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 goes out to 15,194 subscribers — among the most passionate food and wine lovers across the United States and around the world. For a FREE subscription for your favorite food enthusiast, simply join our e-mailing list here.
To contact Andrew and/or Karen, please email Dornenburg@aol.com.)

On this occasion of the 10th anniversary of the publication of our first book BECOMING A CHEF, we wanted to reflect on the experience of shopping the proposal for this book — which was a test of perseverance in the face of rejection.

Our former literary agent Elizabeth, with whom we'd worked on an initial book proposal that went unsold, had received several encouraging letters from editors saying that while they weren't crazy about our initial idea, they'd be interested in seeing other proposals from us. However, when we shortly thereafter came up with the idea to write BECOMING A CHEF, even our agent turned it down (ouch!). She wrote:

"This isn't really the sort of book I feel I could get behind at this time. While I know there is a strong interest in food and cooking schools, etc. (my own interest not to be excluded), I feel that the market for this would be somewhat small."

We decided to take the unorthodox move of submitting our proposal for BECOMING A CHEF ourselves to the editors by whom our initial idea had been rejected. Again, we received a flurry of rejection letters:

"I'm afraid the market is too specialized for us."

"I had the opportunity to show your proposal to our publisher, and we both agree that to our way of thinking, this book, as you envision it, would be very small — in other words, a tough sell to the book-buying audience."

"Thanks for the chance to read your proposal...It's a good idea that is, however, interesting to only a limited number of people. As a trade book, I doubt it would have much commercial success."

On July 8, 1992, one declining editor took the time to suggest, "Have you considered sending it to a publisher that has a stronger professional list than I do? Perhaps Van Nostrand?"

Despite our bruised egos at having been turned down by every publisher we'd contacted previously, we continued to persevere. Our faith never waivered in our idea, nor in our ability to deliver a book that could reach (and help) a lot of people. We weren't familiar with Van Nostrand Reinhold, but that day, we FedExed a copy of our proposal to them. The next morning, we received a call expressing interest in it. A series of meetings ensued, and we signed our first book deal on our two-year wedding anniversary: August 25, 1992.

Ten years ago this month, in May 1995, our book BECOMING A CHEF was published. The book that no one wanted, that no one thought could find a decent audience, went on to be featured on the "Today" show, to win the 1996 James Beard Book Award for Best Writing on Food, and to sell more than 100,000 copies.

Persevering to receive that one crucial "yes" led to our writing a half-dozen books and signing an exciting book deal recently with Bulfinch Press, the prestigious division of AOL Time Warner's Little Brown, which will publish our next book on food and beverage pairing next year.

"Not for would-be chefs only...Contains tidbits of wisdom for all business warriors."
— Judith Dobrzynski, The New York Times' Business section

* HELP US CELEBRATE: Please join us in celebrating BECOMING A CHEF's 10th anniversary by sharing the gift of this book with your favorite food lover — or enjoying it yourself! You'll not only read the heart-warming stories of how some of America's top chefs (from Mario Batali to Daniel Boulud to Alice Waters) got to be where they are today, but you'll also enjoy dozens of mouth-watering recipes that inspired them along their journeys — everything from the Chocolate Pecan Pie that Rick Bayless can't take off his menu at Frontera Grill to Todd English's grandmother's Gnocchi to Emeril Lagasse's Portuguese Kale Soup!

We're including a link so you can purchase BECOMING A CHEF here. And if you forward us your email receipt for your purchase at CookbookRave@aol.com by May 31st, we'll express our appreciation by thanking you by name in the Acknowledgments section of our next book.

This is truly a celebratory month, as it's also a month of birthdays: We toasted Karen's birthday this week over a couple of great meals with fellow Tauruses: Court TV and E! correspondent Rikki Klieman at Café Boulud, and writer Cynthia Penney at Café Gray (which you can read about here). And we spent several days last week celebrating what would have been the late James Beard's 102nd birthday at the James Beard Foundation Awards (story below, and photos here).

Thank you for your support — and for helping BECOMING A CHEF kick off its 10th year! And for any aspiring writers among you, never forget amidst any rejections you might receive that it only takes one "yes" to become an author!

We love hearing from you, and look forward to receiving your email at Dornenburg@aol.com.

