In the last semester one fellow said he just wants to ride his Harley and write about food. He’s landed a column at a biking magazine!

This is the first day of the new class at the CIA. It is an elective and 27 students have enrolled.  This is what I’m planning to say:

May I begin by asking you to look at the person seated next to you. And to the person seated in front and behind you?

Immediately you’ll see there is nobody in the world who looks like you, thinks like you or has had the same experiences you have had. You are unique. And special. And as Christopher Robin said to Winnie the Pooh:

Promise me you’ll always remember you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  So to echo President Obama: Yes you can!

This should get us ALL FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!

Teaching this class is what I love to do.

At first I was hesitant, thinking this was a huge imposition, but every single person responded immediately and enthusiastically: Nach Waxman owner of my favorite store contributed an essay about his life at Kitchen Arts & Letters, so did Barbara Haber who laid the foundation of the cookbook collection at the Schlessenger Library and literary agent Lisa Ekus and Delores Custer the Queen of food styling. Betty Fussell, Darra Goldstein (Gastronomica) and Anne Willan and David Robinson described their work as did dozens of others who provided wonderful insights and really useful information for the readers.

They say it is lonely being a writer. What rubbish! When I look at my network of cherished friends, I realize I am part of a lovely, celebratory, constantly hungry crowd of food lovers. This makes me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

“Good Food Jobs is a gastro-job search tool, designed to link people looking for meaningful food work with the businesses that need their energy, enthusiasm and intellect. We post opportunities with farmers and food artisans, policy makers and purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs, economists, ecologists, and more…”

Go to the site for information about the conference planned for February in NYC.

In a January 5^th article in The Tribune, Nancy Maes resports: Gemini Birstro and Rustic House is serving offer a trio of gelati: rosemary Irish cream; casatta with dried fruits and nuts in a cinnamon orange base; and honey chestnut. $7.  Big Jones’ Paul Fehribach created a sour orange sage sorbet paired with sweet potato pie. There’s also a chocolate chili ice cream served with chocolate bread pudding, garnished with salted caramel and chocolate sauce. $8 sorbet with hints of cinnamon, allspice and clove. Another is a vibrant orange persimmon pudding ice cream, inspired by the fruit that its originator ate growing up in northern Indiana. She says it has a flavor like that of a pumpkin combined with a citrus fruit, enhanced with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Another choice is a dark chocolate ice cream laced with a burgundy-colored ribbon of house-made fig jam, created with dried figs, red wine, honey, orange zest and balsamic vinegar.

Yum.  Who sez ice cream is only for summer days?

By the way, even small dairies employ a professional ice cream taster who may be asked to suggest new flavors too.

I recently came across an article in the Los Angeles Times about Katherine Montero who describes herself as an ice cream sommelier.

She graduated with a business degree from Harvard University and an interest in molecular gastronomy and biology. She’s created a job working with a chef in an ice cream laboratory in Miami.

They’ve dreamed up some truly weird flavors including pizza ice cream: a combination of basil and tomato marmalade served with a curl of parmesan cheese. There’s also maple syrup served with a strip of crisp bacon and chocolate mole ice cream. Those who yearn for vanilla may be out of luck but there is a never ending parade of people who are willing to try anything, at least once.

I mention these things because if you can identify the thing you truly love, you can scoop up a career wrapped around the object of your affection.

As the nation focuses on health care there will continue to be, increasing concentration on food that is good to eat and good for the health of the nation. By this, I don’t mean low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol, and low salt foods but in enthusiasm for sustainable farming and locally accessed fruits, vegetables and meats. Those who can afford the best are opting for artisanal and minimally processed foods.

There is mounting interest in good, not too costly, healthy (as opposed to health food) options everywhere. This is a worldwide trend and offers job opportunities both in industry and private enterprise. For some of these positions it helps mightily to have obtained a degree from a culinary school but is not always necessary. A cheerful disposition may be more persuasive than a certificate.

