-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-The Feast Fest ten-member Executive Board voted 7-3 Wednesday morning to invoke Feast Fest's Right to Refuse Service to Anyone in a matter involving Brianna Galen-Ames, the 18-year-old culinary wunderkind who was a member of Feast Fest for four years before leaving the event in a strained fashion. After serving in four Feast Fests from 2007 to 2010, she announced in October 2010 that that year's Feast Fest would be her last due to her plans to attend a prestigious European cooking school beginning in spring 2011. The school, though, was shuttered unexpectedly for multi-year renovations, so in October 2011, Galen-Ames and Feast Fest scouters began working on a deal to get her back in the event in 2012. However, it had been revealed in her absence that chefs were relieved she had left, viewing her as cocky and immature. And she showed that side of herself when she attended Feast Fest 2011 under the personal invitation of Head Scouter Jim Dall, booing the score announcement of 99.0, the highest ever for a Feast Fest.
Galen-Ames and Feast Fest broke off their talks in January 2012, and had not had contact with each other since--until Friday, when an agent for Galen-Ames ordered two tickets, not identifying who the second ticket would be for, for Feast Fest 2013 on Nov. 28.
"We feel that this agent was attempting to get Ms. Galen-Ames into the event, and with her strained relationship with Feast Fest, there is no telling what she might do. We certainly would not want a repeat of her behavior at Feast Fest 2013. Therefore, we feel it sadly necessary and prudent to invoke our right to deny service to anyone to reject Ms. Galen-Ames' agent's order form," so read the concurrent opinion.
The dissenting opinion, written by Ava van Geilsrolmed, a known Galen-Ames supporter, read in part, "With our already tarnished relations with Ms. Galen-Ames, it is felt by the minority that extending an olive branch by way of offering two tickets to her agent would be the perfect way to offer forgiveness for her actions and to welcome her warmly back into the Feast Fest microcosm. We are certain Ms. Galen-Ames would not conduct her behavior in the manner in which she did in 2011."
"It really is a ridiculous passage of legislation, to invoke the right to refuse clause," van Geilsrolmed said. "They [the Executive Board] is merely trying to respond to the petty requests of the chefs."
Executive Assistant Arthur Ayeiy, who voted with the majority, said, "Ms. Galen-Ames has become a scourge on our event. It would be unwise to have Ms. Galen-Ames become involved with the event again, even in such a way as small as having her attend Feast Fest. This event and Ms. Galen-Ames have gone separate ways. It ought to stick that way."
FF Wire Service
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