| Chefs get personal - and affordable
Nancy MacManus had so many food allergies, she didn't know what to cook. Bill Mistler, a full-time student, wanted quick meals - but not takeout every night. And Carol Kutteh, an over-booked wife and mother from Newtown Square, was looking for a less stressful way to get dinner on the table. Each had a different motivation, but they all arrived at the same solution: a personal chef. Once thought to be the exclusive purview of celebs and the uber-rich, personal chefs - hired to do all the menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking - are gradually becoming an option for the rest of us, says John Moore, director of the United States Personal Chef Association, which met at Loews Hotel last week. About 225 of the Association's 2,000 members attended classes on cooking techniques, menu development, and running a business.
Katrina dead mourned two years on
NEW Orleans has mourned the huge losses inflicted by Hurricane Katrina two years ago, as US President George W. Bush sought to dispel lingering anger, vowing better days lay ahead. Scores of tiny blue hand bells tinkled, as Mayor Ray Nagin led a poignant memorial service to the 1500 dead across the Gulf Coast and remembered the devastation which laid waste whole communities. Two years on, much of the city famed for its jazz and Creole cooking still lies abandoned after surging seas whipped up by the hurricane breached its levees on August 29, 2005. Mr Bush, who was sharply criticised for failing to respond swiftly to the enormous tragedy unfolding before the nation's eyes, paid his 15th visit to the city since the storm hit. "New Orleans, better days are ahead,'' he said during a visit to a school had been submerged.
Local award-winning pitmaster perfects barbecue
Amy Anderson had a winning recipe right from the start.The first time the Olympia native took her barbecue cooking on the competition circuit, she won Washington state's grand championship. That meant she earned high scores in all four barbecue categories: chicken, ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.Anderson was in her mid-20s at the time, when female pitmasters were even more rare than they are today.Many other awards followed: Anderson has earned grand championships in Arizona, California and Nevada and at international competitions in Canada and Ireland."I was pretty lucky right off the get-go," said Anderson, 39, who opened South Sound's Ranch House BBQ restaurant with co-founder Melanie Tapia three years ago.And where barbecue is concerned, that luck has continued.A 1986 Olympia High School graduate, Anderson grew up cheering on her mother, Judy, who also competed on the barbecue circuit.
Community Almanac
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday, Aug. 31COUNTY FAIR AND BOOK RELEASE: Copies of the Fair Book can be downloaded from the Coconino County Web site www.coconino.az.gov/parks.aspx?id=480 and are also available in Coconino County offices. Coconino County Fairgrounds, three miles south of Flagstaff at Exit 337 off of Interstate 17.COUNTY FAIR FREE PASSES: Through today, blood donors will be thanked with one free gate pass to the Coconino County Fair. To make it convenient for donors to give blood, United Blood Services has scheduled more than 30 blood drives in the Flagstaff area through August. Coconino County Fairgrounds (three miles south of Flagstaff at Exit 337 off of Interstate 17).LAVA TUBES AND SNOWBOWL SKYRIDE: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Join U.S. Forest Service interpretive ranger Heidi Strickfaden for this extraordinary walk into the lava tubes of Hart Prairie shield volcano.
Iron Chef has new winner, but real winners are those who are fed
Culinary challenger Jodi Brunori of the French Laundry in Fenton turned up the heat last week, toppling local two-time Iron Chef winner Steve Pilon of the Oak Pointe County Club in Genoa Township. The competition, a local fundraiser, played out before a crowd of 250 on a stage set up behind the Gleaners Food Bank of Livingston County. "You can't touch this,'' Brunori joked after announcement of the winner, playing to a contingent of supportive audience members in the first few rows. Only 60 points separated Brunori and People's Choice Award winner Pilon, who were charged with creating an appetizer, entrée and dessert, using this year's mystery ingredient - mushrooms. Celebrity judges awarded points to each chef based on presentation, taste, preparation and use of mushrooms.
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