• Healthy food is a concept that is gaining traction in company cafeterias (Google and Facebook are among several companies that employ full-time chefs who provide free food for their employees. This is a growing trend among businesses that want to keep their employees happy. Some companies even offer take-out food for dinner too.
• Healthy food choices are taking up more and more shelf space in supermarkets where chefs prepare meals ready to be cooked (or simply reheated,) at home. Wegman’s, one of the best companies to work for in America, has even installed bistros in their fabulous supermarkets.)
• Top chefs are cooking in airport restaurants.
• Employment can be found cooking for congregations who are encouraged to meet and greet each other at the conclusion of religious services.

• A gardener sells gift bouquets of the herbs he grows himself. He takes orders online and sells to individuals who visit his farm. His clients include restaurants that use the bouquets (tied with a lavender-colored ribbon,) instead of flowers on the tables. (Guests are invited to take home the bouquets and many of them are delighted with the gift.)  He also offers rosemary, the herb of remembrance, to florists who include this and other fragrant herbs in bridal bouquets.
• A former butcher caters large parties: he roasts whole suckling pigs.
• A former television producer offers media training for chefs, spokespersons and everyone who is selling anything.
• A nutritionist offers cooking classes for diabetics and those on gluten-free diets. She is an adviser for post-gastric bypass patients and children with eating disorders, cancer patients and others who have special dietary needs.
• A home cook provides healthy breakfasts and lunches for kindergarteners.
• A baker sells brownies, cookies and other goodies from a kiosk at the movie house.
• A Mom landed a job teaching table manners to culinary students.

Santa's 2011 Chocolate Sleigh Contents Courtesy of CIA Student Clara Krueger

Clara Krueger, a charming young CIA (Culinary Institute of America) baking and pastry arts student, arrived fresh from her baking class. She brought with her this enchanting chocolate sleigh filled with festive fondant packages. I was delighted and astonished and greatly admired her accomplishment.

I was happy indeed when she gave it to me.

Clara’s gift reminded me of the time when we lived in a small suburban community in Long Island. It was an interesting neighborhood, a dormitory town for New York set around a bay.

It appealed to a wonderfully diverse group of people.

Some had lived there for ages and others were more recent arrivals. Many were from other countries, mostly European. The family living on one side of us was Austrian and neighbors on the other side were from Israel. There were French, Swedish and Irish families, and a lot of lovely mixtures. I, being British, formed one of these with my American husband.

Our first year, a quite spontaneous thing happened.

I remember that we, our children and two dogs, went next door carrying a lighted ship’s lantern that I had given my husband for his birthday a year or so before. We knocked on the door and sang a carol while we were waiting for our neighbors to answer it. I can’t sing at all, so this must have been a daring thing to do. I don’t remember now who even thought of it.

I do remember though, the delight in our friends’ faces and how we all decided to go to the next house together and sing another carol.  And so we did. The snowball snowballed until there were perhaps 60 or more of us.

We still talk about those times, with memories of little kids happy to be up late, dogs let off the leash, and flickering candles and lanterns and pockets full of warm gingerbread cookies one of the families had just baked.

The following year we organized things a little — though not too much — and when we got cold and had had enough, everyone came back to our house. We had a big pot of French onion soup and some Beaujolais Nouveau — it was the “in” drink at that time — and everyone brought the traditional treats of their own country.

I remember one of the older kids had made a lute, and she sat on the floor in front of the fire and the younger children sang with her.

Last evening, we had another little party to invite our neighbors to meet each other, many for the first time for our very own “tree lighting”. It was a simple affair — just hot chocolate (with the offer of a spike of bourbon or other spirit of the season) and, gingerbread cookies, mincemeat tarts and cider doughnuts. While the Christmas carols were ready for the singing, we decided to leave that tradition for next year.

What is old is new again: a tradition has begun. Onion soup next time!

It’s hard to know whom to thank for the deliverance of pizza.

Harper’s Index uncovered the truly shocking news that the number of families that engage in wide-ranging conversations about the arts during the shared family meal is .0005 percent.

As fast food continues to blanket the earth, and the economy becomes increasingly global, formerly inviolate modes of behavior are being fractured and misunderstood:

A guest at a banquet in Moscow was pressed to have a second helping.  Patting his ample stomach, he genially declined.  He explained, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  The translation?  The vodka is terrific but the meat is horrible.”

Moral:  Mind your manners and keep your elbows off the table.  You never know when you may need them.

Food Job: Table Manners Trainer