Award-winning authors of BECOMING A CHEF, CULINARY ARTISTRY, DINING OUT, CHEF'S NIGHT OUT and the 2004 IACP Cookbook Award Finalist THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF

(Circulation: Our e-Newsletter has grown to 7,542 subscribers — among the most passionate food and wine lovers across the United States and around the world — since it began monthly publication in February. For a FREE subscription for your favorite food enthusiast, simply email CookbookRave@aol.com, or enter an automatic subscription at www.becomingachef.com)

I. JOIN US FOR "FLEET WEEK 2004": Andrew and Karen Invited to Host the "Best Chow"
Competition at This Annual Memorial Day Weekend Tradition in New York City

II. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Andrew Gets Ready for His Next Television Close-Up (and
You Can, Too!) -- with the Help of Chef Media Trainer STEVE DOLINSKY (Part 1 of 2)

III. I KNOW WHERE YOU SHOULD EAT THIS SUMMER: Our Reader Survey

IV. ANDREW AND KAREN’S GREAT ADVENTURES: Our Recent Travels Across the U.S.

- DATELINE: CHICAGO: The Spice House and ChicaGourmets’ event at Frontera Grill
- DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO: Draeger’s and The Fifth Floor
- DATELINE: HOUSTON and ROUND TOP, TEXAS: Fort Bend Wine and Food Affair and
Round Top Cafe
- DATELINE: WASHINGTON, DC: "Meet the Press"at Café Atlantico, and Zatinya

V. WHERE ELSE WE’RE EATING: Ixta (NYC)

VI. WHERE WE’RE HEADED NEXT: Seattle and…Oh! Canada! (Vancouver and Ottawa) --
and Back to Washington, DC

VII. IN THE NEWS: Ink and Air Coverage of Our New Books, and More

VIII. STUFF WE LOVE: Andrew & Karen Recommend

IX. OUR READERS WRITE: From Across the U.S. and Around the World

April showers bring May…birthdays! We’ve had great fun this past week celebrating the birthdays of James Beard (the Dean of American gastronomy who would have been 101 if he’d lived to see this year’s James Beard Awards, which are the Oscars of the food world) – not to mention Karen herself (who’s grateful to James Beard for making her feel so young).

It’s been a pleasure to be home in New York City, after having been on the road for virtually the entire month since our last e-Newsletter. We’re not quite sure whether the worst news we heard during our travels was from the Houston baggage claim handler who told us, "Your luggage is in Salt Lake City"(we were reunited with it two days later) or from the pilot who announced, "The turbulence will only be getting worse as we prepare to land, so tighten your seatbelts so your heads don’t hit the ceiling."

But certainly the best news was that those white-knuckled and/or lost-baggage flights led us to many great meals, and many wonderful new people, along the way.

You can find photographs from some of our travels on the "News and Events"page of our Web site at http://www.becomingachef.com – soon to feature several of us from Monday night’s James Beard Awards in New York City with 2004 Award winners Steve Dolinsky ("Best Local Television Cooking Show"), Todd English ("Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America"), Emily Luchetti ("Outstanding Pastry Chef"), Michel Nischan ("Best Healthy Focus Cookbook"), and David and Karen Waltuck of Chanterelle ("Outstanding Restaurant").

What are you doing over Memorial Day weekend? We hope you’ll consider joining us in Manhattan for New York City’s 17th annual Memorial Day tradition: "Fleet Week 2004"!

Fleet Week is a week-long celebration of the U.S. Navy hosted by the City of New York that will take place from May 26th through June 1st. During this time, more than a dozen U.S. Navy and foreign ships as well as U.S. Coast guard vessels anchor in and around the city. The public is invited to tour some of the ships, as well as view crew competitions, which include the ever-popular tug-of-war and arm wrestling, as well as parachute demonstrations.

The real highlight of the week is the annual "Best Chow"competition, which has the kitchen crews of each ship vying for top honors. We’ve been told that some crews literally spend months planning everything from their elaborate menus to their decorative ice sculptures! Our fellow judges include several chefs from respected New York restaurants.

So if you’re in Manhattan on Sunday, May 30th, please join us on Pier 86 near the Intrepid starting at 2:00 pm for some delicious fun!

