I wake up to fresh coffee brewing and Doc beaming. Then the words I fear "Do you know what today is?"

I don't try but secretly I know I've forgotten something big. Turns out it's 8 years ago today that we had our first date. That was the first date I'd had that lasted for hours without my once looking at my watch.

So he went out this morning while I slept and put together this lovely brunch:

Little Pearl American Caviar, Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, Crème Fraîche, blini, pumpernickle, organic red onion.

I made a perfect hard-boiled egg, snipped some fresh chives from our garden, then made him wait while I chopped, arranged, and photographed.

And photographed:

This is my perfectly lit caviar service courtesy of McGyver lighting system (there's natural light, a shower curtain and some other things involved...)

Close up of the Caviar... isn't it gorgeous?

Thanks to Tom for bringing us together and thanks to Caleb for keeping me laughing all these years later. Here's to many more!

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Here are my slides from this afternoon's panel discussion at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Along with the Tufts University Alumni Association, the Food for Thought: Tufts Food, Wine and Culture Series has included famous alumni like Dan Barber. Tonight's panel discussion on Sustainability was a thought-provoking and fun event. We were billed as "leaders from the restaurant industry and local farms" who (would) explore the challenges and opportunities of bringing sustainable practices to what we eat."

For my part, I was delighted to participate and scribbled notes while my co-presenters spoke. Peter McCarthy spoke of his commitment to whole animal utilization, to Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds (and bunnies and pigs) as well as his progress toward LEEDS certification at EVOO.

Jennifer was entertaining and managed to cover a lot of information on the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. What a terrific program they have at this school!

Panelists:

I look forward to continuing the discussion started this evening, and I really enjoyed the lively chats with many of the attendees during the reception.

Please email me or drop a comment here if you want more info on the slides, the books we discussed or if you have any further questions!

All photos are mine except for the gorgeous fish dish on slide three, that's Matt Wright's entry into last year's Teach a Man to Fish event, and the NASA photo on the Issues to Watch slide.

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Food, Glorious Food: Our Palate vs. Our Planet- is this the choice we must make or a false dichotomy? Three experts lead what is sure to be a terrific discussion.

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During the International Culinary Association's annual conference in Portland, I was fortunate to attend a wonderful Saturday session entitled "Meat Revival" hosted by the Art Institute of Portland's Culinary School. With heritage breed pigs from Sweet Briar farm, a demo of butchering techniques comparing French and American styles, Michael Ruhlman moderating, and charcuterie to sample - you might say I was in hog heaven.

Looking around the packed room of culinary professionals, rapt and ravenous for the information, techniques, explanations made me confident that my book Pig Tales: a Love Story has a market. We're seeing more home cooks, chefs, food enthusiasts asking for recipes, for demonstrations and for real hands-on training.

In case you're wondering if how long ago this conference was, it was the end of April and yes, I have discovered the one downside of having a digital camera. You are apt to shoot too many photos. You have the opportunity to shoot nearly limitless shots without worry about the cost of film. If you're in a hurry and taking notes, you don't even have to stop to erase bad shots from your memory card. You can shoot away and worry about it later! When you have time.

For me, it was a dual dilemma of being in my dream class with a clean memory card. I'm embarrassed to tell you how many photos I shot in this class. This is my way of begging your indulgence with the delay in posting here. See, I've been going over lots of photos from that day. Lots and lots of photos. Here's five in a row of Kate talking which one is the best? This one, or that one? That one or this one? And on and on.

So I have to get more judicious. But this Saturday morning pig fest was no time to start. My gratitude to Camas Davis of PDX Meat, the brand-new Portland Meat Collective, to Dave and the AI staff for hosting, to Sweet Briar for providing the pigs (a Yorkshire cross I believe), Michael Ruhlman for being a great moderator and to our butchery teachers, Dominique Chapolard with his friend and translator Kate Hill, and Adam Sappington Chef/Owner of Country Cat restaurant in Portland. I don't know if the overalls are his daily attire but between them and the berêt you certainly wouldn't lose sight of who was who!

