WRBN James Beard Awards
WRA members stopped in the rotunda between legislative visits. From left: Martha Eckstaedt, Trey Hester, Kurt Kimball, Steve Schilling and Norm Eckstaedt.
The annual James Beard Foundation awards are the highest honors for food and beverage professionals working in North America. Finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef: Midwest once again includes two Wisconsin chefs, both of whom were finalists last year. Winners will be announced in May. Justin Aprahamian, chef de cuisine at Sanford Restaurant in Milwaukee (owned by WRA members Angie and Sanford D’Amato) and Tory Miller, executive chef at L’Etoile in Madison were again finalists in the category covering Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Both chefs participated in the Culinary Theater at this year’s Expo!
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). The key issues that members addressed included: a 10% tax credit for advertising out of state; room tax reform; unemployment insurance bonding to pay off Wisconsin’s debt to the Federal Unemployment Account and “Wisconsin Wins” (voluntary occupational training to unemployment insurance claimants). After meeting face-to-face with legislators and staff to discuss how these issues would impact our industry and their businesses, the group reconvened at Tempest Oyster Bar for happy hour.
Members from the West Wisconsin Chapter at the Tempest Oyster Bar happy hour. From left: Joanne Palzkill, Claudia Draganowski, Rose Hunt, Georgette Gust, Mike DeRosa and Carol Lien.
Knut Apitz in Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Campaign
Restaurant Lobby Day
Members, including restaurant operators and suppliers, traveled to the state Capitol on February 8th for Restaurant Lobby Day. Before the group of 100 people met with the legislators from their districts, they gathered at Monona Terrace for lunch and were briefed on the issues from WRA staff. They also heard from several speakers: Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Ted Nickel, Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) who serves on the Joint Finance Committee and Senate
Knut Apitz, the retired executive chef/owner of Grenadier’s in Milwaukee, has been featured on billboards around southeast Wisconsin beginning in early April to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease. April was Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month and Apitz has been actively involved with the The Wisconsin Parkinson Association, so it was a natural step to feature him on the billboards as he is a recognizable industry figure in Milwaukee’s fine dining scene. Apitz is also a tireless advocate for education in the restaurant industry. He is a past Chairman of the WRA Education Foundation Board of Directors and currently is Chairman of the Endowment Committee. To learn more about Parkinson’s Disease and the services provided by The Wisconsin Parkinson Association, visit their website at www.wiparkinson.org continued on page 30
Second Quarter 12 • Wisconsin
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Restaurateur
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