Now I'm Fabulous and You Can Be Too

If you pay even the slightest bit of attention to local media in any form- traditional, online and social- then you know that the Fabulous Food Show is happening November 12-14 at the IX Center. As always the annual culinary extravaganza will include cooking demos, food and wine tastings, and an eclectic selection of products to browse and buy.

Sure, you can see celebrities like Jason Roberts, Alton Brown, Guy Fieri, and Giada De Laurentis and line up to get their autographs along with their cookbooks. And yes, Michael Symon will be there, whooping it up on stage for the hometown audience while he MC’s the cook off competition between three local chefs: Dante Boccuzzi, Jonathon Sawyer and Steve Schimoler. But this year also has something brand new and fabulous in a whole different kind of way.

I’ve organized a writing class for anyone who’s ever dreamed of well- being me. That is, a person who writes about food. Lots of people ask about it- they want to know the nuts and bolts of how you get into it and how you get good at it. They envy me the lifestyle (certainly not the income). Someone once told me she couldn’t decide if it would be better to come back for a second life as her pampered Siamese cat or Laura Taxel, food writer. So I’ve decided its time to share.

To help me, I enlisted my friend and colleague Dianne Jacob. She’s a former magazine editor, an acclaimed writing coach from California, and the author of the definitive book on the subject: Will Write For Food. I’m even quoted in the chapter on freelancing. Her workshops, which she’s done all over the country, in Canada, and even Mexico, draw crowds and get rave reviews.

We’re doing two morning seminars at the Fabulous Food Show. The interactive 2-hour sessions will offer tips on how to spice up your food writing skills; demystify the process of writing and selling a cookbook or an article; and explore the pros, cons, and steps for launching and maintaining a blog. We’re going to provide practical advice and real world guidance on getting started, doing it well, and what’s required to get published and get readers. The Friday workshop is strictly for chefs, other food and hospitality industry professionals, and media veterans. The focus is on building a business, a brand, and a career. The Saturday version is for the general public- amateurs, enthusiasts, and aspiring beginners with an idea or a passion. Tickets for each class are $50 per person, include same day admission to the Show, and must be purchased in advance. Buy yours and read more about Dianne and I and what we’ll be covering in each group here.

We’ve got big plans and I think these seminars are going to be very informative. But there is one thing that remains unresolved. Dianne’s excited about coming to Cleveland and checking out the local culinary talent. But I’m in a tough spot- we only have three nights. So the question is- where should we go for dinner?

Keller is Coming

Thomas Keller is coming to Cleveland. And make no mistake- this is a very big deal. A world famous chef and author, he presides over multiple highly acclaimed restaurants. He has won seven James Beard awards and earned more Michelin stars than any other American. But Keller is much more than the sum of such facts. Known as a fanatic perfectionist, an exacting teacher, and a creative genius, he’s a man whose exacting dedication to what he does is legendary. His approach to food attracts passionate fans, acolytes, and disciples. And if you don’t find all this sufficiently impressive, consider his Hollywood credentials. Keller was selected to mentor the creators of the animated feature film Ratatouille about a rat with gastronomic aspirations, and created the movie’s signature recipe.

Keller will be on stage Friday night, 7 PM, November 13 at the Fabulous Food Show at the IX Center, talking about how ordinary home cooks can apply some of his techniques in their own kitchens. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to be in a room with one of the most renowned culinary figures of our era and hear what he has to say. The program, dubbed “A Conversation with Thomas Keller” will be moderated by writer Michael Ruhlman, who is his friend and a collaborator on multiple book projects. There is no extra charge for attending his talk- it’s included in the regular admission fee.

The appearance kicks off Keller’s national tour to promote his latest cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home, a collection of family style, comfort recipes.

There are a limited number of special $60 packages for advance purchase that include admission to the show, the book, which retails for $50, and a guaranteed spot in line for the book signing that follows his presentation. Books will also be available for sale at the Show. There’s a nice review of it and a recipe for leek bread pudding in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Friday is great day to come to the Fabulous Food Show. There will be a tasting of Fair Trade coffees, cooking demos featuring grass fed beef and heirloom poultry, and workshops about how to eat locally, sustainably, and economically. Some area farmers and artisan producers will have their goods on display for this one day only. It’s fitting that Keller will be the star of the show that night because he has long been a champion of the farm to plate ethic.