Delicious wishes,
Andrew & Karen

I. NEWS BITES

II. THE 2005 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARDS

III. WHERE WE'RE EATING: In New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and beyond

V. THE CULINARY ARTS IN OKLAHOMA: Hicksville, or Hotbed of Future Culinary Artists?

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

* FROM COCAINE DEALER TO EXECUTIVE CHEF — PART II: Readers of our March/April e-newsletter told us they were awed by the story of chef Jeff Henderson, who was inspired by our book BECOMING A CHEF to leave behind a life of cocaine dealing to work his way up to the position of executive chef of the Bellagio Hotel's Café Bellagio in Las Vegas. After reading it himself, Jeff wrote:

Dear Andrew and Karen,

I was so moved by meeting you two at the FENI Summit. Your first edition of BECOMING A CHEF truly inspired me even more to become a high-end chef. I truly appreciate the piece you wrote about me in your newsletter. Thank you so much. A literary agent in New York read your newsletter as well and contacted me about a possible deal. I was blown away. Thanks again. I will be in New York to prepare for [a dinner at the James Beard House] with a team of chefs from the Bellagio in November, and I would love for you two to come. Please let's stay in touch.

God bless you guys,
Chef Jeff (Henderson) / Las Vegas

* A BITE OF THE MODERN: Danny Meyer's latest and greatest restaurant The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art was at the top of the lists of restaurants that were must-visits for our colleagues in from out of town for the James Beard Awards — and won "thumbs-up" from all we spoke with who'd enjoyed a bite in the dining room, in the less formal front room, or at the bar.

While we often agree with New York Times' restaurant critic Frank Bruni's reviews (including his raves for Devi and Le Bernardin) and appreciate his enthusiastic writing about New York City dining, we respectfully disagree with his two-star assessment of The Modern. We'll look forward to his re-review of the restaurant in the months to come. In the meantime, you'l find a link to Pascale LeDraoulec's three-and-a-half star review in the New York Daily News here providing another take that more closely reflects our own experiences there.

* A FAREWELL TO UGLESICH'S IN NEW ORLEANS:   When we learned that our friend and fellow author Peter Knobler (who has co-authored best-selling books with the likes of Bill Bratton, James Carville, Rikki Klieman, Sumner Redstone, and Ann Richards) was heading to New Orleans for JazzFest with his son Daniel to celebrate having just turned in his next book (co-authored with advertising legend Donny Deutsch), we made sure to recommend that he visit Uglesich's. This is the favorite restaurant of many of America's top chefs we interviewed for our book CHEF'S NIGHT OUT and — after our visit in February — a new favorite of ours, too.

Upon his return, Peter wrote: "We've been [to Uglesich's] several times, the last being in March.  Daniel and I got there this Monday at 11 am when it opened and there was already a 2-hour line to get in.  Sad to say, we had a plane to catch and had to walk away.  After the piece in the [New York] Times [on April 27th by R.W. 'Johnny' Apple, commemorating Uglesich's imminent closing], I guess it's an open secret to outsiders for the month or so before it closes for good.  We did go to Mother's, one of our favorite spots, and were treated to the black ham. (I think they thought I was a local; I'd been going there for ten years and never was given the honor before.)  I've never been to Bayona.  A good reason to go back.  What a great city."

[By the way, Peter's son Daniel Knobler is performing with his funk-jazz band Captain Coconut at the legendary Manhattan club CBGB on Thursday, May 26th at 8 pm — and we're crossing our fingers that we're able to pop in before dinner that night! For more info, click here.]

* RUTH REICHL's GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES : We had the pleasure of attending the April 7th launch party at Cafe Boulud for the third book in Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl's trilogy, which kept us up past 1 am. The next night, Karen was up until the same hour reading Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise — and loved it even more than Ruth's first two books Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples, which is saying a lot!

Those interested in an insider's view of restaurant criticism will also enjoy our 1999 James Beard Award Finalist DINING OUT: Secrets from America's Leading Critics, Chefs and Restaurateurs, on whose cover (and in whose pages) Ruth is featured.

II. THE 2005 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARDS

Andrew, Serena Bass, Karen, and Andrew Carmellini

The James Beard Foundation Awards are to the restaurant business what the Oscars are to the movie business (only, we suspect, with more and better food). This is THE weekend in New York City for the restaurant business, when you can find a culinary "Who's Who" dining around town and enjoying Bon Appetit's annual "Chef's Night Out" party honoring the Award nominees on the eve of the Awards before flocking to the Awards ceremony itself, which gathers 1700 culinary luminaries for an evening of celebrating the best in our business and then savoring a taste of their considerable talents. (Various post-parties extending into the wee hours of the morning have turned dining rooms into dance floors for the Award winners and other attendees, ourselves included.)

