“The way Katrina changed me is that I’m more passionate about my home, more protective of my cuisine.”
“I was taught by Paul Prudhomme; it was one the greatest blessings in my life, and I want to give back and foster the next generation of New Orleanians to at least learn and respect the cuisine.”
Read the rest of my exclusive interview with New Orleans celebrity chef Frank Brigtsen….
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Legendary New Orleans: hurricanes can’t destroy it; corrupt politics can’t infect it; potholes can’t deter its beauty.
Food and drink sustain it: “We’ll always have hospitality,” says celebrity chef Frank Brigtsen.
“I was taught by Paul Prudhomme; it was one the greatest blessings in my life, and I want to give back and foster the next generation of New Orleanians to at least learn and respect the cuisine.”
“As we diversify the types of food being cooked in the city of New Orleans, it’s even more important to me to make gumbo and keep that going.”
Read my exclusive interview with famed chef Frank Brigtsen.
“Creole cuisine, the food of New Orleans, it’s a living thing. Nobody’s trying to stop it from changing; nobody said its got to end, so that’s why it’s still alive.”
Is there a beverage that defines the South? Creole and Cajun fusion? (or confusion) In my interview with Liz Williams, director of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum (SoFAB), she answers all and states the mission of this unique institution, “Look at cultural attitudes towards the foods, not just a recipe.”
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A new generation of young professionals have reversed the population decline, want an urban experience and are revitalizing Harrisburg.
Read about the movers reshaping a once “rust-belt” city at…
Harrisburg is still one of the major railroad transportation hubs of the Northeast connecting to the west and the south. Old steel mill buildings and warehouses have been repurposed for new specialized industries and institutes of higher education.
Read more about Harrisburg’s new mayor – not a cookie cutter politician!
Farmers who created Pennsylvania’s moniker the “American breadbasket” in the late 18th century built Harrisburg.
Young professionals flooding center city Harrisburg, PA, have a penchant for gathering with friends – that’s fueling a revitalization of hospitality businesses. Read the rest of the article at…
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“We’re romantic,” says Chef George Katseas and that’s evident by both the decor and the manner in which George and partner Theodora Tziamali treat their customers like family.
“I want to marry the modern with tradition,” says Harris Boukas the young owner of Elia.
Nightlife on the Greek Island of Ios can certainly become lively during the summer season, but dining in the following seven tavernas and cafes put a smile on my face. Read more at…
Marrying trends with tradition in Ios dining
Windmills tell stories of the drive for labor saving devices even in the pre-industrial age.
Harnessing the near steady breeze of both coast and hills was a technological breakthrough akin to present day electric wind generators.
Building a windmill was no easy task.
Mr. Ionnis Trinas has constructed what very well may be the first fully functioning windmill in the Greek islands for over a century. Read the rest at…
Mrs. Annezio Bouritis and her son Mixαlis Famelitis operate the traditional Annezio Bakery located in the port town of Merichas. Set in a typical white washed stone building with a view overlooking the harbor, the cars of customers are usually double parked on the narrow street.
Greeks positively revel in sharing their food, especially with visitors. Mrs. Bouritis and Mixalis were equally enthusiastic to share recipes for cheese tarts and pastel. Read more at…
Kythnos recipes from Annezio Bakery in the Greek Cyclades
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The volcano that blew Santorini into history 3,500 years ago created a soil that produces the driest white wines and the finest dessert wine this chef has ever had moisten his palate.
Santo Wines – responsible for 17% of the agricultural land on the island – emphasized that its mission is “to preserve the cultivation of land and overcome the challenge of rapid touristic development that leads to the abandonment of land cultivation.”
The volcanic cliffs maintain an ideal temperature for wine production making air conditioning unnecessary.
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Spend time talking to the owners of the Paros Land Hotel and their promising young chef and you understand the resilience that has sustained Greece for millenniums.
It’s a creative force responsible for this enterprise and it will propel Greece beyond a temporary financial crisis.
