Civil Eats

Seventeen years ago, I left a great job teaching at a prestigious northeast culinary school to move back to Iowa and be an executive chef at a Holiday Inn. It was difficult to find people, in Vermont or Iowa, who did not think I was certifiably insane. Those who thought they knew Iowa claimed, “There’s no there, there!” And those who did not asked, “Iowa? Isn’t that where they grow potatoes?” Read More

Halloween is an amazing blend of history, superstition, tradition, and culture. It is simultaneously a time a celebrating life on Earth while honoring those who have passed beyond Earth’s shadowy borders. People have been using pumpkins as a symbol for this holiday for centuries – carving and lighting them as a symbol of the transition between fall and winter, life and death. Read More

It’s not often that you see a group of restaurant insiders, gardeners and business leaders crouched over a land use map, but this was exactly the scene on a beautiful Monday morning in the offices of the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust. We were all there for a “Chefs Tour of the Brentwood Valley,” one of California’s richest agricultural regions that just happens to be less than fifty miles from downtown San Francisco. The focus of the tour was to increase communication between the local farmers and the chefs and restaurants that need good quality produce for their customers. Read More