You can learn more about it at: http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/foundation_fleetweek.html

When Steve Dolinsky, a Chicago-based journalist who’s won a double-digit number (we’ve lost count!) of James Beard Awards for broadcast food journalism, let us know that he was starting his own media training company for chefs called Culinary Communication 101, we were intrigued.

With the proliferation of chef appearances on television, this is a skill that most ambitious chefs know they need to master. Having interviewed so many chefs, Steve is certainly qualified to understand their unique tendencies: they generally have no time for training, are only comfortable in a kitchen, and would rather cook than talk. He tackles these obstacles by flying to the chefs, taping in their kitchens, and helping them get comfortable in front of the camera.

After touring for five books and even co-hosting our show "Chef’s Night Out"(which aired for a year on TaxiVu in the backseats of NYC taxicabs), Andrew already has significant media experience, from demonstrating recipes on countless local and national TV shows to being interviewed with Karen by Matt Lauer on the "Today"show.

As Andrew had never received any formal training, he was curious what tips he might pick up from a media pro like Steve. So, he scheduled a couple of hours to be trained by Steve on our last visit to Chicago and -- with the help of food stylist Kirsten West (the single best food stylist we’ve ever worked with: kirwest@earthlink.net) and a space offered by Wendy Pashman, owner of Chicago’s award-winning Entertaining Company -- we were ready to go.

But even before getting in front of the camera, Steve took the time to walk through the basics of being effective on television. They say a picture is worth 1000 words? Well, watching a tape of selected TV segments with chefs doing just about everything wrong is an eye-opener worth an entire book! Steve started by showing Andrew other chefs’ performances representing "the bad and the ugly.”

THE "DON’Ts”

This was a very powerful place to begin because it’s so easy to spot what NOT to do when someone else is doing it – and shocking to see even acclaimed chefs who flubbed it up!

* DON’T USE JARGON. You can hear when a chef is slipping into technical jargon. (Steve’s tip? He likes to imagine that he’s talking to his mother, who is NOT a professional chef – so he keeps the language accessible.)

* DON’T OVERESTIMATE HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE. You can also see when chefs are spending way too much time on insignificant details not important to a three-minute TV segment -- or trying to rush through a dish too complicated for the time allowed. Some chefs seem to forget that TV is a visual medium, speaking in such a flat and colorless manner.

* DON’T LEAD WITH YOUR EAR. Sometimes chefs position themselves for what Steve calls "the Q-Tip shot"– looking face-to-face at the host, at an angle level with the camera lens – which results in a rather unappealing view of their inner ear! (So, with a simple shift of the feet and twist of the shoulders, you can have more presence on camera before you utter a single word.)

STEVE’S "DO’s”

* BE PASSIONATE. Steve stressed that it’s important to remember that your audience may be distracted or even just waking up, so it’s crucial to communicate with passion. As a viewer, how excited would you be to cook the dish or visit the restaurant or buy the book of someone who didn’t smile and wasn’t enthusiastic about how great it was?

* BE DESCRIPTIVE about the food. A plate of asparagus might become "the exciting first asparagus of spring"and morels with cream "luscious woody mushrooms in a velvety cream sauce perfect for a special dinner." Never forget that the goal of a food segment is to entice.

* BE CONVERSATIONAL. Some chefs have a tendency to want to recite facts or teach a recipe in great detail. While this is crucial in a kitchen or classroom, it takes too much time on TV. It is more important to convey why the host and audience will love a dish and the general way to make it than the detailed steps involved. Most TV shows have Web sites where the recipe will be published for viewers who want additional details.

* GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT. The sooner you give the host something to taste, the sooner their mouths are occupied and you can GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT. The key to this is that you’d better have something to say because there is nothing worse than dead air. So, instead of simply watching the host chew, have your message points ready and speak up!

* CONTROL THE INTERVIEW. Many guests think they’re being "polite"by waiting for the host to lead the interview. Steve turns that paradigm around by assuring chefs that it is OK to lead the segment (after all, they’re there as experts), and encourages chefs to jump right in! Doing so is actually a favor to the host, who may well have had less than a minute to prep for the segment (let alone find out the pronunciation of DOR-nen-burg).

