Women's History Month Honors Macchu Pisco CEO: Melanie Asher's Meditation on Her Mindful Distillation & Career ~ Interview with Ladies Who Lunch Conversations

Melanie da Trindade-Asher

CEO, Founder, Master Distiller, Macchu Pisco, 

Featured Guest: Ladies Who Lunch Conversations 

 

In retrospect, it’s rather cosmic that I met Melanie Asher at a “Star Chefs” food event in Brooklyn. There, I met a true “star” of the burgeoning cocktail culture,  who was in fact, a pioneer leading the way. I was writing for the Examiner then, covering the radical food and drink world in New York City. It was an exciting time. So many new possibilities. And opportunities…Then, as now, Melanie triumphs. Hence, I was over the moon that she agreed to be a special guest on my Ladies Who Lunch Conversations, to share her career journey (so far) and meditations on life.  Just in time for Women’s History Month, I honor Melanie and highlight her special contributions to our world. And I offer a delightful Pisco cocktail recipe to enjoy while you read ~ and watch the Conversation!

 

I'm Tasting Stars! Champagne Cocktail Recipes for A Glamorous Oscar Party

 

Say what you want about the Oscars but I think we need this bit of red carpet glam, fashion, and entertainment now more than ever. 

The 94th annual Academy Awards is a frothy escape that you can enjoy at home. So whether you’ll be hosting a party or snuggling solo, you’ll just need your bingo card/Oscar Form Guide (a la Ascot or Santa Anita) and a food and drink menu. I've got your award-winning drink recipes.

After all, the televised festivities kick off at early afternoon for pre-shows; 8 EDT for the Oscar. (check local listings/streaming options). You can spend most of your day – and night, with Oscar! 

Inspired by the Emerald Isle: Eight Pretty Irish Flowers You Can Grow to Enjoy a Greener Garden Life

While we most often celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a robust combination of food, drink, fashions, parades, along with singing and dancing traditions; as a garden designer and horticulturist, I thought it appropriate to mark the day with Irish Flowers. 

After all, Ireland is referred to as the Emerald Isle for good reason. With its rain and moist air and moderate temperatures, it’s a kind of Shangri La or plant utopia. So while I wouldn’t ever change up your affinity for such customs as drinking green beer while crooning “Danny Boy” or wearin’ the green to the local pub for corned beef and cabbage, I wanted to add a bit of garden magic to your Irish festivities. And who knows, maybe you’ll be dusted with some of a sprite’s fairy dust and be inspired to grow some of these Celtic classics.

How to Ignite Your Garden Beds for Spring: "Fire Farming" Ornamental Grasses & Pruning Perennials

       

Oh the Sunlight!  Just when you think you can’t take the darkness anymore, we turn the clocks. Happy Daylight Savings Time. 

With the days getting longer; the ground starting to thaw, it’s only natural that our thoughts turn to gardening. 

But before you start planting anything, especially annuals ~ I recommend you follow my planting guideline that I practice for my gardens and with my garden design team at the clients’ ~ and that is to refrain from planting until after Mother’s Day. There could be an overnight frost.

For now, it’s key to prepare the plants and the beds. 

The Era of Ladies Who Lunch Percolated a Frothy Nexus of Food, Fashion, & Culture

The Intersection of fashion, food, and fame, illuminated by money, politics, media, and society could be found in no place other than Gotham.

The era of the “Ladies Who Lunch” (LWL) best percolated this frothy nexus, hitting its stride mid-century - from the late 1950s and 1960’s; enjoying its heyday throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. 

Some credit Women’s Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild for inventing the phrase, “Ladies Who Lunch.” Stephen Sondheim claims to have coined the moniker: his 1970 hit play Company and LWL ballad sung by Elaine Stritch was a backhanded salute to the grand dames. Not to be “out-lunched,” New York Magazine too claims to have introduced the phrase.