Class notables

American Magazine | Summer 2005

http://www.american.edu/weekly/summer05_notables.html

Class Notables

Christine Martin, SIS ’87
BY ADRIENNE FRANK

After cutbacks at a London-based business software company left her unemployed in 2002, Christine Martin was forced to think outside the box.

“I took a trip to Australia and just sat in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef and thought, ‘what now,’” says Martin, 39, a graduate of the School of International Service.

And then it came to her. Martin’s next career move would be a box.

In 2003, the San Francisco resident combined her passion for cooking and travel and launched Style and Entertaining. The company offers gourmet meal kits to help aspiring chefs and hostesses “discover their inner domestic diva,” while exploring new cuisines and cultures.

“In coming to terms with my newfound unemployed status, I discovered what I enjoyed most about my whole career was actually the food, wine, and travel,” says Martin. “Essentially, my old expense account funded the research for my business!”

Martin’s kits won over the judges at the 2004 Gourmet Products Show, where they were named best of show.

Each Style and Entertaining box features the essentials for a five-star dinner party: votive candles, menu cards, place cards, invitations, cocktail napkins, and dinner napkins. The kits also include all the premeasured organic ingredients needed to prepare the menu, along with cooking tips, shopping lists, and wine pairing and decorating suggestions.

Martin says the dinners she hosts for her friends—affectionately known as “United Nations dinner parties” since they’re such an international bunch—inspired her business.

“When I was working [in London], I’d come back to the Bay Area every three weeks and cook for them. And they’d say, ‘OK, let’s see what you learned while you were traveling,’” says Martin, who hosted her first dinner party as an eight-year-old in New England.

“I love the creative process of planning the menu and selecting the wine and the music,” says Martin. “I also love that my old friend Bobby from AU always comes to my dinner parties and washes the dishes!”

Style and Entertaining offers three kits, including a Latin American barbecue kit and a romantic dinner for two kit, which are available at 150 specialty retailers and wine shops across the country. Martin, in her first months of unemployment, developed plans for 40 more, including a guide to Mediterranean tapas, which will be her next offering. “There are so many different cultures, different spices, different music, it’s really unlimited,” she says.

Martin is in the process of patenting her stylish boxes, which won best of show at the 2004 Gourmet Products Show in San Francisco. QVC and the Food Network have expressed interest in partnering with Martin, who also hopes to launch a line of kitchen accessories, dishes, and linens.

“The products are meant to be whimsical and fun. I want people to feel empowered and just enjoy themselves in the kitchen.” says Martin. “God bless Martha Stewart, but most people don’t have the time or patience to plan a dinner party her way.” Visit www.styleandentertaining.com.