* PRACTICE GOOD GROOMING. Steve even tweaks a chef’s wardrobe and look. A pristine starched white chef’s jacket is perfect for the kitchen -- but not TV. He prefers a blue chef’s coat, which he insists looks better on camera. And while callused, Band Aid-ed hands may be seen as a badge of honor in the kitchen, they’re unpleasant to look at on TV. Steve encourages chefs to get a manicure (think hip and Metrosexual, guys!) before those hands get their close-up.

So, with the camera rolling, Steve put Andrew to the (screen) test. Next month in Part 2, we’ll share more of what Andrew learned from Steve during his on-camera session. Also, especially since so many members of the media receive this e-Newsletter, we’d love to know if the media-savvy among you have other tips to share. If so, please email them to us at Dornenburg@aol.com, and we’ll be happy to credit them to you in our June 2004 e-Newsletter.

In the meantime, you can reach Steve Dolinsky of Culinary Communication 101 at his Web site at www.stevedolinsky.com or via email at me@stevedolinsky.com or phone at (773) 552-1377.

There are few things more frustrating to a traveling food lover than hearing, "Oh, you should have eaten at such-and-such restaurant -- it’s amazing!"…just *after* returning from a trip to that city!

With summer coming and so many people getting ready to hit the road, we thought we’d try to head off such gastronomic misfortune by asking our readers to help each other out. Please tell us your favorite summertime restaurants and/or dishes that you’d recommend others not miss! Email us at Dornenburg@aol.com, and we’ll share your recommendations with our readers in our June 2004 e-Newsletter. In the meantime, here are two of our favorites:

Karen’s Pick:
PICHOLINE
35 West 64th St.
New York City
(212) 724-8585

For Karen, summer does not officially start until chef Terrance Brennan puts his incredible white gazpacho on Picholine’s menu. This is one of her hands-down favorite dishes of all time – and a not-to-be-missed dish of summer if you happen to find yourself in New York City (or are lucky enough to live here). The restaurant confirmed that it is due to make its return to the menu some time in June.

Andrew’s Pick:
DOUG’S FISH FRY
8 Jordan
Skaneateles, NY 13152 (with other locations in E. Syracuse and Cortland)
(315) 685-3288

We’re not alone in thinking that Doug’s is a special place: At the wedding last year of our friends Allison Hemming and Bart Codd, they very thoughtfully provided guests with a list of suggested restaurants to enjoy while in the Finger Lakes area – which included Doug’s Fish Fry. We also learned that a fellow wedding guest was warned by their boss they’d be fired if they weren’t smart enough to pay a visit to Doug’s!

For a restaurant specializing in fried fish, you can’t smell oil *or* fish, which is a very good sign. You can, however, taste the pride its owners take in this family business (where even the owner’s wife butchers fish). Our fish sandwich with homemade tartar sauce was delicious. We also had a special of fried oysters with a couple of side dishes of cole slaw and onion rings. All three, like the sandwich, were fresh, light and served in huge portions.

This place is not hard to miss and since downtown Skaneateles has only has a handful of streets, you won’t. Just look for the red awning and the line filled with smiling people…

- DATELINE: CHICAGO: The Spice House and ChicaGourmets’ event at Frontera Grill

THE SPICE HOUSE: We were first introduced to The Spice House, an acclaimed retail spice market, when chef Sandy D’Amato of Sanford restaurant told us it was a "must"to visit on our last trip to Milwaukee. Impressed, we later began an email correspondence with co-owner Patty Erd, which led to her invitation to host us for a book signing on April 22nd at The Spice House’s Chicago location -- where we finally had the pleasure of meeting Patty in person. The store’s wonderful staff served wine and hors d’oeuvres (based on recipes from THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF), and in 90 minutes, we’d signed all 50 copies of CULINARY ARTISTRY she’d ordered – in addition to countless copies of our 2004 IACP Cookbook Award Finalist THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF! Andrew couldn’t keep his hands off the various boxed spice collections, which are ideal gifts for cooking enthusiasts and learned Patty ships all across North America. You don’t have to wait until your next trip to the Midwest to check out The Spice House – you can visit it here at http://www.thespicehouse.com.

