Food Fighters
One of my life’s great privileges is brewing the morning’s first cup of coffee and bringing it to my lovely wife Amy. And I like starting the day with the process of making that coffee. I prefer the coffee from my friends Riccardo Pereira at Due South and Will Shurtz of Methodical Coffee, and I’m […]
Budmo!
“John!” I’d just walked into the WCK kitchen and a vaguely familiar voice called out to me. I turned to my left and in the far corner was New Orleans native and fellow chef David Guas. He owns Bayou Bakery in Washington DC and he’s a good guy. I hadn’t seen him in four or […]
Dances with Onions
I thought I understood the politics of this war, until I chopped onions with our ambassador to Finland. I thought I spoke decent Spanish, until I worked next to an attorney from Barcelona. I thought I understood hospitality, until I served customers that carried their lives, their culture, their country in one rolling suitcase and […]
Sidewalk to Poland
Border crossings, such as the one on the Ukranian border at Mydeka, Poland, aren’t designed for a mass exodus. This one is a sidewalk, no wider than one found on yours, or my Main Street. This one flows down the gentle slope of Ukranian earth, through the gates then climbs up thirty feet or so […]
Yesterday’s Apples
The apples arrived in 18 wheelers and were unloaded with forklifts. Thousands of pounds of apples. When I arrived I asked how I could help. “Chef that group is cutting yesterday’s apples for applesauce. We bring it to the border and it’s a welcome treat for the Ukranian kids. Would you mind chopping apples?” “Make […]