This year's May 2nd feast at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan was created by top chefs who were either mentored or inspired by Julia Child, to whom this year's Awards were a tribute, including Lidia Bastianich, Rick Bayless, Ariane Daguin, Sandy D'Amato, Robert Del Grande, Jim Dodge, Todd English, Gale Gand, Hubert Keller, Thomas Keller, Norman Love, Jacques Pepin, Michel Richard, Michael Romano, Lydia Shire, Nancy Silverton, Andre Soltner, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Martin Yan and many others.

Last Monday's ceremony marked the 15th anniversary of the Awards. We've long loved this annual opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues, and to salute those who help make this industry great. Among those pictured on our Web site's May 3rd Blog entry here are 2005 Book Award winner Serena Bass, author of Serena, Food & Stories; Chris Bianco, chef-owner of Pizzeria Bianco; 2005 Best Chef: New York Andrew Carmellini, chef (until May 8th) of Cafe Boulud; Sandy D'Amato, chef-owner of Sanford; Jim Dodge, director of Bon Appetit Management; cookbook author and chef Joyce Goldstein; Michael Laiskonis, pastry chef of Le Bernardin; Patrick O'Connell, chef-owner of The Inn at Little Washington; 2005 Best Chef: Northwest Vitaly Paley, chef-owner of Paley's Place; Lydia Shire, chef-owner of Locke-Ober (and Andrew's former boss at Biba); master sommelier Larry Stone of Rubicon; Bernard Sun, corporate beverage director for Jean-Georges Management; and Williams-Sonoma's legendary founder Chuck Williams. (Click here for May 2nd photos.)

To keep things fresh, the Foundation has added new Award categories over the years — from its recognition of "America's Classics," restaurants described as being locally owned and operated restaurants renowned for their timeless appeal and quality food," to this year's addition of "Outstanding Restaurateur," which was taken home by uber-restaurateur Danny Meyer (whom we hereby nominate for an Oscar for making one of the world's toughest jobs look so easy). [For the complete .pdf list of winners, click here.]

While the Awards have historically focused on haute cuisine level restaurants, it's the presentation of the "America's Classics" awards that have come to bring the most drama and emotion to its festivities. These restaurants' often humble and modest owners who have worked for decades with only local or regional acclaim take the stage at this black-tie event before an audience of 1700 guests to receive thunderous applause and international recognition for their efforts. The public acknowledgment is often overwhelming for awardees, and their speechless tears only tend to fuel more applause.

This year's worthy winners included Boston's Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe, which opened in 1927 right around the corner from our former apartment in Boston's South End. Breakfast (or, more precisely, turkey hash) at Charlie's is at the top of our list of what we miss most about having left Boston for Manhattan. In 2001, we featured Charlie's co-owner Arthur Manjourides with James Beard Award-winning chef Gordon Hamersley on the back cover of our book CHEF'S NIGHT OUT.

We were also delighted to see our favorite L.A. taco stand Yuca's, which has served its amazing tacos for nearly three decades and was introduced to us by legal analyst Rikki Klieman and LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, honored as an "America's Classic."

Hats off to the James Beard Foundation and all involved (including new Executive Director Edna Morris, Foundation chair Dorothy Cann Hamilton, and Melanie Young Communications) for pulling off a notably professional and optimistically forward-looking 2005 Awards ceremony after a particularly challenging year for the Foundation.

[For more on the James Beard Foundation, visit its Web site here. Also, Manhattan Users Guide editor Charlie Suisman shared a link to an eye-opening three-part series on the Beard Foundation appearing in last week's San Francisco Chronicle.]

You can find many of our recent food and wine experiences described (and pictured) on our Web site Blog and on our Restaurants page.