FRONTERA GRILL: After our reception at the Spice House, we were hosted for a fabulous sold-out event at Frontera Grill by Don Newcomb’s organization ChicaGourmets. James Beard Award-winning chef-owner Rick Bayless and his kitchen staff created an unforgettable dinner in the restaurant’s beautifully redecorated private room. After a margarita reception kicked things off with a bang, course after course (including what seemed to be every dessert on the menu!) was served family style – a nice and convivial touch! Frontera Grill’s Web site is at http://www.fronterakitchens.com. For more on Chicagourmets, visit http://www.chicagourmets.com

You can find photos from these events on our Web site at:
http://www.becomingachef.com/news_and_events.php

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- DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO: Draeger’s and The Fifth Floor

"Anyone who cooks who's not using CULINARY ARTISTRY is either new to this business, or not in it!"
-- Ken Fair, Draeger's Cooking School

DRAEGER’S: Those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area are doubtless already familiar with the three Draeger’s locations in Menlo Park, Los Altos, and San Mateo – and those of you who plan to visit the Bay Area can add Draeger’s to your must-see list. (An insider tip: Californians really know their local wines, but walk past many hard-to-find European bottles here that are great values.)

We had the pleasure of returning to Draeger’s on April 26th, when Andrew gave a cooking demonstration of dishes from THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF while Karen led the packed room through the 10 essential lessons that the 10 featured cuisines have to offer *any* chef, no matter what they’re cooking. Our thanks to Cynthia Liu, Ken Fair, and the ace staff at Draeger’s for making our visit there such a joy.

THE FIFTH FLOOR: San Francisco’s #1 radio talk show host Ronn Owens (author of the terrific new book VOICE OF REASON) had us on his show for an hour, talking about everything from THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF to the restaurant scene. In the course of our conversation, Ronn asked where we’d be dining that night. He seemed surprised by our choice of the Hotel Palomar’s Fifth Floor restaurant -- until we explained that we were interested in experiencing 2004 James Beard Award nominee Belinda Chang’s food and wine pairings.

A few years back, Andrew earned his sommelier certificate, and we’ve become increasingly interested in the synergy of food and wine. Sommelier Scott Tyree of Tru restaurant in Chicago first sang Belinda’s praises to us, and we were eager to see her in action.

It turns out that Belinda, like us, is a "both/and"rather than an "either/or"kind of person. Why settle for one choice when you can enjoy two? For example, with our course of "Lobster Cappuccino,"she served us both a French and an Australian Chardonnay. In this case, she wanted to showcase two compelling yet very different versions of the same grape varietal.

We were also served one of the best sashimi courses we have ever had anywhere. Chef Laurent Gras’ own blend of soy sauce was so good we were tempted to ask for a spoon! Not to be outdone, Belinda paired this course with a Spanish Albarino and an Alsatian Riesling. Riesling has long been paired with Asian flavors and Belinda’s choice showed why – but the real surprise was the Albarino, which managed to be crisp and luscious at the same time, while cutting the fat of the fish. It made for one of several "aha"moments during our meal.

And we were reminded of something we learned at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia: That the only thing better than a wonderful food and wine experience is one that takes place just steps from wherever you’ll be spending the night – so you don’t have far to travel before drifting off to your delicious memories of it….

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- DATELINE: HOUSTON and ROUND TOP, TEXAS: Fort Bend Wine and Food Affair and
Round Top Cafe

FORT BEND WINE AND FOOD AFFAIR: Hats off to the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and festival organizer Keri Schmidt for endeavoring to launch the first Fort Bend Wine and Food Affair – a Houston-based food and wine extravaganza they hope to see become an annual event. We had the pleasure of connecting with Best Cellars’ own Josh Wesson, and collaborating on planning the menu for the kick-off luncheon. Josh might have missed his calling as a stand-up comic, but the world of wine is better for it: He kept the laughs coming throughout his hilarious yet informative remarks.

ROUND TOP CAFÉ: Those of you who are regular visitors to our Web site already know of our fondness for Round Top Café’s pies, which we’ve enjoyed for the past few Thanksgivings. But on April 29th, we were finally able to pay our first visit to this classic American restaurant which has been around since 1947. Despite our great anticipation, the experience didn’t disappoint.

