Years ago, my wife and I travelled with an employer and his wife to the Bahamas for a business trip, which was a lovely five days at The Atlantis on Paradise Island in Nassau. The goal was to observe the hospitality facets of this massive property and to help us gauge how to improve things… Read more »

As Christmas draws to an end, it is time to realize in the words of Ed Asner’s Santa Clause, “You know what that means; it’s time to get ready for next Christmas!” As the days dwindle on and the family visits and travel come to a close, it’s time to sit back and take a… Read more »

Today’s light reading may annoy some people in that I will be discussing some things not available to the general public … yet. We will take a fascinating journey into sous vide cooking, liquid nitrogen and truffle salt. Since the truffle salt is the most recognizable and available, I’ll start with that. To begin with,… Read more »

When we were in Hawaii we fell in love with Lava Java, a coffee shop/restaurant on the south end of town, where we spent the mornings drinking great coffee and eating the plate-sized sticky buns. I talk about them often in class, and two years ago a student, Jeri, noted that we had some freshly… Read more »

The funny thing about the holiday season is that the cold weather comes along with it. We wouldn’t have many pretty post cards without a fresh coating of snow on the holly trees, but it is cold nonetheless.   Might we be subjected to seven feet of snow? I certainly hope not; my cutoff is… Read more »

I’ve been writing about hoagies a great deal lately. It must be something in my subconscious. Too early for a pun? I think not. In fact, my dear old father used to spend hours, alongside my Uncle Tom, spouting off pun after pun after pun. I have since picked up the torch with my uncle… Read more »

It was a scene out of “Rambo IV,” or maybe I’m thinking “Terminator.” I rolled up to Route 589 just as those geese and ducks – those dreaded monsters – started waddling their way into incoming traffic. What ensued was nothing short of sheer terror. Buildings were ablaze, cars stacked in ditches while innocent bystanders… Read more »

This semester, I am teaching my way through the foods of America. In New England, we discover the fruits of cold weather: lobster, clams, cod, squash, pumpkin et al. As we move down the coast, and specifically into Eastern Shore cooking and Southern cooking (two of my absolute favorites), the buffets become noticeably more beige… Read more »

In the hallowed halls of any culinary museum, you will find references to James Beard and Julia Child, their contributions to the world of food so far remaining unsurpassed. Are there chefs who are better than they were? Possibly, yes. But with their departure years ago, we’ll never know. They spoke to the masses at… Read more »

There are times when something just strikes my fancy and today marked one of those spells. Walking through the kitchen after straightening out the walk-in, I remembered my days in Baltimore. I cooked in some good restaurants and one such place was the Polo Grill by Johns Hopkins University. The chef was very talented and… Read more »