Brothers, sisters, in-laws and grandchildren have all had a hand in the design, rebuilding and the myriad operational details required of a hotel. Their pride was palpable when they sat down each night at a long wooden table in the airy dining room for lengthy multi-course meals.
Please read the rest of the story…
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These iconic circular stone structures dot the land – both islands and mainland – and their images adorn countless postcards. Their stark beauty as ruins of a bygone agricultural age and the bird-like sails of restored mills stiff in the wind, evoke the same timelessness as the Acropolis of Athens or sacred Mt. Athos.
Wind permitting, a mill could grind up to 150 pounds of grain per hour. The mill men needed to develop skills to read the weather and gauge the strength of winds.
On the island of Sifnos, in the Cyclades group, Mr. Ionnis Trinas has constructed what very well may be the first fully functioning mill in over a century.
See more photos and read about the windmill at..
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Greece: legendary hospitality
It’s a story worthy of Shakespeare’s Tempest – millionaires and a dark and stormy night… One can imagine the longing for peace and tranquility that celebrities seek.
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The vision of Giannis Carras for a grand Greek resort
Seven square miles of the Sithonia peninsula, five miles of pristine EU certified Blue Flag beaches… After all Greeks deified the very concept of hospitality. It’s unthinkable to change perfection.
Porto Carras Grand Resort shares wine, olives and home
Organic food…organic wine…pristine Aegean beaches…saltwater pools…spas… Want more information? Click the links above to read my Porto Carras articles.
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Robert Fitch answered my question, “porridge was the staff of life” for the common person until the 18th century. No wonder working the palace was a coveted job – even for a spit turner.
The Hampton Court Palace kitchen cooked two meals for approximately 600 people daily consuming in one 16th century year 1,240 oxen, 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer, 760 calves, 1,870 pigs and 53 wild boar.
When porridge was the staff of life: cookery at Hampton Court Palace
Puddings were a major component of the English and American table during these centuries and often served as the foundation of a one dish meal in this age of cooking on an open wood fired hearth.
Clarissa Dillon on the great age of English puddings
Clarissa Dillon, one of the foremost authorities on 16th-18th century English and colonial American cooking, tackles the often confusing interpretations of our shared culinary past.
I believe both Fergus and Clarissa would agree that a 17th/18th century middle class diet was healthy only if the diner was physically very active, but it’s tasty. London’s Chef Fergus Henderson and Philadelphia’s Dr. Clarissa Dillon have never met yet share a no-nonsense and unsentimental approach towards the diet of their 17th and 18th century Anglo ancestors.
Eighteenth century appetizers from two culinary historians
When St. John Bar & Restaurant at 26 St. John Street, London, was a smokehouse in the 18th century, located a couple blocks from the centuries old Smithfield Market, Hampton Court Palace had a chocolate kitchen catering exclusively to the large royal household.
Chocolate was a London fad when oysters were fast food
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Sitting at a beach side café in Possidi on the Halkidiki peninsula of Kassandra, this North American was struck by an unfamiliar scene. People were reading.
Driving Kassandra unplugged and tuned into Greece
Fingers of land jutting into the Aegean, Kassandra, Sithonia and sacred Athos have, like all of Macedonia, been at the center of turbulent times since the 4th century B.C.E. In the 21st century the only turbulence seemed to be the long lines of cars every summer weekend that bring holiday seekers from Thessaloniki and Eastern Europe.
Family owned since it opened in 1989, the rooms surround an opulent pool that is the focal point of the Flegra Palace Hotel including the Soleil Bar with its dramatic glass floor jutting over the water.
Flegra Palace Hotel plans new venture in Pefkohori, Greece
Fortunately mere mortals can dine at Ambrosia, the open-air dining room at the Flegra Palace Hotel in the Halkidiki seaside resort town of Pefkohori, Greece.
Chef Aphrodite Balanou makes Ambrosia in Pefkohori, Greece
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Travel with Pen and Palate 
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