While Round Top, Texas (pop. 77) is not exactly the center of the universe, it is nearly at the center of the triangle formed by Austin, Dallas and Houston. We drove there from Fort Bend with Bud "The Pie Man"Royer, so we were better able to enjoy the scenery, which included a hint of the hue of the last of the season’s bluebells.

We received a warm welcome at the restaurant from Bud and his wife Karen (a PhD who is also a licensed graphologist), and had the pleasure of dining with them and three of their terrific kids (Tara, Todd and JB, who’s clearly a talented chef). After running the restaurant together as a family over the past 17 years, and garnering media accolades from all corners (from BON APPETIT to USA TODAY to The White House), they are hoping to find the perfect people to take over the Café when they move on to the next step in their journeys.

Before driving us to the Houston Airport at 6:30 am, Bud suddenly shut off the engine and urged, "Listen."The three of us sat for several moments in the silence. "Hear that?"he asked. "Not a single man-made sound."Listening to Round Top’s birds, bugs and frogs waking up to their day was one of the best moments of ours. Twelve hours later, we were home in the largest city in America, walking to the movies with the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in our view and marveling at how much we loved both the cities we were lucky enough to spend time in that day.

You can visit the Round Top Café at http://www.royersroundtopcafe.com

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- DATELINE: WASHINGTON, DC: "Meet the Press"at Café Atlantico, and Zatinya

FUN FACT: Our books sell better in the Washington, DC area than they do anywhere else in the United States outside New York City.

We were delighted to "meet the press"last week in at an unforgettable dinner in our honor hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef Jose Andres at his restaurant Café Atlantico in Washington, DC, for some of the leading lights of the city’s food press corps.

If you don’t happen to know Jose, the most important thing to know is that he is a man with a mission: To change the way the world views Spanish cuisine. To that end, his inclusion in the chapter on Spain in our latest book THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF was a given.

Jose’s restaurants Café Atlantico (including its hot new "mini bar,"where $65 will buy you a few dozen-item tasting menu prepared via the highest chef-to-customer ratio just about anywhere by the talented Katsuya Fukushima and his team), Jaleo and Zaytinya are must-visits in the DC area. Indeed, we’re looking forward to returning when we’re back in the area in early June to teach at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Maryland!

ZAYTINYA
701 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC
(202) 638-0800

The morning after our event at Cafe Atlantico in our room at the charming and historic Morrison-Clark Inn, we were inspired to rearrange our schedules so we could stay for lunch at Zaytinya. Jose Andres has created a menu featuring dishes from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon in a spectacular space evoking the cool white and blue hues of the Mediterranean. Tourists in DC risk sensory overload, and Zaytinya offers delicious rejuvenation, as it’s as soothing to the eyes as it is exciting to the palate.

Jose has struck the perfect balance of tweaking and refining dishes to their peak, while keeping the heart and soul of their origins. Amidst an abundance of excellent dishes, there were a few unique standouts. "Manti Nejla"is a bowl of tiny dumplings filled with beef and topped with a delicious blend of roasted garlic-yogurt, paprika butter and sumac. Talk about labor intensive:
Each dumpling is made by hand and is about the size of your pinkie fingernail.

"Hunkar Begendi" is lamb shank served on a perfectly smooth and almost mousse-like eggplant puree. This dish is a perfect example of our maxim that "authentic"is not necessarily better: Here, Jose substitutes the traditional boiled lamb in this dish with a perfectly-braised rendition to great effect.

We had dessert not only because Jose insisted, but because where else can you find a dessert with phyllo dough made from scratch on the premises? We finished with a Turkish coffee that was the perfect caffeinated send-off for our four-hour drive home – though it would be just as perfect a pick-me-up before a tourist’s next museum or monument stop.

IXTA
48 East 29th St.
New York City
(212) 683-4833

There are some people who try to go to every new restaurant the first week it opens. We have never been among them. Every chef knows it takes some time to shake the kinks out of a new place. However, last week we broke this rule because we’re such fans of Linda Japngie’s cuisine from her days as chef of Jimmy’s Downtown that we simply couldn’t wait.

