A time to cook

In honor of an Italian national holiday, A Southern Season kicked off Wednesday its fourth annual Festa della Donne — or Festival of the Women.

The festival will last until Feb. 28 — just before March 8, the day in which men honor the special women in their lives, according to Italian tradition.

Over the next two weeks, the gourmet foods retailer will hold cooking demonstrations, as well as classes, at its location in University Mall off Estes Drive.

A variety of female experts in culinary careers also will participate in the festival.

“The purpose of the event is to salute women in the gourmet speciality food and gift industry,” said Deborah Miller, marketing and communications director for A Southern Season.

At the kick-off, the owners of the Hillsborough-based Italian ceramics company Vietri — Lee Gravely and her daughters, Susan Gravely and Frances Gravely — hosted a luncheon at the Weathervane, the in-store restaurant.

Founded 22 years ago by Lee Gravely and her two daughters, Vietri has hosted the kick-off luncheon for the past three years.

The company’s products had been sold at A Southern Season for years before the hosts discussed the idea of collaborating on the luncheon.

Cara Fratto, a marketing specialist for Vietri, said the company is one of the largest importers of Italian ceramics.

Frances Gravely said that as a business owner in the world of men, being smart, working hard and doing your homework allows women to succeed.

“Women have to make compromises and sacrifices,” she said. “It’s more about setting priorities and limits so you can accomplish what is important.”

Along with business capital, women need a product or service that is real and sensible and demanded in the market, Frances Gravely said.

They also need to have a passion, an education and a drive to work hard, she added.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, Wednesday’s guest of honor, spoke of the road blocks women have to overcome to achieve success in business.

Perdue said women are uniquely challenged in business because of a need to balance their careers and families. Sometimes, she said, they must make compromises and sacrifices.

She said successful businesswomen have a vision, plan, a sense of entrepreneurship and money.

“The festival is a way to honor women and entrepreneurship,” she said.

About 25 attendees, all female, enjoyed a three-course lunch that included Italian red wine.

The attendees came for a variety of reasons. Some said they understood personally the difficulties women face in the culinary industry.

“I was in the food service, and know how hard it is,” said attendee Jonne Estes on her reasons for attending the luncheon.

But Estes said she also came to view the Vietri products.

While the setup and schedule of the event typically stays the same from year to year, each year brings additional success, Miller said.

A list of all festival events can be found at A Southern Season’s Web site: http://www.southernseason.com.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.