Business Co-opts the Family Kitchen Gathering

It's a family tradition older than the dinged up boil pot that sat on the corner burner of Grandma's stove or the cobwebs, dust bunnies and mouse traps hidden in the closet pantry behind the Ball jars and cans of lard.

Whether they were adventurous sodbusters scratching out their livelihood on the Great Plains or immigrant families struggling to survive in a three-story walk-up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, the family gathered in the kitchen.

There might have been a stew simmering in that boil pot, maybe beans or tomatoes getting ready for canning. Fresh bread and pies baked in the oven, bacon sizzled in the fry pan and coffee percolated in a dented pot - there was always something going on in the kitchen, with a good dose of conversation sprinkled in.

It's been that way for centuries - the hearth, the fire pit, the woodstove has been the traditional focal point for families and friends to gather and sit cross-legged on a dirt-packed floor or around the kitchen table to enjoy the bounty of the harvest and to fill their bellies with a not-to-be forgotten home-cooked meal.

Like a magnet they were drawn in to chase the chill from their bones, to help prepare and cook their food and to enjoy one another's company, exchanging stories and gossip and catching up on the latest news from the neighborhood or the next town over.

Mario and Laura Mangone of Chambers Walk Cafe & Catering, 2667 Main St., Lawrenceville, have refined and redefined the tradition and the kitchen as "the" meeting place for co-workers beyond the confines of the structured 9-to-5 workplace.

It's a new setting in the ever-growing milieu of places for business mingling and networking, joining the time-honored traditions of business lunches and cocktails apres five o'clock.

If food is sustenance, its preparation is all about teamwork and getting to know one another on a level unlikely to present itself in the traditional workplace environment, according to Laura Mangone.

The restaurant's kitchen and food preparation area offer challenges and opportunities not found in the confined and constrained spaces of cubicles and conference rooms, according to Mangone.

"You're taking people out of their element, away from their computers and spread sheets, it's really interesting to see how they interact in the kitchen," she said.

"Depending on the number of people, we'll have small groups prepare one course or an entire meal, appetizer, entree and dessert, maybe some mid-courses like a pasta dish, we tailor it to the group," she added.

"It really is great, you're with the people you're working with 9-5 and now you're torching baked Alaska or sauteing eggplant."

Chefs lend their expertise, but stand back as much as possible to let the novice chefs rattle the pans and create culinary delights.

"The chefs lead the group, give some guidance and help them figure out ingredients, instruct them on some basic kitchen skills for those who aren't comfortable in the kitchen," she added. "We're a working kitchen. So people have to pull back the hair, we tell them to wear comfortable footwear, you can't be walking around the kitchen in heels if you're handling knives, we give them a thorough talk on safety."

Once their work is done in the kitchen, they're able to doff their chefs hats and aprons to enjoy the meal they've prepared alongside their co-workers and friends.

Mangone said the program is popular with Fortune 500 companies, with groups from Bristol Myers-Squibb visiting frequently to sharpen their workplace and culinary skills.

"It's a lot of fun, the teams really work well together," Mangone said, "and we get great feedback."

Jeff Zeiger, general manager of the Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard, also reports rave reviews for the informal "Why Not Wednesdays" networking event held at various locales in the state capital on the first Wednesday of the month.

"Why Not Wednesdays" has grown from a rhetorical question to a thriving informal network gathering that has become a staple of the Trenton business community, according to Zeiger, who came up with the idea - and the name - over drinks at a bar with some friends.

Sponsored by the Trenton chapter of the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, "Why Not Wednesdays" is now in its fourth year, and draws from 50-75 people each month, Zeiger said.

"It's a pure networking event, you pay for your own drinks, there's no agenda," he explained. "Besides drinking and fun, there's a lot of business going on; people will tell you they've made good contacts and done business at these get togethers. There's a level of intensity that these events have, you feel this charged atmosphere, this buzz of people getting things done," he added.

One of the biggest advantages of "Why Not Wednesdays" is the informal, casual setting, as opposed to larger events with hundreds of people.

"If you're a small business person, it can be intimidating, especially if you're not an outgoing person," he said. "In a smaller circle, you can spend five minutes, eye-to-eye, one-on-one and do more than face time and exchange business cards; you don't feel the need just to be seen, you're actually there to do business."

Zeiger is eager for other business people to meet at the Marriott to network and help grow their business or circle of business acquaintances.

"We want groups to come here, we're very open to the hotel's role in providing a place for community groups to meet in an informal atmosphere; there's a room next to the bar which can be used for free; you'll be buying drinks from my bar, so come and network"

The Marriott is one of six bars and restaurants that host "Why Not Wednesdays." This month's gathering was at the KatManDu bar, restaurant and nightclub, 50 River View Plaza. The December 3 event will be at the Baldassari Regency in Chambersburg at the corner of Mott Street and Division Street from 5-7 p.m.

"You may not do business that day, but two weeks later, that person you met and exchanged cards with may say 'hey, I need that guy' for this or that,' " he said. "You don't know when or where that networking opportunity is going to pay off for you; most of the people who come out are the decision makers in the smaller companies.

"You want to support other Trenton businesses if you're a Trenton businessman," Zeiger said. "That's the value of these smaller networking events, there are opportunities that will pay off for you.

One of the oldest Trenton businesses is Pete Lorenzo's Cafe at 66 South Clinton Ave., across from the railroad station, where Armando Frallicciardi presides over the consummate gathering spot for the city's power brokers, where on any day, lunch or dinner, a who's who of local and state government, business and civic leaders and people in the know gather to discuss or do business.

Politicos were meeting here long before "business lunch" and "networking" became part of the corporate syntax.

Mary G. Roebling, city resident, a well-respected millionaire banker from one the most powerful and influential New Jersey families, had a hand in helping to create the legend of Lorenzo's.

"During World War II, everything was rationed," Frallicciardi explained. "No one could get meat. Mary Roebling made a phone call or two and made sure Lorenzo's got meat when no one else had meat. She was quoted in one of the papers that this was one of her favorite places ever," he added.

A retired city policeman and head of the city's Italian-American Democratic club, Lorenzo was a good cook, and at the urging of friends, opened the original restaurant across the street from its present location in 1921. He served only steak, lobster and pasta, according to Frallicciardi, 46, a fourth-generation owner.

"My uncle's friends were the politicians and cops, he knew all the right people," he said. "When Prohibition hit, he opened a speakeasy, he had all the right connections, he knew the police weren't going to raid the place, the politicians were drinking there, the cops were drinking there and probably the feds too, because they never got raided.

"Once Prohibition was abolished in the early '30s my uncle took the proceeds and purchased this place," he said, referring to the present location where steak, lobster and pasta are still the specialties of the house.

"And we're still the place to meet."

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