Gentlemen, Start your Apologies!

A good marketing strategy can be compared to fishing.  You can’t let the hook just sit there, you’ve got to keep it moving and ideally have more than one in the water.  So that’s why I took my wife to a car race for her birthday. One of the Food Network’s cast-offs was Food Fantasy, […]

How Seductive can a Dough be?

The other day I was scrolling through my Twitter feed when I came across a note from Jamie Schler, a food blogger living in the Loire Valley (yes, that Loire Valley).  She made Brioche rolls filled with chocolate chips and nuts and had posted some lovely photos on her website, Life’s a Feast.  I love […]

So you’re the Queen’s Boyfriend?

     In case you didn’t know this, Mardi Gras is not a one-day celebration but more of a season that begins with Twelfth night, the feast that celebrates the journey of the three wise men and their search for the new born Savior. The season ends with Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday, the […]

So you’re the Queen’s Boyfriend?

     In case you didn’t know this, Mardi Gras is not a one-day celebration but more of a season that begins with Twelfth night, the feast that celebrates the journey of the three wise men and their search for the new born Savior. The season ends with Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday, the […]

“So this isn’t a Cookbook?”

Recently I hosted a dinner and book signing at a friend’s restaurant in Charlotte.  Me and Tom Condron, the Chef/Owner go way back. So after everyone had a glass of wine and a few hors d’oeuvre in them they sat down.  We were all in a great mood, it was a Saturday night and a […]

A Doughnuts for Amy excerpt on Charles Dickens’ Birthday

“Nick?” “Yes ma’am?” “Do you have any news for us?” “Well, I’m concerned about Colonel Armstrong.  I don’t think he is eating much of anything these days.  Coffee in the morning and his meals often come back just barely eaten, although he claims that everything is fine.” “Nick would you like me to pay a […]

The Greatest Voice on Earth

When our restaurant was open, my cooks could listen to whatever they wanted to on the radio. Punk, Country, Speed Metal, Top 40, didn’t matter to me so long as they were happy and getting the job done.  I never complained either, occasionally I may have commented on a certain lead singer’s ability to carry […]

The Work Space

I have a new job.  It’s part-time, only three or four days a week and I’m cooking, actually cooking at a friend’s restaurant here in the burbs of Greenville. Even if I wasn’t working there I would tell you it’s my favorite restaurant in town; it’s Stella’s Bistro.  Stella’s is very Southern, upscale Southern or […]

Who’s really a hero?

From April, 2007 This past Saturday my son Tudor and I along with a friend of Tudor’s & his dad took off for Beaufort so we could take in the Beaufort Air Show at the Marine Corps Air Station.  Tudor & I had been planning this trip for several months because the Blue Angels were performing […]