Celebrating Chosen Family with Old Forester

Join Melissa Rift, Master Taster of Old Forester and celebrity Chef, Chef Torrece "T" Gregoire and your chosen family for a holiday dinner and whiskey pairing to benefit Equality Loudoun.

The holidays are tough for some members of our community, to help create a more joyous experience this holiday season Old Forester would like to invite you to celebrate your chosen family with us at a family style holiday dinner and whiskey tasting featuring Old Forester Whiskey Row Series.

When: Monday, November 27, 2023

Time: 6:30 pm until 10 pm

Where: The Black Sheep Restaurant in Manassas, Virginia

Our guests of honor will be Melissa Rift and Chef Torrece "T" Gregoire.  Melissa will guide us through a tasting of the whiskey row series while we partake in an incredible family style holiday meal prepared by Chef T.

Melissa Rift - A Louisville native, Melissa began her career as a tour guide in the whiskey industry, educating consumers about America's Native Spirit.  She held leadership positions at distilleries in Kentucky and managed single-barrel programs before joining Old Forester in November of 2022. Melissa authentically understands the rich culture of Kentucky bourbon and shares Old Forester's rich history and quality of products with retailers, bartenders, media and consumers across the nation.

Chef T - With a passion for food that began as a child when she watched her grandmother feed their community from her garage on the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Chef T has become a decorated and respected Chef within the foodservice industry.  As a founder of "Chef T Culinary Concepts" she strives to provide her culinary vision and love of food to those that she cooks with, as well as, those that she serves.  Her best-selling cookbook "PARADIGM: A Macro Manifesto to Food", is a lifestyle cookbook that further honors her vision of food as a celebration of life.

Chef T's witty personality and resilience under pressure landed her as the runner up on Fox's "Hell's Kitchen Season 14" followed up with a second "All-Stars" appearance on season 18.  After returning home from filmin, she graced the kitchens of elusive chefs such as Kevin Rathbun and vacation meccas like Sea Island.   Presently, Chef T has graced the screen again in Food Network's "Big Restaurant Bet", where she placed second.  Chef T has recently opened her restaurant, Union 41 in downtown Bristol, Virginia.