A Real Nice Guy

I recently had some phone time with TV celebrity Guy Fieri. You’ll be able to read what he had to say in that exclusive interview after Labor Day when it’s posted on the Fabulous Food Show website. But I have some impressions and stories about the host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that won’t make it into the official q & a so I’m going to share those here.

Let’s start with the fact that on a personal level I didn’t expect to like Mr. Spiky Hair. His over the top on camera persona is not my cuppa tea. So it came as quite a surprise that I did. He’s a really warm, friendly, articulate person, and exhibited no Prima Dona behavior which I can’t say about many of the big names I’ve encountered over the course of my career. I’m going on record with this next statement: Guy Fieri is a nice guy. And I’m not the only one in town who holds this opinion.

“He was genuine, he was kind, he was generous with advice, a good listener, and hilarious.” Those are chef and baker Heather Haviland’s words. The two met last month when he was in town filming at Lucky’s Café, her place in Tremont. On the Sunday morning Fieri was there, she reports, he charmed her mom, was gracious with hovering fans and apologized to the approximately 100 hungry brunchers who had to wait outside until the cameras were done rolling. He took time to look at the Urban Learning Garden adjacent to the café and hear about the kids involved in the food growing project.

Michael Symon, who has a thing for Heather’s sausage gravy, came and the three of them whipped up some of the luscious creamy stuff together. Hope that bit makes the editors cut, because Heath says they laughed their asses off and I want to see that. The segment is scheduled to run on October 12. “We had such a good time together and by the time he left," she repots, "it was like we were old friends.”

Fieri told me he loves Cleveland. His aunt lives in the area and he comes to see her with some regularity. “This is a great city,’ he said, “with great chefs and great restaurants. Wait till these shows air- Cleveland will get all the attention it deserves.” He’ll be back for appearances at the Fabulous Food Show on November 14, and said he’s looking forward to it. Now that I know the man behind the character, I am too.

Book Battle, Food Fights, and Cook Ups

My son Nathan and I are fighting over Andrew Carmellini’s new cookbook, Urban Italian. He likes it so much that he keeps threatening to steal it from me. That was after I refused to just give it to him. No doubt he was very surprised by this response. My habitual approach to anything he or his two brothers asks of me is “Yes.” Besides, I am in general not a big fan of cookbooks. I have some of course, but far fewer than most food writers and many food enthusiasts. And I turn to them only on occasion, being more of an intuitive cook than a follower of instructions. But I definitely want to keep this one around.

Not only is it beautiful, entertainingly readable, and nicely organized, but the recipes are exactly what he promises- the kind of food you can make with easily accessible ingredients and a reasonable investment of time. There are plenty of things- though certainly not all of them in my opinion- that can be reproduced with the hours and energy left over after a long day of work. And the dishes are the kind of simple, homey food I love to eat: lamb ragu, tomato risotto, ziti with tuna, red onions and cannelloni beans; escarole Calabrese with lots of garlic and spicy sopressata. I’m eager to try some of his uncommon and inventive variations on iconic preparations: strozzapreti with sausage, grapes and red wine; pork arrosto with Italian plums and grappa; meatballs with cherries.

Scattered throughout the pages are flashes of humor and lots of personality. In a recipe for short rubs braciole, the instructions read: “1 clove garlic, sliced Goodfellas thin.” Chapter intros are full of stories about people and places and headnotes can be chatty: “Some people think they don’t like calamari but that’s because they’ve only had the beer-bar version- the kind that tastes like a chew toy.” Carmellini, a Cleveland transplant to NYC, is coming home for the Fabulous Food Show, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (November 14-16) at the I-X Center. Click here to read my interview with him. He’ll be signing copies of his book at the Celebrity Autograph Pavilion on Friday afternoon at 1 PM.

Stick around for the first Sous-Chef Competition Finale at 6:30PM hosted by the celebrity we call our own Michael Symon . I was one of the judges for the preliminary and semi-final rounds, and I can tell you this- the competitors-all working right here in Cleveland restaurants- were an impressive bunch. I predict these seconds in the hierarchy of kitchen command are destined to be dining room stars in their own right. This final round in the friendly food fight should be fun to watch. I’m also looking forward to catching Kris Kreiger of Chef’s Choice Meats give a lesson in how to make a turducken. He’ll unveil the mysteries of the famed 3-part poultry on the Marketplace Stage at 3:30 on Sunday. That’s just one of an entire weekend’s worth of free and interesting cooking demos at the show courtesy of local experts. My advice? See as many as you can.