Olympic provisions joined our hosts in offering finely crafted charcuterie, and fine OR wine from Pudding River rounded out this true breakfast of champions. Move over Wheaties, there's a new game in town. The plate was amazing and I cannot get the jerky off my mind.

What I was most struck by is the skill, the quiet grace of the movements of both butchers, really. Their methods were quite different, even to an untrained eye (they even started at different ends of the pigs.) I kept thinking of ballet, the delicate movements, the grace and all the discipline and strength that is behind it all. It was the highlight of the conference and one of the best things for me was the opportunity to spend a little time with Dominique and Kate talking pig. What a treat! I can't wait to get to Gascony and learn more, eat more and enjoy more with these amazing folks.

At the end of the demo during Q&A I asked where the women butchers are. To my great delight there were TWO in the room! Camas trained with Dominique in France and Tray Satterfield (in the fedora in the photos) spoke eloquently about her epiphany and the nearly spiritual path that led her from her career in Finance to her life's work as a butcher. I got to visit Tray at Pastaworks and hope to interview her separately here shortly. She is the inspiration behind my next post on Good Eater. Stay tuned!

~ ~ ~

Ed note: Here's the Good Eater link:

In Heels and Backwards: Women Butchers Break Bones and Barriers.

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Okay, full disclosure: I'm a world traveler and I've been many places where the water was probably less potable than what's coming out of our taps right now. I like to think of myself as fairly intrepid. And I'm freaking out, just a little, over our current water crisis here in Boston.

Boston's Fecal Spill

Yes, it pales in comparison to the oil spill in the Gulf. And it pales in comparison to what others go through daily around the world to get fresh potable water, but we are having a pretty icky water crisis in and around Boston.

For those of you who haven't heard, there was a huge water main break on Saturday that caused the water supply to 30+ towns East of Weston to be contaminated with things like e. coli, fecal material and probably stuff like giardia. Here's our official "Boil Water Order".

Today the Globe reports "People in Boston and 29 of its most populous suburbs, whose clean-water supply was cut off by a catastrophic and unprecedented pipe rupture, remained without clean tap water for a third day." They also indicate it may resolve more quickly than originally anticipated. They were saying "weeks" before. This happened to coincide with what must have been record-breaking heat so the elderly and infirm are even more at risk.

As we stock up on bottled water (and by "we" I mean Doc) and boil water (that would be me) and sanitize dishes (again, me) and so on, I keep thinking of people the world over who must go through this hassle every day just to eat, wash, cook, etc.

And, I have to laugh at myself freaking over things like - whether kissing his cheek - bathed in the contaminated water - will give me a case of giardia two weeks from now -- and trying to recall if I santized this mug or that glass. In the heat of Sunday we went to Pho Hoa in Chinatown. (By the way, their renovations are complete and they now have a Banh Mi counter and a bar.) We had bun - thin rice vermicelli - with lemongrass stuffed beef and tea. Every sip of tea I wondered - did they really boil the water? Were the noodles boiled in pre-boiled water? Were the cooking and slicing surfaces washed with clean water? It's enough to make you crazy. Brush teeth with boiled water. They say showering is okay but if we wash our hands we must sanitze them after. What is sitting on my skin and in my hair all day?

Well, they're now saying 24-48 hours we might be done with it. "Heavily chlorinated water will be pumped through" to clean out bacteria. Then there's the giardia that we ingested before we got the notice...what's the sound of 90,000 toilets flushing? Come to Boston in two weeks, I'm sure you'll find out.

So we'll be inconvenienced and I'll have a good laugh at my own expense but what's the real issue with drinking water worldwide?

• 884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people.
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
• Poor people living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city.
• Without food a person can live for weeks, but without water you can expect to live only a few days.

For more on the world's water situation see Water.org.

At least for now, there's beer, and Gin and Tonic made with ice from last week. And wine. I guess we can't complain too much.

Just for fun, here's a "giant microbe" plush toy version of the bacteria in our water.