Our bet paid off: We can happily report after visiting on the restaurant’s second night that the food was terrific. Starting out with the tuna or shrimp ceviche is wonderfully refreshing on a warm night. Also, don’t miss the lobster and black bean taquitos, or the roasted wild striped bass with Veracruz salsa – or the Mexican Wedding Cookies for dessert.

The restaurant has a hip design sensibility with fun lighting and flowers. It also has a few tables outside that should make for fun nights of margarita sipping all summer long. The people watching is enjoyable, too. In fact, Karen couldn’t get over how much a male guest a few tables away looked like Beppe chef Cesare Casella – until she embarrassedly realized that it was in fact Cesare and his Wall Street Journal reporter wife Eileen Daspin!

We’d love to see you during our upcoming travels across North America. You can always find our most up-to-date schedule on our Web site’s "News and Events"page at http://www.becomingachef.com/news_and_events.php.

- THURSDAY, MAY 20TH at 6:30 pm: In VANCOUVER? Join us for a dinner event being hosted on Thursday, May 20th, by BARBARA-JO’s, one of Canada’s best culinary bookstores, which wrote: "We are pleased to welcome Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, renowned authors of CULINARY ARTISTRY and the recently published THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF -- a bit like an ethnic CULINARY ARTISTRY, drawing together the wisdom of the best and brightest chefs in the U.S. to give a snapshot for today and a sense of food’s varied and wondrous future direction. This evening, we will showcase some of our local greats, Scott Baechler, David Hawksworth, Montri Rattanaraj, and Vikram Vij, for the ‘reality’ version of Andrew and Karen’s book here in our kitchen. 24 seats available. $115/person."(http://www.bookstocooks.com/cookingclasses.htm)

- SATURDAY, MAY 22ND at 9:00 am: We hope some of our friends in SEATTLE will be able to join us for the Cascadia Culinary Arts Conference on Whidbey Island May 21-23, where we have the pleasure of being keynote speakers and of interviewing chef Holly Smith of Seattle’s Café Juanita. The topic: "Have Chefs Become Guardians of What We Eat and How We Eat It?"(http://www.cascadiaculinaryarts.com)

- TUESDAY, JUNE 8TH at 7:00 PM and WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9TH at 10:30 AM: We’re back in the WASHINGTON, DC area to teach classes (open to the public) around THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Maryland.
(http://www.lacademie.com)

- FRIDAY, JULY 16th: We’ll be hosted for a reception and book signing of THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF in Ottawa at our friend Steve Beckta’s acclaimed restaurant Beckta Dining & Wine, which was named by EN ROUTE magazine as one of Canada’s 5 Best New Restaurants of 2003. (http://www.beckta.com)

* Andrew Dornenburg, Jeff Bezos, Pink and Shania Twain – what on earth do the four of them have in common? They are all mentioned as "notables"who got their start working at a McDonald’s! So we learned in Jan Uebelherr’s fun article on McDonald’s 49th anniversary in the April 15th MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.

* As mentioned in recent articles by Hsiao-Ching Chou in THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER and Nancy Leson in THE SEATTLE TIMES, there’s great enthusiasm in the Pacific Northwest for the upcoming Cascadia Culinary Arts Conference, which we’re looking forward to keynoting in Seattle on Saturday, May 22nd. We’ll be joined in conversation with chef Holly Smith of Seattle’s Café Juanita on the subject of "Have Chefs Become Guardians of What We Eat and How We Eat It?"

* For all of you looking for a delicious place to eat this summer, in the May ’04 issue of FREQUENT FLYER, Jack McGuire describes our book CHEF’S NIGHT OUT as "an excellent insider's guide, featuring everything from four-star restaurants to neighborhood favorites all around the country, chosen by 100 of America's top chefs.”

* Hugh Robert of THE REPUBLICAN does one of the best jobs we’ve read of summarizing our concept of the "Culinary Compass,"which we wrote about in THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF.

* We had great fun all over again reading the write-ups of our March 24th book party hosted by LAPD Chief William Bratton & TV legal analyst Rikki Klieman at Maple Drive Restaurant in Beverly Hills, including those by Rick Orlow in the LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, Cecil Pennyfeather in THE BEVERLY HILLS COURIER, Kevin Roderick in LA OBSERVED, and:

- Connie Martinson’s in CONNIE MARTINSON TALKS BOOKS: "It was a gourmet experience to see and taste one chef show off his best for another chef. My tongue is still thanking me."

