RissaP

I appreciate those who supported my endeavor, but unfortunately, after very, very, very long delays and problems with construction, I had to let go of that chef project. Since summer last year, Jawad and Khalid originally predicted opening in September of ‘08. Being in the restaurant business can be so demanding, risky and extremely difficult in all aspects, not to mention the painstaking process of opening one. At this point, I’m not even sure when Royal Blue Bistro will open, perhaps spring ’09? I wish Jawad and Khalid success.

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a New Year filled with love and success!

Joan Hisaoka, dynamic dear friend, colleague and leader, one of my mentors during my early days with Les Dames d’Escoffier. She will be greatly missed… Memorial Service for our beloved friend Joan Hisaoka March 6, 1960 - May 14, 2008 Memorial Service Information Visitation Monday, May 19th 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at Joseph Gawler’s 5130 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 Funeral Service Tuesday, May 20th 10:00 a.m. at Joseph Gawler’s 5130 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 The burial will follow the funeral service at National Memorial Park 7482 Lee Hwy Falls Church, Va. 22042

My Dad enjoys eating fried whole fish at home. There is actually the art of utilizing and eating everything, especially whole fried fish. Like eating finger licking good chicken wings, drumsticks or ribs with your fingers, he eats it all, crispy tail, fins, head and all until all you see is the clean fishbone. My siblings and I try to restrain him from doing this in restaurants.

Congratulations to Chef Tom Power, Ferhat, Scott and the rest of the Corduroy crew!!! You continue to be the gem of this city! Ferhat, there's no one more perfect and deserving than you - rock on! We'll see you soon! All the best! Cheers!

You've come a long way... The dining scene in the DC area has never been the same because of you Don! Thanks to you and all who have put so much effort and dedication. Happy Anniversary!!! Cheers!

COOL Heather! I'm having a tough time deciding which one sounds cooler!

This sign was found outside the Meadowlark Botanical Garden during Ferhat and Keyia’s wedding. Now why would they do that? Tsk, tsk, tsk…

You have got to have the farewell send off drink, Smurf Piss. It was a bittersweet moment when I visited Corduroy a couple of nights ago. Luckily I caught the old gang there that night, Chef Tom Power, Scott, Ferhat, Katt, and Pichan. An added bonus was seeing Halloween, lackadaisi, Eric--thanks for remembering the good times with me! I was immediately warmly greeted with that blue tequila drink. Then I had to fight for that 1 bottle of beer left, but unfortunately an SPG beat me to it! I couldn't resist having the Corduroy burger (for the last time in that space) lovingly cooked for me by dear sweet Paul who never cease to take care of me; he knows just how I like it, MR with the right amount of toppings and crispy fries. Thank you Paul for always making sure to feed me! By the way zoramargolis, I do wish to honor Ron Jeremy someday! Despite the "airport lounge" cliché, thank you for having me sit at the bar for one last time being in the second level of the Sheraton Four Points Hotel! I couldn't help but reminisce the times from day 1. I was one of the uncertain applicants who interviewed with Chef Tom Power at his Starbuck's office in Wisconsin Ave. On my way out by the door, I took a last glance at the dining room. I had to tease Scott, "Did you do the final sweep of room service trays in the hallway?" It was good to see the staff I miss. Good or bad, it didn't matter. We all did it and survived! Thank you for the memories! Cheers and good luck in your new space coming soon. I know what your Corduroy opening drink will be! See you later!

Luck was on my side last night when I was able to attend this wonderful Wagyu Beef tasting event that I couldn’t miss! I was supposed to be cramming with Christmas shopping. What a delight witnessing my tablemates, including myself, savoring every piece of super-marbled, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth beef to the last bite like it was the last piece of meat on earth! I asked Chef EZ why fried rice. Simply put, he said it’s a normal combo to enjoy in Japan—delicious! Thanks for the experience Chefs RJ and EZ, Mike, Doug and staff at Vidalia, The Spice Girls, Hillvalley and mktye, and Don Rockwell and for putting it together. As always, it was lovely seeing everyone again.

When my parents chose to name me Rissa, they had no idea what it meant. They just liked how it sounded. As I worked in different professional kitchens amongst the Spanish-speaking people, they were thrilled to educate me about my name, spelled with one “s”, means to laugh or to smile. That is what I will miss. I will miss all those friendly, smiling faces I used to encounter at Corduroy on a daily basis. In a flash, I would catch myself with a huge smile whenever I saw familiar faces. I will miss my high-spirited Corduroy family who pushed themselves to success along my side through thick and thin—oh, that rewarding feeling at the end of each day echoes through my mind! These are the people who actually inspired me and kept me going. When you have witnessed life-transforming experiences with Corduroy family and friends who have gotten together, engaged, married, soon to marry, gave birth, about to give birth, birthdays and anniversaries every year, graduation parties, divorced (yes—that, too!), and sadly those who have passed away, you realize how much there is in life to appreciate! It is the most difficult thing for me to do—to say thank you and goodbye to a place that I’ve nurtured with hard work and passion. To everyone whom I’ve had the opportunity to personally say thank you and goodbye, to those who came last night at the happy hour and to those who I did not get a chance to see, I want to express my sincerest gratitude for appreciating all the efforts we’ve done at Corduroy all these years! Barbara , thank you very much for organizing the special happy hour. I will never forget! Thanks for the decadent chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting and the gorgeous flowers! Believe me—there were moments when I was twiddling my fingers and tapping my feet trying to refrain myself from serving people with food and drinks and from bussing tables as my instincts kept me wanting to do. It was extremely hard to just sit still. One thing that can never be taken away is this joyful feeling that through the years and through DonRockwell.com, I have made some amazing dear friends who have been so supportive! Thank you to everyone and to Don Rocks for taking the time to come to the happy hour!!! Thank you to the Corduroy staff (I can’t believe I’m the one saying this now) for bearing with a fun, rowdy (?) group! You gracefully kept your cool! And to Chef Tom Power for the lovely cake—thank you for the experience and the great opportunity of having worked side-by-side with you. It has been a real journey I will always be very proud of! I will pop in somewhere in my next adventure and will keep in touch with everyone. Maraming salamat po! Ikinagagalak ko kayong lahat na makilala! Thank you very much! It’s been a pleasure knowing all of you! See you later! Rissa Pagsibigan

