2007 IACP COOKBOOK AWARD FINALIST: On Monday, we were at our computers on deadline with our next wine column when our Bulfinch Press editor Michael Sand forwarded us an email from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) with the news:

"Congratulations! I am pleased to tell you that your publication, What to Drink with What You Eat, has been nominated as a finalist in the Wine, Beer or Spirits Category of the 2007 IACP Cookbook Awards....The Awards are the premier recognition of excellence in cookbook writing and publishing. This year, over 460 cookbooks from Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Italy, England, France, Greece, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the United States were entered in the competition.  The winners in each of the thirteen categories, as well as the Cookbook of the Year, will be announced on April 14th at the IACP’s 29th Annual International Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Over 1,500 food professionals are expected to attend the awards ceremony. Once again, congratulations!"

We are grateful to the IACP Cookbook Awards Committee for this recognition for What to Drink with What You Eat -- and are happy to have our writing interrupted any day if it's with news this good.

We'll hope to have the pleasure of seeing some of you in Chicago on April 14th!

OUR MARCH BLOG: We've been incredibly busy between putting the finishing touches on our next book (on the subject of flavor compatibility in the new millennium) as well as getting into our new weekly routine of writing a column, so we haven't been blogging as much as we did in weeks and months past -- meaning we haven't yet posted our rave review of our recent visit to Gilt in New York City.

We had made our reservation at Gilt even before the New York Post's Steve Cuozzo described Gilt's new chef Christopher Lee as "the most famous chef in town you don't know" and "the only chef of his caliber ever to remain hidden in plain sight for so long." That kind of hyperbole certainly heightened our expectations. However, true to Cuozzo's predictions, we were very impressed.

We'd already been impressed with the hospitality of manager Tobie Cancino (who has been taking good care of us since her days at chef Gray Kunz's Cafe Gray) and wine director Jason Ferris on our prior visit to Gilt, but we were happy to see the restaurant come into its own with offerings from Lee as well as pastry chef Nicholas Morganstern (the memories of whose chocolates still make us wistful).

Gilt is at the New York Palace Hotel at 455 Madison Avenue (bet. 50th and 51st Streets) in New York City. (212) 891-8100. www.giltnewyork.com

And you can still check out our March Blog right now to read more about:

- Our unforgettable lasagna dinner at the Turtle Bay restaurant recommended to us at a holiday party by authors Jill Krementz and Calvin Trillin;

- The opening of upscale seafood retailer and wholesaler Wild Edibles' first casual restaurant venture in Murray Hill;

- This month's British invasion at Eleven Madison Park, which featured the fine cooking of three Michelin two-star chefs Andrew Fairlie, John Campbell and Eric Chavot;

- Why The Tap Project has New Yorkers paying $1 for the tap water which typically accompanies restaurant meals for free on Thursday, March 22nd, and just how it will allow UNICEF to help provide safe drinking water to the world's children;

- What James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini is whipping up these days at four-star restaurant Jean Georges in Manhattan;

and more! Just click through to www.becomingachef.com/blog.dwt.php.

PASSING THROUGH THE GOLDEN ARCHES -- PART TWO: Last month, we mentioned the recent report that as many as 1 in 10 Americans is said to have worked at McDonald's at some point in their life -- and that America Online had featured a list and photo gallery of 10 of "McDonald's Most Famous Former Employees" which included Andrew.

That item surprisingly spread like wildfire throughout the national and even global media (and if any of you can translate the Norwegian version for us, we hope you'll let us know), and was reportedly picked up by "Good Morning America" as well as The New York Post's "Page Six," whose version was read the same morning live on air by Regis Philbin on "Live with Regis and Kelly":

"Burger benefits. About 10 percent of the U.S. population has flipped burgers for McDonald's, according to America Online, which spotlighted 10 of McDonald's 'Most Famous Former Employees' including Shania Twain, Sharon Stone, Jay Leno, Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos, and food writer Andrew Dornenburg. Fellow McDonald's alum Pink recalled, 'I would open the restaurant because I'd be tripping on acid...and I would say, 'Could I have bathroom duty?' And I would sit in the bathroom and watch the tiles.'"
—Richard Johnson, "Page Six," New York Post (February 15, 2007)

Of course, Regis's report mentioned that his co-host Kelly Ripa had once worked for McDonald's, too. Who knew?

Our thanks to Gerry Cornez, executive director of The Acting Company, who was the first person to bring it to our attention, and to Andrew's sister Chris for recording it for us out in the Mountain time zone!