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In 1991, Liesel Flashenberg and her husband, Daniel Nachtigal decided to change their lives. Leaving successful careers in Washington, D.C. — Liesel as a consultant in telecommunications policy and production and public relations, and Daniel as a partner in a large law firm — they moved to Costa Rica with their three young children. Having worked in community economic development and issues of women's rights for years, they were committed to conscious and responsible operation of a sustainable business enterprise. They first started a gourmet food services business providing catering, consulting and specialty prepared foods, and later added a small cooking school.
Clients starting asking if the cooking school would give a course for their housekeepers, teaching them how to prepare healthier and flavorful meals, so Liesel devised a new curriculum. She based it on simple techniques and easily available ingredients, and set out to teach these predominantly young women how to organize and manage the kitchen, how to select the highest quality ingredients, and how to economize. But most importantly, she approached them respectfully, as professionals looking to improve their skills and to give themselves more options both in their work and their own homes. The course turned out to teach a great deal more than cooking. Soon after the first students left with their certificates in hand the stories started trickling back.
"I thought I was teaching women how to cook," says Liesel, "but it turns out that the cooking course is really a lesson in empowerment."
After several years of running and refining these successful workshops and professional training programs in Costa Rica, Liesel and Dan relocated back to the United States and brought Through The Kitchen Door International to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Kitchen Door now operates throughout the region and is working to replicate its training programs nationally and internationally.
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Liesel Flashenberg, is the founder of Through The Kitchen Door International, Inc. The project developed in Costa Rica, where Liesel lived with her family from 1991-2000. There she was co-owner and director of RITMOS CULINARIOS, a professional food service company, providing gourmet catering services, culinary training, restaurant consulting and product development. Clients included internationally known hotels and resorts such as the Hotel Lapa Rios, recognized recently as one of the 20 best small luxury hotels in the world; tourist projects including The Butterfly Farm, The Rainforest Aerial Tramway and Café Britt's CoffeeTour; international embassies and the United Nations; multinational corporations such as CPC, Dole, Del Monte, S. Johnson, GTE, La Curacao; international financial institutions including the Interamerican Development Bank and Commonwealth Development Corporation; Radio for Peace International; and many more. In recognition of her work in Costa Rica as founder and director of Through The Kitchen Door International, Liesel was invited to apply and became a 1999 finalist for an Ashoka fellowship for international social entrepreneurs. Ms. Flashenberg's work, putting her chef, training and development skills to work on behalf of lower income and recent immigrant women and young people was recognized in 2004 by her election to Les Dames d'Escoffier, the most prestigious international professional association of women chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and others in the culinary arts.
In Washington, D.C., before moving to Costa Rica, she was a producer, director and consultant in communications policy, programming and production. She was a founding member of the Washington, D.C. chapter of Women in Film and Video, serving as president of the board for two years. A founding board member of the Washington, D.C. International Film Festival, she served on its executive committee and as chairman of the successive opening night galas. Her managerial experience includes serving as communications director of a 7,000 member trade association, supervising its publications; managing press and public relations; and producing films, video and radio programming. As a consultant, her clients have included Lucasfilm, Ltd., the Public Broadcasting System, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, U.S. Government agencies, trade associations and film production companies. Ms. Flashenberg also helped establish an international communication network of performing and visual arts organizations, The Alliance for Cultural Democracy. She also served as a founder of the Regional Organization of Theatres South, an alliance of performing arts organizations including professional theatre, dance, mime and music groups. Ms. Flashenberg was an actress for many years. She holds degrees in theatre and literature, and post-graduate studies in public administration.
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Daniel Nachtigal serves on the Board of Directors of Through The Kitchen Door and as its treasurer. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area and provides empowerment and sustainability consulting services to non-profit organizations, social entrepreneurs and cooperatives. During 2002 he served in a full time consulting capacity with the quasi-governmental National Capital Revitalization Corporation and the RLA Revitalization Corporation focusing on public/private partnerships developing city owned real estate. He was a permanent resident of Costa Rica during the 1990s. There he provided business and legal consulting services to enterprises operating in Costa Rica. Before moving to Costa Rica, Dan was a partner in the law firm of 'Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal' in Washington, D.C.
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