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A friend said to me today, “You know it’s interesting how many stories you have about really bad PR practices. I know it irks you because you deliver good service to your clients. And, I don’t doubt you, but isn’t it stunning how many people are paying big bucks for such awful service?”

Stunning is one word. Yes. Criminal might be another.

Who is your face to the public?

Thoughts from an ex Account Manager, ex Bus Dev Director, and current survivor of bad PR

As a writer, I probably receive upwards of a dozen press releases per day. If you include “newsletters” that are gussied up press releases, you’d be over three dozen, easy.

I have finally decided that it’s time to start cataloging these bad practices in the hopes that my friends in various industries will know that they have a right to expect more. I know it will not make me popular with the PR professionals but you know what, I could stand to get fewer releases in my in-box. And besides, the true professionals will have nothing to complain about.

Who am I to have an opinion? Well, I’ve been in client services nearly all my professional life and I do take the time to discuss goals and to provide measurable results. I take the time to be thorough and expect others to be, as well. I try always to be accurate. If I make a mistake I try to own it, and prevent it from happening again. It’s called integrity. It’s called being a professional. It’s called serving my clients well.

My friend could not believe one or two of my most recent anecdotes until I pulled them up on email and read them aloud. She suggested I draft a PR Clients’ Bill of Rights. As she says, “Even airline passengers have a bill of rights now.”

So here goes, if you have hired, or are about to hire, a PR professional, you have a right to expect the following:

1. You have the right to measurable results or at least deliverables that can be met. You may be told that it’s impossible to measure the results of an ad campaign or a press release. Ask careful questions to ensure that it’s really the case. Too often “not possible to measure” is code for “I don’t want to bother to measure.” Or, “I don’t want to be held accountable for results.”
2. You have the right to be represented professionally. You may be persuaded that “edgy” is cool, even if you’re not comfortable with it. Be sure to hire someone who will represent you appropriately. I got one newsletter that touted a cooking class and made a cocaine joke. Actually, two cocaine jokes. Is that professional? If I were that client, I’d be horrified to be represented that way by my hired PR “professional.
3. You have the right to be represented by someone that actually knows your food, your book, your product. If you’re standing behind a table with your client’s book on it, you should have taken the time to open the damn book up and actually see what it’s about. If it’s a seafood book and you are asked if it highlights sustainable seafood, your answer should not be “I don’t really know. I’m just with the PR firm."
4. You have the right to expect your PR professional to understand social media. Today’s publicity is not driven by column inches in print media. At least, not exclusively. If your agent is sending out tons of email blasts and very few bloggers are using the info, ask them why. Have they checked with the bloggers to understand how the info could be presented to be more useful? Do they know how to elicit “Tweets”???I receive many, many email blasts along the lines “Come to my client’s restaurant for this dinner... blah blah blah and be sure to tell your readers about it!” Now, if I were only publishing a blog that functions as a bulletin board, that might be okay. But if my content is more valuable, people will come to my blog for that content and see a concise bullet point and contact info with a link in my “Events” box/sidebar?? If you send me a PDF which I cannot cut and paste from, I have to open it, read it, summarize it and then develop a concise bullet to drop in my events box on my website, guess what, it ain’t happening unless I really, really like you. That is the job of your PR professional. I want a link to the website and the contact info as well as a concise description of the event. I should not have to call or email someone for more info in order to post info on my blog about your event.??Why not send me a release with a bullet and a Twitter-ready “tweet”? I guarantee your event notice would get wider distribution, better public relations, if the communications were made easier for the audience whose help you are trying to enlist?
5. You have the right to expect your PR person to tailor their communications to the audience. It makes me crazy when someone doesn’t take the time to look at my website/blog before sending a request. Which products of mine did you think you want to sell in your store, exactly? (I don’t have products.) Even worse is the email blast that claims to have ‘read and enjoyed’ my blog then makes the inappropriate request. If you actually read and enjoyed my blog and I ask you which was your favorite post, you better have an answer, Ms. PR Professional. If the blog is called “Mayberry Gourmet” and you are opening a restaurant in Mayberry but your PR person fails to reach out to that blogger, what does that say about the care they put into their work? Their knowledge of your customer base? Your market?
6. You have the right to a PR person that will not inconvenience the people with whom you are trying to build good relationships. If you’re asking me for mailing info to mail me stuff, and you’ve already mailed me stuff before, you look lazy. An extra email to and from me means you’d rather inconvenience me than find that spreadsheet on your computer that already contains my info. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked for my phone number in a follow up email, I could buy everyone reading this post a drink. (Hint: it’s in my email signature.) Oh, and my last name is not “blogger”. Nor is my first name “Leather."
7. You have the right to a PR professional who will be smart about working for you. They should make it a regular practice to put themselves in the shoes of the recipient and ask: “Am I representing my client appropriately and professionally?”  “Am I giving the recipient of this communication, the information they need in a format they can use, to enable them to communicate the message for my client?”  “Am I asking my go-to bloggers who else I’m missing, who’s up-and-coming?”
8. You have the right to a PR professional that accurately and completely represents what s/he claims to represent. If your PR person is claiming to be an expert with data, they should get it right. It is not sufficient to say that the data they received was “incomplete.” If they failed to get complete data from their source, then they shouldn’t represent it as complete. This goes to integrity. If they purport to offer expertise and report half the data - they I’d say they got it half right. If they blame someone else for shoddy data they chose to use, then shame on you for settling for that quality of service.

