Held is partnering with Chef Eva Mrak, owner of Spoondrift Kitchen, and Mary Chapman, cheesemonger, and owner of The Cheese Shop of Portland, for their September event. Attendees will learn how to create a more purposeful gathering for themselves and their guests using principles from Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering and will learn techniques on how to elevate their event through storytelling and aesthetics.
“Gatherings crackle and flourish when real thought goes into them, when (often invisible) structure is baked into them, and when a host has the curiosity, willingness, and generosity of spirit to try.”
-Priya Parker
Photo by Chef Eva Mrak
Details
Date: September 19, 2024
Time: 6-9 pm, please arrive by 6 pm
Suggested attire: Whatever makes you feel happy and confident as the hostess
Location: The United States Custom House, 312 Fore Street, Portland, ME (entrance on Fore Street)
Fee: *$75 per person for drinks, small bites, and a fun and educational tutorial on elevating an event’s aesthetic and meaning
*As we develop different types of events, we are working on prices to make these events sustainable. If cost is a factor, we want to help. For each event, we set aside tickets for this purpose. Please email us at hello@heldportland.com.
Cancellation policy: All sales are final and non-refundable. However, your tickets are transferable to an individual. If transferred to someone, please email us their name and email address at hello@heldportland.com.
What to expect
The topic - Human connection is at the heart of each held gathering. Our goals are always twofold: to spark meaningful connections that ultimately foster a deeply rooted community and to inspire women with a specific topic. For our September event, we’re talking about the art of gathering. We’ve all hosted some variation of a party and even attended many weddings and networking events. But, if you’re lucky, that one event or dinner party sticks out, likely because you felt something meaningful or made an emotional connection. Developing and executing an event should be thoughtful. Yes, you want to ensure your guests are well-fed and hydrated while potentially elevating the decor, but what’s often missing is meaning. This event will get you to think about that second and critical element, which is why we call it “The Art of Gathering and Entertaining.”
The shrub, a cocktail mainstay - Chef Eva Mrak will demonstrate how to make the perfect shrub in two ways: one with alcohol and one without. Historically the drink was renowned for its medicinal benefits, but it has since evolved to be the refreshing go-to party drink.
A discussion: The art of gathering and creating purposeful experiences - While sipping on shrubs, Mary Beth and Tenaya will introduce the concept of “purpose leads to form” when developing a dinner, event, or gathering. That concept translates to: “What’s the goal behind bringing my friends or this group together?”, “As the host, what do I want to get out of this event?” and “What do I want the attendees to feel, remember, or experience?”. The answers to these questions are a helpful guide when creating the event: choosing space/location, the type of dress attire, who to invite, the event flow, what to say for the opening remarks and speeches, where people should sit, conversational prompts, what to provide as food and drinks, etc. By starting with purpose, hosts will develop a more intentional experience for both their guests and themselves. During the discussion, Tenaya and Mary Beth will share various examples of how purpose impacted form and how they think about developing gatherings for clients, held, and themselves.
Creating an artful noshing board and why storytelling is important - Eva will teach us design techniques to colorfully and architecturally orchestrate a mini-masterpiece to increase the artfulness of your gathering’s decor. She’ll show you three types of boards: charcuterie, fruit, and crudités. Mary will share the background and story of each cheese chosen, how to select cheeses, and what types of cheeses make for a good conversational piece. Both Eva and Mary will share how storytelling - the background of where the cows’ milk came from and the farmer who raised the cow - can help deepen the engagement among guests and their connection to the food.
Pairing up and designing your own board - Tenaya and Mary Beth will pair people up (there is intention behind our matches!), and together, you will co-create your own board, leveraging the learnings from Eva’s tutorial. Once finished, we’ll take a moment to admire everyone’s creations and dive in with joy and camaraderie to enjoy eating the collective creations.
Mingle and connect - Everyone will have time to continue chatting with their pair and/or meet someone new. Those interested can meet Mary and Eva to learn more about their approaches to elevating an event’s aesthetic and culinary experience.
Eva Mrak
Eva is the chef and owner of Spoondrift Kitchen, a personal chef service based in Portland, Maine. She uses food as a vessel to create community and ritual in our lives. Her cooking highlights locally sourced ingredients that shine in their simplicity.
Eva cooks to tell stories -- inspired by her travels, ancestors, and the farmers who grow the ingredients she uses. Join Eva at the table for a collective experience that nourishes, inspires, and connects.
Mary Chapman
Mary spent the early years of her career working in Northern California’s wine industry, both in direct-to-consumer sales and production. During her winemaking era, she worked on wine harvests for prestigious wineries such as Hirsch, Cobb, Merry Edwards, and Kamen Estate. Looking for a way to apply her passion for food and gatherings to a new industry, she joined the Wholesale Sales team at Tomales Bay Foods, the wholesale and import arm of the world-famous Cowgirl Creamery. After moving back to New England, where she was born and raised, Mary received her master’s degree in Gastronomy from Boston University and ran the e-commerce arm of Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for several years. A love for working directly with customers led her to ask for shifts working on the cheese counter. There, her plans for opening her own cheese shop began to take shape. In 2018, she and her husband, Will Sissle, launched The Cheese Shop of Portland.
A special thanks to Mai Vino, a female-founded company for donating their organically grown and beautifully balanced wine pouches. Find them at a store near you!