Lumberyard Brewery, Silver Pine Restaurant raising money for local troops
If you are one of those who celebrates Girl Scout Cookie season, you may be thrilled to know local chefs and former Girl Scouts are incorporating Trefoil shortbread cookies and Samoas into their dessert menus.
Winnie Hanseth of Lumberyard Brewery and Vanessa Ronspies of Silver Pine Restaurant at Little America Hotel are joining nearly two dozen chefs in Arizona and participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Dessert Challenge. Sales from their cookie-flavored creations will benefit local troops.
“Last year, the Girl Scout Cookie Dessert Challenge inspired home cooks and families to get creative with Girl Scout cookies. In fact, Girl Scouts sold more than three million packages of cookies – marking one of our most successful cookie campaigns,” said Susan de Queljoe of the Girl Scouts. “We invite the entire community to join us in tasting all of the chefs’ sweet treats – and challenge everyone to buy an extra box or two this year to try their hand at a dessert as well.”
Beyond this, the reasons Hanseth and Ronspies are taking part in the challenge are personal ones.
Hanseth did not get involved with Girl Scouts until much later in life when her daughters wanted to join. But in Southern California, where they lived at the time, all of the troops were full and were not able to add any more members. So Hanseth decided to start her own troop so her daughters could be included.
Later, when Hanseth’s family moved to Flagstaff to open Beaver Street Brewery, the predecessor to Lumberyard Brewing Company, it was a similar situation—her daughters still wanted to be Girl Scouts, but there was not room in any of the troops, so she took on the troop leader role again. Hanseth said one of her favorite times as troop leader was when they took a trip to Disneyland and the entire troop came along.
“For me, while my daughters learned life skills, I really learned so much about patience – after all, it was eight girls at a time! – planning, logistics and management, that I take into my work life today. And then, of course, there were all of the badge opportunities,” said Hanseth.
The list of badges, Hanseth remembers, rivals the length of their menu!
A proud participant in the Challenge since year one, Hanseth is especially excited to be taking part this year.
“Now through March 5, more than 17,000 girls in Central and Northern Arizona will be walking around neighborhoods with delicious cookies and boothing in front of local stores. But this Cookie Season will be an extra special one for them, as 2017 marks the 100th year of the first known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts. We are so excited to, even in a small way, be a part of such a milestone!”
Lumberyard Brewery chose to work with the Trefoil shortbread cookies as their ingredient this year, developing their own unique take on a strawberry shortcake parfait for guests for just $4.95.
Vanessa Ronspies
“It began over 100 years ago with one woman, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon ‘Daisy’ Low, who believed in the power of every girl. She organized the first Girl Scout troop on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, and every year since, we’ve made her vision a reality, helping girls discover their strengths, passions and talents,” said Ronspies, the pastry chef at Silver Pine Restaurant and proud Girl Scout alum. “The ways in which being a member of my local Girl Scout troop helped to build my own courage, confidence and character are immeasurable.”
Dating back to her early childhood, Ronspies vividly remembers her mother sharing stories of her own days as Bluebird, through the Camp Fire organization. Excited to be part of something similar, Ronspies’s mom signed her up to be a Daisy, the Girl Scout level for girls in kindergarten and first grade.
“Even during my first days as Daisy, I was making friends and going on adventures. From there, I moved on to be a Brownie, Junior, Cadet and then even a Senior Girl Scout,” said Ronspies, each year, gaining new experiences, new skills and new ways to solve problems that she takes into her business and adult life. “One year, our house even served as the ‘designated cookie house,’ where all the girls in the area picked up their cookies. I learned a lot about organization and time management that year for sure!”
At one point, Ronspies’s mother served as the Girl Scouts day camp director for the Four Valley Service Unit in Utah, which comprised Park City – where they lived at the time – and three other areas, where she and her sisters were counselors. It was during this time that Ronspies also earned her 10-year award for her involvement with the Girl Scouts, a unique honor and accomplishment that not many earn.
“Moving from the mentee position to the mentoring one was life changing for me – and it is not uncommon for me to take on mentees of my own in the kitchen today as a result,” said Ronspies, who still focuses on finding ways to share kindness with others at work and at home, a lesson she learned from her Girl Scout days.
A first-time participant in the Girl Scout Cookie Dessert Challenge, Ronspies worked with Samoa cookies – using them to dream up a decadent Samoa Tiramisu, available daily at Silver Pine for only $8. QCBN
For more information on the challenge or Girl Scout cookies season, visit girlscoutsaz.org.
By Alison Bailin
Photos courtesy Sara Goodwin