Two forces in the St. Louis food and beverage community are teaming up for a new dinner series that will explore a wide range of culinary themes. Angela Ortmann, a.k.a. “STLwinegirl,” and Marie-Anne Velasco, chef and co-owner of Nudo House, have launched MAVARO (a portmanteau of their initials), a regularly occurring pop-up series that will celebrate their shared passion for all things food, beverage and hospitality. The first dinner, dubbed “Women,” explores the signature dishes of some of the world’s most influential women chefs and will take place at Nudo House in Creve Coeur this Sunday, March 8, during International Women’s Day.
“We’ve been talking about doing a series like this for a while, and at the end of last year, I realized that March Women’s History Month and the Sunday we were looking at happened to be International Women’s Day,” Ortmann recalls. “We felt like it would be a great opportunity to look at female chefs who have had a great impact on the food world and who made it possible for the two of us to do what we do.”
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According to Ortmann, the dinner will be a multi-course affair, focused on chefs including Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn, Julia Child, Nadia Santini of Dal Pescatore, and Elizabeth Faulkner of Citizen Cake. All are known for their own signature dishes. Instead of simply recreating them, however, Velasco will add her own twist and interpretations.
“Marie Anne jokes that she just boils water, but she can cook every cuisine and makes the most immaculate food,” Ortmann says. “Her talent is insane, and this is giving her a creative outlet.”
Ortmann, a certified sommelier front-of-house pro, will be pairing a variety of women-owned beverages with Velasco’s dishes, including wine and sake. She notes that the selections are intentional, meant not only to showcase exciting and delicious drinks but also to represent a variety of diverse voices within the international beverage scene.
Tickets to the dinner, which can be purchased here, are $125 and include food, wine, tax, and gratuity. Although a schedule for forthcoming dinners is not yet finalized, Ortmann hopes to host MAVARO events every four to six weeks.
The Backstory
For 17 years, Ortmann has run the multi-faceted hospitality platform STLwinegirl, drawing upon her deep knowledge of wine, beer, and spirits to help St. Louis diners explore a wide range of beverage options. This is often through pop-ups, at restaurants where she’s worked and consulted, and branding work for area food and drink establishments.
Velasco co-founded Nudo House with Qui Tran. Before that, she cooked at restaurants in St. Louis, Chicago, and her native Montreal and was a culinary school instructor.
Best friends for several years, Ortmann and Velasco hope to inspire others to celebrate food, drink, and hospitality through their shared passions. “My favorite part of working in food and wine is the storytelling,” Ortmann says. “It’s an industry based on relationships and falling in love with the people and the stories. We want these dinners to feature amazing food but to really be about the connection.”