- Patt Morrison’s "Inside Politics"column in THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: "L.A. power couple Bill Bratton and Rikki Klieman, the police chief and his Court TV wife, joined L.A. CONFIDENTIAL magazine to throw a book party for their friends, kitchen power couple — he cooks; she writes — Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”

- and Albert Sonnenfeld’s in WESTSIDE TODAY, where it was described as "an unusually opulent and convivial book release party…Among other notables in attendance, I noticed pundit Susan Estrich, Arianna Huffington, and Noel Riley Fitch (Julia Child's biographer).”

* And in the category of "it’s new to us,"we really enjoyed the B.A. Nilsson METROLAND piece on why he thought THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF was one of the best cookbooks of 2003.

You’ll find more in the "Media Room"of our Web site at:
http://www.becomingachef.com/media_room.php

Aren’t there things you love that you wish you could let the world know about (other than those insider hole-in-the-wall restaurants that your foodie friends are sworn to secrecy about, so they’re not ruined by too much success)? Us, too. So, we thought we’d tell you about a few of them:

* ARTISANAL’S CHEESE-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB: We were guests of chef Terrance Brennan (of Artisanal and Picholine in New York City) at the filming of a recent episode of "At a Chef’s Table"at his Artisanal Cheese Center in New York City. Answering a trivia question correctly during the shoot won Andrew membership in Artisanal’s Cheese-of-the-Month Club – which this month brought a selection of three perfect cheeses to our door: Saint Maure-Cendre, Itchebai Mixte and (Karen’s favorite) Epoisses. MMmmm…To join the Club, visit: www.artisanalcheese.com/cheese/cheeseotm.cfm

* HOWARD CHILDS’ PHOTOGRAPHY: A year or two ago, we sat next to portrait, lifestyle and special events photographer Howard Childs at a dinner at the James Beard House. About six months ago, when we were looking for a photographer for our New York book party, we got back in touch – and were impressed by his images, which you can view on his Web site at http://www.hc-photography.com. In addition to us, satisfied clients include Katharina Otto-Bernstein, Delta Airlines, Hermes, and Time Inc. While Howard is based in New York, he regularly flies to gigs across the U.S. and around the world – so keep him in mind! Phone: (718) 875-4338. Email: HCapetown@aol.com. Web site: www.howardchildsphotography.com

* L’OREAL executive Nancy McKinven wondered how on earth Karen was holding up given our exhausting travel schedule, and Karen admitted that without her Lancome undereye concealer, it wouldn’t be easy! Bless Nancy for then taking it upon herself to ship a selection of Lancome’s various fabulous cover-ups: Effacernes Waterproof Protective Undereye Concealer, Maquicomplet Complete Coverage Concealer, and Photogenic Skin-Illuminating Concealer. Thank you, Nancy! Believe us, Karen will unfortunately get good use out of them all.

…and especially

* MANHATTAN USER’S GUIDE: One of the best things about living in the world’s greatest city is discovering the world’s greatest e-Newsletter to help you get the most out of it. Several years back, we were subscribers to the paper version of MUG that came with its own three-ring binder for storage. Now, you can get some of the very best writing on New York City (honestly) via Charlie Suisman’s FREE daily e-Newsletter. Sign up at www.manhattanusersguide.com

We love hearing from our readers with comments, questions and ideas! Please feel free to write us at Dornenburg@aol.com. In the meantime, here’s a sampling of the responses we received to our April 2004 e-Newsletter:

"Congrats on such a great newsletter and especially meeting Susan Dey [at our March 24th book party in Beverly Hills]! Don't we all remember Friday nights watching ‘The Brady Bunch’ and ‘The Partridge Family’?? Yes, SD is super cool! Thanks for the fun stroll down memory lane!"
—Deborah L. Devedjian, Managing Partner, Copernicus Learning Fund, LP / New York, NY
(www.copernicuslp.com)

"Thanks for your letter – I enjoy reading it."
—Christian DeVos, Dean of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College / Evanston, IL