If your PR person cannot give you a clear sense of deliverables, cannot honestly represent you professionally, accurately, and with integrity; then they are creating as much ill will, as they are doing good, on your behalf. I then have to ask: what the heck are you paying them for?

I’ve been invited to consider a career in PR on a number of occasions. I know a few true professionals in town that do a great job. They are, unfortunately, in the minority. I hope this helps everyone re-evaluate their face to the public and who they have paid to represent them in that manner. May the good ones continue to rise to the top - you know who you are and I thank you.

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Chefs Collaborative and Organic Valley Family of Farms will commemorate the 40^thanniversary of Earth Day with Earth Dinners at restaurants around the country.  Developed in 2004, the Earth Dinner provides diners with an opportunity to reconnect with their food, its source, and the memories and traditions associated with it.

“We’re really pleased to have more than 50 member chefs and restaurateurs participating in this year’s dinner series,” says Melissa Kogut, Executive Director of Chefs Collaborative. “Earth Dinners highlight the commitment to sourcing ingredients responsibly and talent of our member chefs. The dinners also educate the public about the importance of eating food that is locally grown, in season, and sustainable.”

Participating chefs have developed special Earth Dinner menus to be served during the week of April 18-24, 2010. “It’s great to be part of a national initiative like this that promotes my philosophy as a chef,” says Chef Paul Virant of Vie Restaurant in Chicago, Il. Chef Virant will offer a special Earth Dinner prix-fixe menu featuring regional favorites like local ramps and wood-grilled rainbow trout.

Join me in Portland!

IACP's Annual Conference will coincide with these Earth Day events. Our theme this year is The New Culinary Order. Ever heard "what's old is new again?" Well, in many ways the nature of being a responsible gourmet means looking back and celebrating traditions that sustain us. We've got many sessions doing just that and highlighting the leading edge of the Farm-to-Table food movement including a full day "Pork and Pinot" event, local Willamette Valley producers, growers and brewers are hosting sessions, and of course there are Pacific Seafood sessions, Carrie Oliver is offering her "Provenance of Beef" workshop, and we have Butchery classes hosted by the brand new PDX meat.

For those of you coming to IACP here are the Chefs Collaborative members hosting special Earth Day dinners or featuring special menus. If you're meeting a friend for dinner why not pick one of these spots?

Grand Central Bakery
Portland, OR
April 16-30, 2010 during regular business hours
Call 503-232-0575 for more information!

Lucy’s Table
Portland, OR
April 22, 2010 from 5:00 PM to close
Call 503-226-6126 for more information!

Oregon Culinary Institute
Portland, OR
April 20-April 23, 2010, noon lunch and 7:00 PM Dinner
Call 503-961-6200 for more details!