You'll find entries mentioning:

•  Artisanal; New York — Over 100 wines by the glass, and 200 cheeses, to mix and match.
•  Beyoglu; New York — Delicious mezze at reasonable prices on the Upper East Side.
•  Café Boulud; New York — We bid farewell to talented chef Andrew Carmellini.
•  Café des Artistes; New York — Its informal Parlor is a well-kept secret on the Upper West Side.
•  Café Gray; New York — We can't wait to return for the pasta and risotto appetizers.
•  Cendrillon; New York — We thank author Melissa de la Cruz for introducing us to its fashionable Filipino cuisine at her recent book party for her novel Fresh Off the Boat.
•  ChikaLicious; New York — Our favorite dessert-only restaurant in New York City.
•  Coquette Café; Milwaukee — If you're able to visit the Santiago Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum (which we highly recommend), you'll need places to eat. We suggest chef Sandy D'Amato's Coquette Cafe and Sanford (see below) as highly as the museum itself.
•  Dave's Italian Kitchen; Evanston, IL — Celebrating 33 years of delivering "real, healthful, homemade food at reasonable prices" to its fanatic customers (who include us!). Congratulations to chef-owner Dave Glatt.
•  Devi; New York — Don't miss the tasting menu at our favorite Indian restaurant in Manhattan.
•  The Bar at Etats-Unis; New York — One of our favorite desserts not created by Babbo's Gina DePalma, Toshi's warm date pudding is not-to-be-missed.
•  Fig & Olive; New York — Featuring tastes of olive oil from France, Italy and Spain — and delicious informal cuisine.
•  Inside; New York — We never tire of Anne Rosenzweig's Greenwich Village restaurant (or, for that matter, Rebecca Charles' Pearl Oyster Bar one block over)
• Leon's; Milwaukee — The best frozen custard we've tasted west of the Shake Shack in New York City's Madison Square Park.
•  L'Orange Bleu; New York — Complete with photos of Andrew with its belly dancer, this hot spot is not-to-be-missed on a Monday night when you're looking for a taste of Morocco and a lot of fun.
•  The Modern; New York — Our favorite new restaurant of 2005.
•  Moto; Chicago — The single most stimulating and thought-provoking restaurant experience ever to please our palates just as much. Don't miss these photos of Homaro Cantu's singular cuisine.
•  Osteria del Stato; Chicago — Sommelier Belinda Chang brings infectious energy and exhuberance to this new winning wine-focused restaurant from Rich Melman and Rick Tramonto.
•  POP Burger; New York — Tiny, but delicious, burgers — and good onion rings, too.
•  Rickshaw Dumpling Bar; New York — We liked the dumplings, but loved the salad.
•  Sanford; Milwaukee — Sandy D'Amato's fine dining restaurant is not only the shining star of Milwaukee cuisine, but it also holds its own with the best of Chicago.
•  Solera; New York — One of the world's best tapas bars? After our visit to Spain, we're convinced.
•  Tru; Chicago — A glass of Champagne and a caviar staircase at the bar served by stylish uber-sommelier Scott Tyree is one of the most glamorous splurges in the Windy City.
• Uglesich's; New Orleans — There's no time like the present to visit, especially since Mr. Anthony and Miss Gail announced its imminent closing.

NOTE: We're tickled that John Uglesich sent us a copy of his Uglesich's Restaurant Cookbook, which we look forward to reading — and treasuring as a keepsake of our fabulous lunch there in February. Featured recipes include several of the dishes we tasted and loved, including Fried Green Tomatoes, Muddy Waters over Pan-Fried Trout, Paul's Fantasy (Pan-Fried Trout Topped with Grilled Shrimp and New Potatoes), and Shrimp and Grits in Cream Sauce (not for calorie counters!). To order your own collector's copy, click here.

•  On Sunday, May 29th, at 2 pm, we're again hosting the infamous "Best Chow" competition aboard The Intrepid during "Fleet Week" in New York City. Culinary voyeurs will enjoy this look at the best (and the unusual) efforts of several armed forces teams competing for the prestigious title of "Best Chow." Last year's winners ended up on the "Today" show the following morning, and local television coverage was so prominent that Karen was stopped by strangers at her salon offering their congratulations for "her show" on TV! For details, visit www.intrepidmuseum.org.

•  On Monday, June 6th, we're planning to attend Citymeals-on-Wheels' 20th annual Chef's Tribute, "a night of dining and dancing under the stars at New York's famed Rockefeller Center with America's top chefs." This is a fabulous event for an even more fabulous cause: raising money to feed New York's homebound elderly. For more information, visit www.citymeals.org.

We also salute Citymeals co-founder Gael Greene on her May 25th recognition by the Coro New York Leadership Center with the 2005 Lew Rudin Award. For details, visit www.benefitoffice.org/coro.

If we could be in two places at once (hey, you never know!), on Monday, June 6th we'd also attend the gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom spearheaded by our friend Addie Tomei of SavorySojourns.com and headlining Dan Aykroyd to benefit the Sarcoma Foundation. Visit www.curesarcoma.org for details.

