1998 April 1st: Janet, our son Justin and I flew to Paris. We met with our great friends Proal, Connie and the children Rebecca and Matthew. A Family Vacation!! The first night we dined at ‘L’ Ami Louis’ on the 2nd. It was coming down in sheets when we arrived and…
Category: Posts
JEREMIAH TOWER; MY TREASURE BOOK SERIES
The first time I met him in person I was speechless for a few moments. That is something that doesn’t happen very often. I was thrilled a few years later when I was invited to cook a dinner for the ‘Tenth Anniversary of Food Arts Magazine” at The Plaza Hotel…
Tapas; A Treasure Book
In 2004 we opened a sprawling restaurant in Coral Gables. I knew we needed to be quite a bit different than my original restaurant both in concept and price points. This would be a more casual, boisterous place with lunch and dinner as well as a market within the 10K…
AVENTURA MAGAZINE’S ‘FOODIE ISSUE’
Sara Liss the fine Miami based writer has penned a cover article for the rich ‘Foodie Issue’ Aventura Magazine. Take the link over to page 70 to begin reading it and enjoying the dishes my chef/colleagues/pals Brad Kilgore, Scott Lindquist, Michael Schwartz and Andrew Mayer assembled in the home of…
JOIN ME ON SUBSTACK!
The one thing we know, especially at this age for some of us, is that life is always changing. It is so true of tech and what we know about it … or don’t! I am thankful that I had so many years to hone my crafts of cooking and…
MADHUR JAFFREY; A TREASURE BOOK
Google this woman’s amazing life for an example of one who has and continues to have an adventure filled life. She was an international movie star while still quite young and living in India, her native country. Then in her 30’s she began to write her cookbooks. Indian cuisine naturally…
A Celebration ’90 at 90′ Gala for Mentor Jacques Pépin; Orlando
The Director of Operations for the Jacques Pépin Foundation, Marissa Ain and the foundation’s Culinary Producer, Susan Wilbur invited me to head up two major dinners in Florida for the program titled, “90 at 90” to celebrate the life of the amazing Chef and Educator. The ones I am helping…
The Laurel Hotel and Spa, Auburn
As pre-arranged a gentleman named Jarald picked Janet and I up at the Atlanta airport around 1:30. We’d come in from Miami. Nice man with a soft Texas accent I would guess. He transported us to the college town of Auburn in Alabama. The ride was smooth with some gently…
’90 at 90′ A Night to Celebrate the Legendary Chef Jacques Pépin!
The Director of Operations for the Jacques Pépin Foundation, Marissa Ain and the foundation’s Culinary Producer, Susan Wilbur invited me to head up two major dinners in Florida for the program titled, “90 at 90” to celebrate the life of the amazing Chef and Educator. The ones I am helping…
‘Love, Charlie’. Now on Netflix
For those who have yet to know the background let me give it as briefly as I can. Charlie graduated from college in Madison, Wisconsin and took a job working as a busboy in a restaurant in Lake Forest, Illinois where I was the Executive Chef. It was the fall…
FLAVORS UNKNOWN; A Podcast Interview with Chef Norman Van Aken
Hello Everyone! I am pleased to share the new podcast hosted by Emmanuel Laroche. (Linked here). Emmanuel has had many fine guests on including Nina Compton, Sean Brock, Will Guidara and more. He is very experienced in the art of the interview from having done this for years. I plan…
THE INFATUATION; ORLANDO’S BEST!
The best restaurant and bar guide in Miami for me is not Yelp. It is called ‘The Infatuation’. I don’t agree 100% of the time but it is the most interesting. And they are not swayed by the $$$$ silly places that abound as of late. The Infatuation is also…
‘GET COOKING’ ON WESH-TV
Courtesy: WESH-TV
Our non-profit mission ‘Get Cooking’ was just featured by Orlando news station WESH-TV and news journalist Megan Mellado. My partner, Stacie Archer and I are very grateful and want to share it with you. For background ‘Get Cooking” works with food insecure families to teach them how to budget, shop…
BACKSTAGE AT NORMAN’S.
Hi Everyone. I am happy to share the newest episode of my streaming series now out on Blackstone’s YouTube Channel. And I love reading viewers reactions to this way of taking the Blackstone Griddle experience through my lens. This is a project of love decades in the making. I joined…
ON COOKING ‘FLOW’
Recently I finished reading a book that had been quietly, mystically ‘waiting’ for me on a bookshelf in our home. Do you have that happen to you? It is a kind of silent conversation between the author and some intuitive part of the unconscious that relies upon what seems to…
‘Our Homage to Spain’
At NORMAN’S every 6-8 weeks we debut a new ‘Tasting Menu’. I have loved doing them since the late 1980’s while still working in Key West at MIRA within the very pretty Marquesa Hotel at Fleming and Simonton Streets. With our ‘a la carte‘ menu guests choose an assortment of…