Paley’s Place
Portland, OR
April 22, 2010 5:00 pm – close
Call 503-243-2403 for more information!

Chef Twillia Glover of the Liberty Elm Diner will serve up a “Farm-to-Diner” dinner in a historic, lunch car located in the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. "One does not need to dine at a high end restaurant to receive a local, sustainable, and delicious meal," says Chef Glover who also owns her own catering business.

The proceeds from the Earth Dinners will support Chefs Collaborative and its continued educational programming for chefs. Restaurant contributions up to a total of $10,000 will be matched by Organic Valley Family of Farms. “We’re extremely grateful for the generous participation of our members and the support of Organic Valley,” says Kogut.

Click here for a full list of participating restaurants.

Founded in 1993, Chefs Collaborative is the nation’s leading network of chefs fostering a sustainable food system through education and collaboration with the greater food community. For more information, visit the Chefs Collaborative website: www.chefscollaborative.org.

• Mark your calendars for the 2010 Chefs Collaborative National Summit: Redefining our Culinary Traditions. Octoboer 3-5, 2010 Boston.

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Rick Moonen's chat at Google. Great stuff. His presentation traces his career and the evolution of the Sustainable Seafood movement.

Chef Greg Griffie - Interviewed in SeafoodSource.com. See, Q&A: Boston chef looks to sustainable fish. Chef talks about Green Chefs, Blue Ocean and a couple of outstanding examples of aquaculture done right.

Some good news out of Europe: Top French Chefs Take Bluefin Off the Menu. It's about time.

And I chatted with Time Magazine Environmental Hero Casson Trenor this past week, from his boat somewhere in the South Pacific. They're tracking illegal fishing and hoping to intervene. Keep up the good work Casson! Maybe I'll see you in Paris for the Seafood Choices Alliance conference and awards.

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This is a very good post and a fun video by Alan Richman featuring his field trip to CostCo with Eric Ripert. Yes, that's right, Eric Ripert. Chef and Co-owner of Le Berndardin and host of his show "Avec Eric". On Eric's show he goes to the farm, the market, the cheesemonger and with inspiration and fine foods, he produces a meal. Alan Richman decided to create "Avec Alan" and take Eric where Westchester-ites go for their culinary inspiration: CostCo. (Please don't tell my mother-in-law, I'll never hear the end of it!) Thanks to Carolyn Jung for the tip!

Avec Alan, click here to go to the article and embedded video.

Now, this may fall into the category of too much information, and undoubtedly I will one day regret sharing this with you. But, I must, because it involves a dream I had with Eric Ripert. I know what you're thinking and everyone I've told this story to, giggles, blushes and tells me THEIR dream with Eric would be very different.

You see, mine was more like a nightmare.

I was in the kitchen avec Eric. Were we pawing each other and breathing heavily? Looking at each lustfully across the pass? No. I was standing beside the famous and famously nice and charming chef, with a knife in hand at the cutting board. He asked me to cut "brunoise."

I bring my knife down on whatever vegetable it was and suddenly, the knife acts like it has a mind of its own. Instead of cutting beautiful, small, even dice (AKA brunoise) I'm hacking huge uneven chunks like some one eyed zombie in a horror movie.

Mortified, I explain, "I'm so sorry chef. I know what brunoise is, really I do. I can do this!" Patient and calm but no longer smiling he nods for me to try again.

Beyond mortified. Once again my knife is possessed. Once again, huge ugly hunks of Flintstonian proportion.

Well, there you have it. If I were you, I'd stick avec Eric. Or even avec Alan.

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Teach a Man to Fish, our annual sustainable seafood event starts this year off with a GIANT BANG.

Breaking news: Time Magazine naming my friend Casson Trenor and his partners Kin Lui and Raymond Ho as Heroes of the Environment for 2009.

I have to agree with Time that these groundbreaking guys have helped reshape the way we think about sushi and that is to everyone's benefit.