•  Tuesday, June 7th at 11 am ET: Tune in to hear us talk live with chef Rocco DiSpirito on his New York radio show "Food Talk" on WOR 710 AM — or listen online wherever you may be at www.wor710.com. You can even call in with your questions and comments at (800) 321-0710 — and we'd love to hear from you!

•  Thursday, July 21st and Monday, July 25th: We're scheduled to discuss the topic of our so-called "cult classic" CULINARY ARTISTRY in our two-hour classes addressing "The Art of Flavor Compatibility" on July 21st at Marshall Field in Chicago and on July 25th at Cooks of Crocus Hill in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.

• While we won't be attending this workshop, we've both been through it and highly recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their creativity in any field: From June 3rd-5th, author Michael Gelb will be leading his fabulous weekend seminar based on his international bestseller How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. For details, click here.

We recently received this impassioned missive from Bartlesville, Oklahoma's Philippe Garmy, instructor of culinary arts at the Tri-County Technology Center:

"Have you ever considered visiting a Career Tech Center in a far away place, that not too many rock star chefs know exists, to see how the Culinary Arts are being introduced to high school students who aspire to greatness? I'd love for you to visit ours. In fact, I dare you!

So much focus and attention these days seems to be placed on the higher-end level and large city markets, that often it appears as if the culinary cognoscente are forever preaching to the choir, building monuments and statues to the glory of everybody who already knows everybody, etc. ad nauseum.

And yet, there are more compelling struggles going on than just what you read or see on the TV. The few testimonies you've shared, for example, of lost lives touched and transformed [e.g. that of Chef Jeff Henderson in our last e-newsletter, and Andrew's previous article "Dyslexic Chefs of America, Untie!"] are truly remarkable!

As a Culinary Arts instructor in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for the past 12 years, I could share some heart-wrenching stories with you....Yet life goes on, as does the fight for better and better resources and opportunities for our youth and future culinarians of America.

So what about those hard to get excited about places, like Oklahoma, where only a solitary few culinary missionaries dare go to preach the Culinary Gospel? East Coast, West Coast, Chicago, Dallas, etc., the culinary Rome's of the USA, and their many notable and quotable Cardinals and Popes, sure are impressive and great with all their cutting-edge cuisine, restaurants, high-profile cookbooks, and tremendous media pull...but way out here in Indian Territory where the buffalo roam and the natives eat junk food since the day they were born, we sure could use a Papal emissary or two once in a while to help keep the faith alive and rocking!

Having read three of your books (I especially liked CULINARY ARTISTRY), I am thankful for your mission and comprehensive point of view being expressed in written form. I know you have touched many lives and many more will be touched as well. My hope and prayer is that you will give this invitation kind consideration....Who knows — it may change your life, too! With warmest and respectful regards,"
—Philippe Garmy, culinary arts instructor, Tri-County Technology Center / Bartlesville, OK

We imagine that Philippe and his colleagues in far-flung areas of the country like Bartlesville, Oklahoma, could indeed use "a little love" and support from visiting culinary authors, chefs and other culinarians from time to time. So we encourage those who might be visiting these areas to reach out during their travels to culinary schools that otherwise couldn't afford to finance a visit.

It would be great if a foundation were willing to provide travel grants to bring culinary talent from major cities to such areas for a "big city, small town" culinary exchange, to help educate and inspire the next generation.

Any foundation executives reading this?

Our thanks to all our wonderful readers who answered our call for recommendations of everything from food photographers to food and beverage pairing resources — including Brooke Brantley, Blake Davis, Fahrusha, Pamela Hamilton, Christina Hanson, David Haynes, Dave Mabe, Henry Patterson, Louise Sackett, Lisa Golden Schroeder, Wendy Sinclair, Corinne Trang and so many others. In fact, we learned of so many food photographer resources that we are creating a new page on our Web site listing those food photographers whose work was brought to our attention here.

"I enjoy your newsletters very much and thank you for such a wealth of information.  This request may be a bit off your beaten path, but I am wondering if you might happen to know any culinary schools that focus on provisioning and cooking on-board yachts?  The only one I've found is in Mallorca...a bit far for a working New Yorker.  Many thanks!"
—Libby Edwards, ICM Talent / New York, NY

(NOTE: We mentioned to Libby that we'd attended a book launch party several years ago at the Boston Harbor Hotel for The Yachting Cookbook by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. If any of our readers have other ideas for Libby, we hope you'll share them with us at Dornenburg@aol.com.)