"You Rule! We love what you do, how you do it, how you think and how your ideas and hard work make our shared passion richer. Congratulations -- can't wait to toast with you in NYC in May!"
—Jennifer English, award-winning radio host of The Food and Wine Radio Network / Tucson, AZ
(www.brandnewmedia.com)

"Rock-star newsletter! You guys are fantastic. Good luck with the book -- go out there and bring home the GOLD. And very nice mention of the Windows on LI Wine event! Thanks for your note re: the Atkins book project. We are well underway and working an insane deadline. I LOVE it! I plan to stick with books -- mine and others! Will you please store that info somewhere in your mental pantry (preferably with the other sweet stuff!), and suggest my services as a co-author/food editor to any of your zillion adoring fans and cohorts as makes sense? I hit the streets again in mid-July."(Mindy, consider it done!)
—Mindy Fox, editor of the next Atkins diet cookbook / New York, NY (mindyfox68@yahoo.com)

"Karen, I would be remiss if I did not tell you how much I enjoy your newsletter. You continue to amaze and delight with your travels and accomplishments....Take care, keep well and enjoy."(Thank you, Mandy -- you’ve long amazed and delighted many with your leadership!)
—Mandy Goetze, retired Executive Vice President, The International Alliance / Baltimore, MD

"With all of your upcoming travels I'm glad you'll be home to attend the James Beard Foundation awards on May 10, because I'll be there, too. Sharon [Hage, of York Street in Dallas] has been nominated as Best Chef: Southwest! Looking forward to seeing you there!"
—Donna Hage, Karen’s long-time friend and high school debate partner / San Francisco, CA

"To some of us, Honesdale [home of Restaurant Daniel supplier Four Story Hill Farm, which we’d mentioned was near Scranton] is better known than Scranton. It is known more for bug juice than for fine food. It is home to more sleep-away camps than one can name. Many people from the East may have attended one and sent kids to one and gone there for Visiting Days."
—Marilyn M. Machlowitz, Ph.D., executive recruiter / New York, NY
(www.machlowitz.com)

"I have news: I am moving back to my hometown -- New Orleans. I have accepted a job there.
I'll keep my e-mail, so I will continue to get your great newsletter."
—Ann Maloney, The New York Times Regional Group / New York, NY => New Orleans, LA

"Great newsletter, and I have to confess: I LOVED Susan Dey, so I'm incredibly jealous!"
—Liz Marlin, founder, FizzyLizzy sparkling fruit juice beverages / New York, NY
(www.fizzylizzy.com)

"How much fun are you having anyway? If you need to take a vacation from your fabulous travels and dining, please do not hesitate to call me -- I will drop EVERYTHING and be your fill-in. Anyway, thank you for the chatty and newsy email -- it was great fun reading! I am the newest local exchange coordinator for the Chicago area and was wondering if you would be interested in talking to the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Group some time in the future…perhaps when you next visit Chicago? As a young restaurateur, I can live through your travels and dining experiences….Please keep sending your emails." (We will, Michelle!)
—Michelle Princer, chef-owner of "a small eccentric restaurant" (Toni’s) / Winnebago, IL

"I just received your newsletter and it’s wonderful. I just have to say that you guys have done a great service to this industry. Your books are on my ‘must-have’ list of literature, texts and periodicals that I dole out to my apprentices and cooks when they start working for me. Have you guys come to Toronto yet?" (Hmm…Care to join us in Ottawa on July 16th, Paul?)
—Paul Silva, chef / Toronto, Canada

"I love reading your newsletter, even if it always makes me hungry! Very envious that you are in Chicago, the city that houses one of my all-time favorite restaurants: Arun's! Apparently, it's also one of Charlie Trotter's favorite places…It justifiably earns the title of the best Thai restaurant in the country. It completely changes the way I think about Thai food. I used to live in Thailand and I am not sure I've had an overall eating experience there that was as surprising and wonderful as the one I had at Arun's." (Nina, we had the pleasure of interviewing chef Arun Sampanthavivat for our latest book THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF, where you’ll find some of his delicious recipes!)
—Nina Tao, venture capitalist / New York, NY

In closing, we once again want to thank you for your interest in our work. As always, we welcome your feedback, and look forward to hearing from you at Dornenburg@aol.com.

Delicious wishes,
Andrew & Karen