel adventures, the profound impact it has had on their cooking, and how being transplanted to Cincinnati has fulfilled their culinary dreams, is sure to inspire and appreciate the audience.

There’s one more award that deserves recognition this season – Cincinnati Enquirer’s Women of the Year. We will be celebrating our dear friend and board member, Julie Richardson, at the event on October 24. La Soupe would not be the powerhouse it is today without Julie and her family’s company, SugarCreek. They have championed sustainability at their facility by pioneering a food waste reduction rescue system and are now helping other manufacturers do the same.

No less significant is Robin Burrow and the work she has done through the Joe Burrow Foundation. Her advocacy of our mission has helped us increase our footprint to Athens, OH and Appalachia by providing critical support to make that possible. In 2017, fellow board member Mimi Dyer and I were honored with this same award for launching La Soupe, and we are THRILLED to have them join the rankings of powerful women making a difference in our community.

I am ending this newsletter with a look at how awards have evolved over time. As I continue to research the life and legacy of my father, Pierre Adrian, I have found many little gems of quotes and stories, including this one:

It was 1966, and Mobil Guide had just awarded a new New York City restaurant, Cafe Chauveron, 5-stars for the first time. There were seven other 5-star Mobil restaurants in the US, including the Maisonette, where my dad was the executive chef. All eight chefs were invited to New York for a marathon meal. The men, six from France, one Dutch, and one Italian, would feast on an eight-course meal with six wine pairings that would have cost a WHOMPING $75.00 if they had paid for it out of their own pocket. No hard liquor was served as the French believed it dulled the senses.

French-speaking waiters wheeled caviar tins as big as cookie jars and Taittinger Blanc de Blanc 1959. The speeches began at one o’clock in the morning as the meal was concluded. Somebody from Mobil recited, “We may live without friends, we may live without books, but civilized man may not live without cooks.” As the gold medals were awarded and the toasts rang out to “Long live gastronomy in America” my dad stood and spoke to the group:

“This is the first time I wear a tuxedo. I came to this country with $31.00 in my pocket. I love this country. You all will have the best of everything as long as the CHEFS are connected with giving you pleasure in your life.”

I founded La Soupe on the belief that CHEFS are the answer to food insecurity. I read what my dad said over 50 years ago and thought, “WOW, you too, believed that chefs are the answer!” Come celebrate our city’s best chefs on October 17. We promise it will not go until 1:00 am, but also know we are not pouring 1959 Taittinger!