Last weekend, Cherry Bombe, the girl power foodie magazine, had its third annual Cherry Jubilee. Held inside the Refectory at New York’s Highline Hotel, the room reverberated with the excitement level of Harry Potter’s first night at Hogwart’s. Only here, the girls far outnumbered the boys.

The day was filled with fascinating icons, impressive upstarts and extremely accomplished chefs, writers and bloggers. As I sat in the back, listening with my friends Christine and Melissa, my fingers weren’t nimble enough to type every anecdote, name and pearl of advice fast enough. But here’s what I did remember.

Make Soup: The Hemsley sisters think soup is as magical as I do. “When you’re sad, you make soup. When someone you know is sad, you make soup for them,” said Melissa Hemsley, who, with sister Jasmine, are the ladies behind Hemsley + Hemsley cookbooks and website. Being a fan of thick soup, I plan on making this spring quinoa risotto from their website. (http://www.hemsleyandhemsley.com/recipe/spring-quinoa-risotto/) Personally, I don’t save soup for sadness; I save it for comfort, laziness (ie, when we’re too lazy to make something with a lot of steps), the perfect solution for leftovers and when I’m chilled to the bone. Speaking of bone, Jasmine added: “Ideally, make bone broth.”

Nom de Guerre (and I do mean guerre…) During a brief period in the Seventies, iconic food critic Mimi Sheraton had to use a men’s byline. Really? As if men in the Fifties were the only ones cooking??? I have a funny name change story myself. When I was at Jane Magazine, to avoid confusion of two “Janes,” I was once asked if I’d change my name to Lark. Lark Larkworthy.

It’s All Right to Cry  “We saw three top chefs take their lives this year. This has got to stop,” said Kat Kinsman “Seeking help for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD is not only a financial impossibility for people who often don’t even have access to basic healthcare — let alone mental healthcare — it’s stigmatized.” Kinsman’s project, Chefs with Issues, is out to change that.  “It’s ok to have an employee burst into tears. You’ll get through it together.”

More Women need to farm!

Everyone thinks farming is cool and hip–until they try it. It’s no shock that farming is tons of work, but what a farm brings to its surroundings is priceless. “We’re not only growing food, we’re nurturing communities, building economies, changing and implementing policies, educating new farmers and sustaining the eco system,” said my friend Laura Ferrara, who owns and runs Westwind Orchard with her husband (and an entire community) and was on the panel “So You Want to be a Farmer?” A woman named Jan runs an organic farm up near our house. Time to support her more.

Let’s Dance! One moderator began her panel by asking us all to get up and rock out to Beyonce. It was quite evident that nothing makes certain women happier than standing up and dancing amid a packed room of one’s peers.

Not Dancing… Nothing makes certain women more uncomfortable than being encouraged to stand up and being told to dance amid a packed room of one’s peers. The three of us sat on our radiator and watched. Ah, youth…

Mission Chinese Wins Of the five chefs who sat on “New York’s Next Wave,” only one of their male bosses was in the crowd. And he had the coolest Carhartt Opening Ceremony pants on. Two for two, Danny Bowien.

Martha Stewart has four drivers But she likes to sit up in the front seat so she can see more. “The windows are tinted in the back, but in front, they’re not,” she explained. “Also, I always take a different route wherever I’m going. Why always take 23rd Street?”

 

Get Chickens More advice from Martha. Friends of ours had a chicken coop, then the dog of other friends sneaked in while the humans were eating dinner and killed every single one. Maybe we’ll start with bees.

 

 

 

Tumeric makes for a Mighty Fine Pudding My favorite part of the day was Snack Break. Between Erin McKenna’s cupcakes and Amy Chaplin’s Tumeric Pear Parfait with Anita’s yogurt, Mah-Ze-Darh Bakery’s and Digg Inn’s cookies, the sugar high was intense. Must get that pudding recipe, though…