Gourmet Gathering

Alumni dinner club serves up conversation and tradition along with dessert

By Tara Laskowski

The menu has changed each time, but the company and the festivities have remained constant for the Gourmet Dinner Club. Over the past 26 years, Carolyn Boyer Kramer, BS Elementary Education '70, MEd Early Childhood Education '94; Bart Kramer, BA Math and Physics '70, MEd Secondary Education '74; Nancy Prosise West, BA English '70; John West, BA History '71; Michele Kershes Hanson, BS Biology '69; and Dave Hanson, BA Chemistry '70, have met to reminisce about their days at George Mason over scrumptious themed home-cooked meals.

The six met at George Mason in the late 1960s and have stayed close ever since. A few years after graduating, the idea to have dinner parties was suggested and the rest is history. The couples take turns cooking, and each dinner is assigned a particular theme, for which the hosts spend lots of time researching recipes.

“In the beginning, we met once a month and picked a different country each time,” says Michele Hanson. “We did Russian food, Irish food, Italian food, you name it. When my husband and I came back from a trip to China, we had a Chinese food theme and used various things we'd brought back with us.”

Throughout the years, the couples have added different touches to their dinners. They invite a guest couple to each dinner, and they don't always meet in members' homes. The Wests hosted a dinner on their boat on the Occoquan River, and the group also met once at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, picnicking on the lawn before seeing a musical. A murder mystery dinner stands out as one of the most interesting to Michele Hanson, and Carolyn Kramer says her favorite dinner might have been the Williamsburg-themed night.

As their children grew and the couples took on more responsibilities, they started meeting once every other month, then periodically when their schedules permitted. Yet, the club remains a tradition. “We still have it, just not as frequently,” says Carolyn Kramer. “It's a lot of work but great fun.”

The members of the Gourmet Dinner Club relax after one of their gatherings at the Kramer house. From left, Carolyn Boyer Kramer, Nancy Prosise West, John West, Michele Kershes Hanson, Dave Hanson, and Bart Kramer.