"I love reading your newsletter.  Thanks for sending it! I just wanted to mention that my 13-year-old daughter and I watched your friend Bernard [Sofronski]'s television movie 'Mom At Sixteen' last night.  It was an amazing and important show for all teens.  I think every middle/high school should make it a requirement in their curriculum.  Tell Bernard that it scared the heck out of my daughter.  After the movie, Emily and I sat up and discussed it, which was a great accomplishment (teen-aged girls do not typically want to discuss this stuff with Mom!).  I'm thrilled.  Thank him personally for me. Keep up the good work."
—Peg McFeeley Golden, Broadway producer / Boston, MA

"I read BECOMING A CHEF way back when. Like everybody else, I loved it and have gone on to own and read several more of your books. I've been subscribing to and enjoying your e-newsletter for about a year."
—Martha Hopkins, Terrace Partners / Waco, TX

(NOTE: Martha published the beautiful aphrodisiac cookbook Intercourses, which we always seem to see displayed whenever Valentine's Day rolls around!)

"What fun! I enjoyed your newsletter very much. Frankly, it made me hungry! It also reminded me that you are the perfect brains to pick for a NY restaurant: I have a client who wants to host a dinner for about 20-25 people during BookExpo (BEA) June 3-6. Do you have some suggestions of restaurants that are good for a big group like this?"
—Kelly Hughes, president, DeChant-Hughes & Associates / Chicago, IL

(NOTE: Indeed we did! We steered Kelly to maitre d' Ron Miller at Solera restaurant (216 E. 53rd St.), our favorite Spanish restaurant which has a fabulous private room upstairs where Karen has hosted bestselling authors ranging from Barbara Corcoran to Kay Koplovitz to Tony Schwartz — and learned that Kelly indeed booked it for her client. We'll look forward to your review, Kelly!)

"Your Web site is becoming one of the greatest sources of inspiration in the food world. Congrats,"
—Vikas Khanna / New York, NY

(NOTE: Vikas teaches "Vision of Palate," a series of free workshops on the culinary arts for the visually disabled. To learn more and/or to attend the next workshop in Manhattan this weekend, click here or write vikukhanna@yahoo.com.)

"Wonderful newsletter! Whenever you're in the Netherlands, make sure to get in touch and come to see us. This small country sure is not one of the world's culinary highlights. I think our special foods are raw herring and stamppot, a dish made of vegetables and potatoes and cooked to a degree where one or the other is no longer recognizable. But it still tastes great, or at least tastes like home. When you visit, prepare to learn how to eat raw herring, with some chopped onions, in the traditional way: holding it by the tail, letting it slide down the throat. This must sound really awful, but hey, we're Dutch. And we have a great Jenever to disinfect the throat after that herring. As for restaurants here, we have the widest variety of nationalities. I guess that's what you get when the national kitchen is not that great. At least this makes sure that all Dutch people are wide open to other cultures: We just love to go out and taste other cultures' food."
—Annalies and Hans Man / The Netherlands

"Wow!  Were we ever thrilled to read the glorious review in your newsletter of your visit.  It was especially gratifying given the reference points you both have.  We immediately made copies for the staff so that they'll be aware of the impossible expectations that your readers will bring with them.  Your thorough appreciation of our efforts is inspirational and so rare.  We look forward to seeing you again before another decade passes. Warmest regards,"
—Patrick O'Connell, chef-owner, The Inn at Little Washington / Washington, Virginia

"Finally had a chance to read your newsletter — so informative and fun! And was absolutely astonished how you pull things together, acknowledging my film so that others might see it. You did a terrific job and I am so appreciative. Thank you. Best to you,"
—Bernard Sofronski, producer, "Mom At Sixteen" / Los Angeles, CA

"I have been loving your email updates about your books and travels — very well done! I've bought several of your books now, to give to friends and for my own enjoyment, and they are very engaging. I like to read them just for fun. Stay well and keep up the good work!"
—Marilyn Tam, president, US Foundation and author of How to Use What You've Got / Santa Barbara, CA

(KAREN'S NOTE: Born in Hong Kong to a traditional Chinese family, Marilyn Tam was an unlikely candidate for corporate stardom. Marilyn's wonderful book How to Use What You've Got to Get What You Want features the inspiring story of how she rose through the executive ranks at companies such as Aveda, Reebok, Nike, and May Department Stores, and lessons she learned along the way to achieving personal and professional success. I am happy to recommend it.)