I never thought that my turn, this day would ever come. All events, all experiences have as their purpose the creation of opportunity. Now I know how Ferhat deeply felt... Rissa Pagsibigan

Why don’t you contract our very own and talented members mdt, Jacques Gastreaux, Crescentfresh, agm? They have shown their expertise on this at the last pig roast picnic. Even bbq4me may consider it--his screen name says it after all. Maybe if you twist their arms enough, they could be willing to do some private catering for you on the side. You did say "any suggestions"... Of course, Johnny Rooks and Jamie Stachowski could give you leads, too.

I said yes and perhaps we could give him a discount as long as he works it!

Yes it is. And he's got the nerve to ask me if he could make a reservation on May 11th ON A FRIDAY NIGHT FOR 30 GUESTS to celebrate Keyia's graduation dinner. I replied, "Now that you will be a regular customer, the same policy for booking large groups will apply to you." ...the look on Ferhat's face =

You know what you have done? You have created a community--a place for support, comfort and fun! Let’s not forget all the good days of breaking bread together it brings--THANK YOU! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DONROCKWELL.COM Cheers!

You’re killing me, too, Ferhat! Of course you did MORE than great! In my opinion you are THE BEST! For all your days at Corduroy, you have exceeded excellence and have passionately performed with drive and intensity. You make us very proud!You shine in anything you do and I wish you success in all your endeavors! You will be missed.

EAT DRINK AND BE MERRY!!! Happy Holidays everyone—and have a safe one, too! From your friends at Corduroy

I think it will be in complete sentences. But will it also be in French with a translator? Kudos, you make us proud!

There are so many generous people to thank! [quOK, I’ll name names. First a huge thank you to our picnic team who did such great work: cucas87 for the Q&As, Goldenticket for those nice food labels and all the carpool help, Zoramargolis for keeping track of who was coming, what they were bringing and what was still needed, and Porcupine for coming up with the idea, and then organizing all of us chili-makers and setting up all the chili-serving paraphernalia, and being there to serve too (with Mr. Porcupine). Everybody who came early to help set up and do the heavy lifting (with a special shout out to LydiaR who brought special goodies from ShoeBoxOven just for the early-birds), and those who stayed late to drink the last of the booze help clean up: Thank YOU!!! And the pig teams! Wow! Chefs Stachowski for ordering and taking delivery, and both he and Chef Wabeck for their secret potions and rubs; and the team members, Agm, Crescentfresh, Treznor, Fermenteverything, Jacques Gastreaux and mdt. Also thanks to RaisaB and her hubby for lending the caja china to team JG for the afternoon. And to the weather gods for once again being so kind. Thank you to Don for sending his good will ambassador in his stead. [He’s cuter than you Don, and those freckles? Oh my goodness.] It seems unfair to single out certain dishes, since there was no way I was going to be able to try everything. Everything we tried was delicious.This is too weird…as I drove away, I realized I really did not get to try A LOT of goodies…that was too wrong! That never happened to me at the other picnics. Now I’m salivating seeing all these pictures. mktye and Mrs. JPW were kind enough to slip me a taste of 1 left each of--oh yummy carrot cupcake and bacon bun. But anyway, WOW what a great turnout! Just what I needed, to be in the midst of happy people! JG started me off right by fixing me a shot of Martian Pig Slop from Hell—whoa mama--what a drink! These DR.com picnic reunions are simply AMAZING! Thanks to everyone! I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Time to use those baking pans I got from the last DR.com flea market and my fun cast iron ones. I know its just cornbread, but I’ll have fun with it. Cornbread versions: plain jalapeno, bacon and cheddar cheese foie gras We’ll see how it goes…while I’m at it, I’ll add some sort of cantaloupe drink, too.

LETS DO IT!Team JG includes mdt and celebrity chef, John Wabeck of Firefly agm team includes crescentfresh and celebrity chef Jamie Stachowski of Restaurant Kolumbia…hmmm… Sounds like “Iron Chef DonRockwell.com” to me! And the secret ingredient is…(well, not a secret anymore)…pork!

A well deserved write up in the Washingtonian Magazine, October ’06 issue. Congratulations Krishna! It’s simply dashing!

I really regret missing this, but unfortunately no can do on a Friday.

I had a great experience taking Michel Richard’s cooking classes a while back. I recall it to be so much fun and amazing! Although I thought it would be more hands on, Michel and the entire staff did wonders and pampered you while demonstrating in the kitchen classroom style. After the demonstration, we moved to the dining room to enjoy a fantastic wine paired meal in the expert midst of Mark, Mel and Jacques. At the end, we were given a portfolio of recipes full of creative, innovative cooking methods and techniques, a gift bag with information on interesting international culinary affiliations as well as Citronelle souvenirs autographed by none other than Michel Richard—fabulous and well worth it! I would love to do it all over again!