My Last Foodie Event as a "Boston Local": Boston Bites Back: One Night. One City. One Fund

"A chef-inspired event to raise over $1 million for The One Fund. Brought to you by Ming Tsai, Ken Oringer, the Boston Red Sox, Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino, and ARAMARK. One night only. Food from up to 100 chefs. May 15, 2013 from 6pm-10pm. At Fenway Park." -www.bostonbitesback.org

One hundred chefs will donate their time and extraordinary talents at Fenway Park to raise $1 million for The One Fund which benefits the victims of the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

I am honored and excited to attend such a massive event with ALL of my personal favorite local celebrity chef over the years and MANY I've so looked forward to meeting and who's creations I've anticipated enjoying, before my big move to to the D.C area.  

It's even more significant that this massive event has been organized by Chef Ming Tsai and Chef Ken Oringer to contribute to The One Fund via ticket sells and silent auction items (which will continue to run through May 31st).

Five more days to purchase your tickets: $200 for General Admission; $1000 for VIP.

"General admission provides delicious samples from the Chefs, soft drinks, beer and wine.  You will have access to the Big Concourse and the Budweiser deck. You will also be able to sit in the stands and even step out on the warning track! (Weather permitting.)

In addition to the above, VIP’s will be treated to an enhanced experience in the EMC Club. There will be a full bar including premium wines. Ken & Ming will also be featuring a menu that is reflective of this more exclusive setting." -BBB website

TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR.

MUST BE 21+

DONATIONS THROUGH THE EVENTBRITE SITE ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND.

Check out the website for participating chefs.  The list continues to grow!

Book Review: "Yes, Chef: A Memoir" by Chef Marcus Samuelsson

Months after purchasing Yes Chef! as an eBook for my iPad Kindle app, I traveled to the beautiful Barbados for my annual international birthday trip, to attend the Barbados Food+Wine+Rum Festival back in November of 2012.  I was moved to write this book review after Chef Marcus recently won the James Beard Foundation's 2013 Writing & Literature Award for Yes, Chef.  This will be added to several other JBF Awards over the years.

I made it a priority to purchase tickets to attend Chef Marcus Samuelsson's Cooking Demo as on of my events as well as a private dinner he hosted at the Barbados Food+Wine+Rum Festival!  I was fortunate enough to get a picture with and an autograph from Chef (on my notepad ;0) since my actual copy of the book was is electronic.

On a beautiful beach, I fell even more in love with Chef Marcus' talents and welcoming spirit!  He's funny and friendly, very open and humble.  Throughout the weekend, whenever I crossed his path, or attended another of his events, he was simply warm and inviting to all foodie fans and colleagues around.

Yes, Chef: A Memoir

The story begins with the equally endearing and heartbreaking story, set in his homeland of Ethiopia, about he and his sister's early childhood, battling tuberculosis along with his mother and charged with walking 75 miles to the closest hospital in Part One: Chapter One: Boy.  Following is a loving and redeeming story in Part One: Chapter Two: My Swedish Mother where his experiences cooking with his Swedish, retired domestic, grandmother truly moved him and grew him into the renowned chef we know today.  The reader has the opportunity to grasp a sense of of where such a balance of smartness, endurance, drive, and general joy has developed.  The book is his ode to a lifelong love of food and he humorously discredits his mother with spurring this passion, describing her handling of pasta as one that "not even a prisoner would tolerate...with tinny tomato sauce and mushy frozen peas".

We're taken on a tough winter journey to Smogen where he toiled with the men of the family, preparing fishing vessels for the upcoming season and enjoying an eye opening visit to his uncle's smokehouse.  No doubt this hard work lead to his ultimate respect for the protein of the sea.

So we journey into his restaurant experiences in both Switzerland and France, a stint on a cruise ship, to the beginning of his phenomenal work in NYC.

In Barbados, he told the story of how he ended up cooking for his first White House state dinner.  It was quite a tale and you can read all about it in Yes, Chef as well.

Yes, Chef is Samuelsson's heart and soul in black in white.  He readily opens and allows the readers to experience his history, his passions, his dreams.  Chef Marcus is one of the most inviting celebrity chefs I've ever had the pleasure to encounter.  His natural spirit is felt in his presence as much as through this spectacular memoir.


Pick up your copy of Yes, Chef: A Memoir at your local bookstore, through Random House, or Amazon.com.  It is available as an e-Book, hard, and soft cover.