Meshelle and Cathal, Saving one Seal at a Time

Photo by John Arundel Meshelle and Cathal Armstong at the 2009 Metrpolitan Restaurant Awards Gala at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC, June 7, where they won Best Restaurant-Fine Dining.

The plight of the Harp Seals has Alexandria restaurateurs Meshelle and Cathal Armstrong seeing red.  

Long among the area’s leading proponents of local farms, humanely treated animals and the community, both Meshelle and her husband Executive Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Old Town are now working with the Humane Society of the United States as they and their friends, Ellen and Chef Todd Gray of Equinox,  throw a fête that will assist the Humane Society to bring attention to the Protect Seals campaign, and to honor the participants of the Canadian seafood boycott.  

Washington is the launch city for the campaign, which will be taken nationwide, Meshelle says.

“The voice of our restaurant community is strong; we can turn the tide in ending the largest slaughter of marine mammals on earth,” says Meshelle. “We have to be involved in our ecology— there isn’t that much time left.  Global opinion regarding the humane treatment of animals has increased dramatically.  In the recent past, the European Union joined the US and signed a ban of seal products, and the US Senate voted unanimously on a related resolution.  The seal hunt can end this year with the help of our community restaurants.”

The two-tiered campaign operation is designed to involve both chefs as well as their families.  The first initiative is a photo of some of the most popular and talented women in the Washington, DC hospitality industry with their children.  The photo will serve as the invitation for the second prong, which involves a party hosted by the District’s top chefs.  The chefs and their colleagues in the kitchen will create a signature art piece to aid in the mission to save the seals.  
 
On May 20th, women in the restaurant industry and their children gathered for a portrait at The Lincoln Memorial. 

The shot, entitled Sirens for the Seals, is a captivating, black and white photo of women chefs and restaurateurs who have signed the boycott pledge, who stand along with their children, holding stuffed baby seals.  The women, dressed in white, were photographed while extending one hand, outstretched in a ‘stop!’ position.  In the finished portrait, the hands are colored red, making the strong visual statement.

On July 21, from 3:00 to 5:30 at the hot new glam spot, Policy (1904 14th Street, NW, www.policydc.com), DC’s top chefs will gather for the private event entitled In Our Hands.

Policy, whose theme: "truth, love and liberty," scribbled elegantly on their walls, screams for the cause.  DJ Josh Madden will 'Spin for the Seals,' while celebrity photographer Nigel Barker, from America’s Top Model, will photograph DC chefs who have signed the pledge.  

Mr. Barker, whose photo documentary of his experience with the campaign, A Sealed Fate, was shown at the 2009 Green Expo in NYC, is an avid supporter for the Protect Seals campaign.  During the photo shoot, chefs will also lend their ‘red’ handprint and signature to a large-scale canvas.   

Both the chef’s canvas and Sirens for Seals photo will be shared with galleries throughout the US and stand as a symbol of DC’s to this important cause.  At the party, guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres from Restaurant Eve, Equinox, and more, with signature cocktails created by mix masters Todd Thrasher, Derek Brown, NY’s famed spirit raisers, Tad Carducci, Damon Deyer and others.

Policy will open to the public at 5:30, offering guests a chance to meet the chefs.  The entire evening, a percentage of the proceeds from cocktails sold at the venue will be donated to the Humane Society, and an oversized petition will be available for guests to sign in an effort to show their support.