2009 Teach a Man to Fish Flying Fish Award for going above and beyond...

The first annual award went to Lia Huber of Nourish Network, for coming up with a simple strategy for talking to your fishmonger. This year I have to give the award to our boys at Tataki. Congratulations! If you're in San Francisco, check out Tataki Sushi Bar.

While putting the finishing touches on my Teach a Chef to Fish workshop coming up Monday I happened to pop online and connect with Casson just as he learned of the honor. I shared his first few ebullient moments (and quite a few exclamation points and crazy IMs). Then quickly secured an exclusive interview with the guy at the center of this breaking news story. Regular readers will recall the Tataki Trio from Teach a Man to Fish last year:

Chef Kin Lui, Casson Trenor, Chef Raymond Ho - 2009 Time Magazine Heroes of the Environment - Moguls & Entrepreneurs Category

A Few Moments with a Time Magazine Environmental Hero

I spoke with Casson just moments after he learned of the Time Magazine Environmental Hero Honor.

When did you first learn that you won this honor?   

About four hours ago, sitting here in my hotel room in Amsterdam.

Describe the moment you picked up the magazine and saw/or learned about the award?

I haven't seen the magazine yet!  But I got a google alert in my email, checked it, and... I dunno, I still can't really believe it.  I'm so happy.

What started you on the path of sustainable sushi?

I love sushi... and I also love the ocean.  I guess it kind of grew out of that.  I realize that the ocean is in serious trouble, and the art of sushi will be lost if we can't heal our planet.  I don't want that to happen... it seems like such a dismal prospect.  I want my children and their children to know both the beauty and magnificence of a healthy ocean and the taste and experience of sushi.

What did you do before you worked on this issue/worked with Tataki?

I used to work for a great group called FishWise.  They're an NGO based in Santa Cruz, CA that specializes in helping grocery stores transition to sustainable seafood.

What will you do next?

I'd love to take sustainable sushi to the next level.  To get a major restaurant chain or grocery store chain on board.  

You've been very busy with Tataki, as well as other ventures, describe what's new on the sustainable sushi scene?

It's growing all the time.  The newest sustainable sushi joint, Mashiko in Seattle, opened up a couple of months ago.  It's fantastic; Hajime Sato, the chef/owner, is one of the most dedicated and innovative people I've ever had the good fortune of working with.  I am so proud of him and his crew, they're doing great things.

What's up with the Bluefin Tuna boycott? What's up with EU?

I'm in such a good mood, I don't really want to talk about the EU and bluefin right now...!  But to make a long story short, the recent vote indicates that the EU is not ready to support Monaco's proposal just yet -- a small group of Mediterranean countries still can't accept the fact that we need to protect this animal.  It's a setback, but we shall overcome!  We need countries like the US, Brazil, and South Africa to come out and help us save the bluefin tuna.  

What are 5 sushi choices we should all avoid?

Bluefin, farmed shrimp, farmed salmon, farmed eel, and hamachi.

Yes.  Demand shifts matter.  But if nothing else, if you stop eating large tunas like yellowfin and bluefin, you save your body from a huge potential mercury issue.

Absolutely!  Come to Tataki! 

Here are a few basic tips:
- Ask for wild Alaskan salmon instead of farmed salmon,
- Order smaller fish when they're available -- sardines and saury are great options,
- Go for the silvery-skinned fish, like mackerels -- they are generally sustainable and have lots of Omega-3s,
- Clams, mussels, oysters, and other farmed bivalves are usually great choices.

What are 5 we should ask our sushi bars to start carrying?

Arctic char, sardines, geoduck, spot prawns, and -- most importantly -- vegetarian options.  There are so many ways to make interesting and tasty vegetarian and vegan sushi.  

What does it feel like to be on a list with Cameron Diaz - will you be celebrating together?

Haha!  I would love to celebrate with her!  Do you have her phone number??

So there you have it, Cameron if you're out there reading this, I know a great guy who knows some fantastic chefs doing sustainable sushi...!

Chefs Lui and Ho - I wish you heartfelt Congratulations, too! I know you were in the middle of busy lunch service when the news broke, I hope you're celebrating the well-earned recognition. Kampai!

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