XL Fortunate 500

Food and drink stars

People who toast the foodie social scene

By Kitty Crider
Thursday, May 11, 2006

Quincy Adams Erickson, co-owner of Amuse Bouche caterers, is a tall blonde who stands out at a party, benefit or meeting. Not only because of her height and broad smile, but also for her passion for food, wine, politics, health, women and community needs.

Erickson is comfortable with the term "activist." She raises money for Project Transitions and serves on boards and committees for the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Texas Culinary Academy and the Austin Farmers' Market. She also campaigns for political candidates and works phones on election days. She mentors students, especially women who want to be chefs.

"Men get lot of notice for being chefs because they run restaurants," says the 1999 graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. "I think it is important for women to know they can be chefs, too."

Erickson says her interest in food and community work come naturally, as one of three children of Walter and Martha Erickson, a pediatrician and dietitian of South Bend, Ind.

"My parents were two of the most active people. My mother still is. (Her father is deceased.) She got two high schools built in South Bend, a nursing home, Planned Parenthood . . . if they saw a need, they got involved.

"I pale in comparison to them," she says.

But "pale" is not a word one associates with Erickson. She and her business partner Karen Farnsworth, whom she met at the Cordon Bleu, are leaders on the local catering scene, making everything on their upscale eclectic menu from scratch at Amuse Bouche. They donate party leftovers to Doug's House, a local residential hospice facility. They are both active in the Austin chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier, a nonprofit organization for professional women in food and wine.

Erickson is the mother of two children, Arianna, 22, who will graduate this spring from the University of Southern California, and Herrick, 20, who studies at Austin Community College. She lives in Tarrytown with her husband of 15 years, Steve Nagle, a personal injury lawyer who also sits on the board for Zachary Scott Theatre.

"Steve and I both are committed to Zachary Scott," she says. "I saw a controversial play they did, but it was so well balanced that it made me think about an issue I was trying to grapple with myself. Ever since I have been interested in how and what they do."

Like mother, like daughter: Erickson puts her passions to pointed use.

Claudia Alarcon
Austin Chronicle, Zagat Restaurant Guide

Susan and Ed Auler
Fall Creek Vineyards

Matt Bair
Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

Dorsey Barger
Eastside Cafe

Chris Bauer
Finn & Porter

Linda Bebee
Texas Beef Council

Paula Biehler
Biehler & Associates, Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival

Eddie Bernal
34th Street Cafe, Santa Rita Cantina

Tito Beveridge
Fifth Generation Inc.

Pamela Boyar
Sunset Valley Farmers Market

David Bull
Driskill Grill

John Campbell
Central Market

Betsy and Reed Clemons
San Gabriel Restaurant Group, Capitol Brasserie

Cathy Cochran-Lewis
Whole Foods Market, Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

Tyson Cole
Uchi

Sam Dickey
Salt Lick 360

Rick Deitrick and Heath Hoselton
Vin Bistro

Karen Farnsworth
Amuse Bouche

Rebecca Wallace Ford
Rebecca Wallace Ford Events, Blanton Museum of Art

Lisa and Emmett Fox
Asti, Fino

Kathy and Gary Gilstrap
Texas Hills Vineyard

Michael Girard
Speakeasy, Cuba Libre

David Jabour
Twin Liquors, Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

Marc Katz
Katz's Deli

Jane King
Central Market

Greg Koury
Manuel's, Chango's

Shanny Lott and Jeff Blank
Hudson's on the Bend

Kate Lowery
Whole Foods Market

Matt Luckie
Lucky Lounge, Oslo

Damian and Trina Mandola
Mandola's Italian Market

Madeleine and Edward Manigold
Spicewood Vineyards, Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

Gary Manley
Iron Cactus

Emily and Wes Marshall
Austin Chronicle, 'The Wine Roads of Texas'

Elaine Martin
Eastside Cafe

Mark aul
Wink

David Pantano
Rain

Deborah and Larry Peel
Larry Peel Co., Wine & Food Foundation of Texas

Elmar Prambs
Four Seasons Cafe

Miguel Ravago
Fonda San Miguel

Robert Rhoades
Hudson's on the Bend

John Roenigk
Austin Wine Merchant

Rebecca Robinson
Wine & Food Foundation of Texas

Carol Ann Sayle and Larry Butler
Boggy Creek Farms, Green Corn Project

Stewart Scruggs
Zoot

Patricia Sharpe
Texas Monthly

Foo Swasdee
Satay, Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce

Beau Theriot
The Oasis, Comanche Canyon Ranch Inc

Michael Vilim
Mirabelle, Castle Hill Cafe

Sharon Watkins
Chez Zee, UT Performing Arts Center

Peggy and Ron Weiss
Shoreline Grill, Jeffrey's

Kevin Williamson
Ranch 616

Virginia B. Wood
Austin Chronicle

Lu and Danny Young
Texicalli Grill