Culinary Guild of New England’s Opening Meeting Featured Eat Your Books Founder Jane Kelly

The Culinary Guild of New England begins its 47th year on Monday, September 15, from 7-9:30 PM at Verrill Farm in Concord (11 Wheeler Road) at its annual opening meeting, featuring a conversation with Eat Your Books founder Jane Kelly. She will share how she built a community of cookbook lovers and how her new app helps you get more out of your own collection, and she’ll be giving away cookbooks all during the evening. There will be fabulous culinary door prizes, including tea at the Inn at Hastings in Lexington and chocolate from Goodnow Farm.

The evening opens with a reception from 7-7:45 PM featuring farm-to-table hors d'oeuvres from Verrill Farm. It will be followed by the meeting from 7:45-8:15 and the presentation by Jane Kelly from 8:15-9:00 PM. Fesserts made by the Guild’s talented members follow from 9:00-9:30 PM.

Admission is $45 for members and $60 for non-members. If one joins the Culinary Guild within one month of the meeting, the additional $15 for non-members can be applied toward the $95 annual membership dues. Tickets are available at bit.ly/CulinaryGuild2025.

Space is limited, so an early response is advised. The deadline to purchase tickets is Thursday, September 11.

To become a member visit www.culinaryguild.org/new-member-application/. Membership includes generous discounts from the organization’s culinary business partners, invitations to all Guild events such as private cooking classes, demonstrations, and dinners, bi-monthly e-newsletters, and access to the member directory.

The opening meeting not only honors the organization’s rich history but also looks forward to a future of culinary innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

Founded in 1979 by a handful of female culinary professionals (mostly from the Boston area), including such luminaries as cookbook author and TV personality Sara Moulton, cookbook author Lora Brody, former Boston Globe food editor and current contributor Sheryl Julian, late Maison Robert owner Ann Robert, and Julia Child’s producer Ruth Lockwood, during a time that support for women in the culinary field was severely lacking, members of the volunteer-run Culinary Guild of New England today are just as likely to be passionate home cooks and bakers and those with a curiosity about food, in addition to professional bakers, chocolatiers, caterers, and restaurateurs, food marketing consultants, farmers, and cheese makers.

For more information visit https://www.culinaryguild.org.