Tag: gavin kaysen

travel: field and stream… (2018)

– Some of my happiest moments in 2018 were spent waist-high in cold water.  On especially good days, the sun glinted off the rushing stream, and glistened at the seams of the slow-moving eddies and pools into which my mind swirled.  In those peaceful afternoons, tiny flies hung in the air like a thousand points […]

Continue

travel: field and stream… (2018)

– Some of my happiest moments in 2018 were spent waist-high in cold water.  On especially good days, the sun glinted off the rushing stream, and glistened at the seams of the slow-moving eddies and pools into which my mind swirled.  In those peaceful afternoons, tiny flies hung in the air like a thousand points […]

Continue

travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

Continue

travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

Continue

travel: a bunker, a photo shoot, and some sprouts…

~ As I enter March, a month perennially fraught with the anxieties of turning a year older, I find myself clinging to January and February a little tighter, wishing they had lasted a bit longer. But I did more than my fair share of living in the first two months of this year. I’ll start […]

Continue

travel: a bunker, a photo shoot, and some sprouts…

~ As I enter March, a month perennially fraught with the anxieties of turning a year older, I find myself clinging to January and February a little tighter, wishing they had lasted a bit longer. But I did more than my fair share of living in the first two months of this year. I’ll start […]

Continue

travel: caricatures and meatsnacks…

~ Hurricane Sandy spurred an inspiring rally rise of support among chefs and restaurant industry folk in New York City. Overnight, Pete Wells, the reigning restaurant reporter at The New York Times turned his Twitter feed into command central for industry news and exchange (his coverage continues). Uptown, chefs, like Daniel Boulud, David Chang, and Gavin […]

Continue

travel: caricatures and meatsnacks…

~ Hurricane Sandy spurred an inspiring rally rise of support among chefs and restaurant industry folk in New York City. Overnight, Pete Wells, the reigning restaurant reporter at The New York Times turned his Twitter feed into command central for industry news and exchange (his coverage continues). Uptown, chefs, like Daniel Boulud, David Chang, and Gavin […]

Continue

travel: sense of urgency…

~ While walking through the administrative back-end of TKRG (Thomas Keller Restaurant Group), a village of offices in a compound, including The French Laundry, inter-connected by trellised walkways, Monica Bhambhani, the Director of Competition and Events for the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation, turned to chef Thomas Keller and said, wistfully: “Chef, I think I want […]

Continue

travel: sense of urgency…

~ While walking through the administrative back-end of TKRG (Thomas Keller Restaurant Group), a village of offices in a compound, including The French Laundry, inter-connected by trellised walkways, Monica Bhambhani, the Director of Competition and Events for the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation, turned to chef Thomas Keller and said, wistfully: “Chef, I think I want […]

Continue

travel: peripatetic…

~ I apologize for my silence. I’ve been on the road. In the last month and a half, I’ve crossed this continent four times, bouncing between New York and San Francisco, San Diego and Burlington, Vermont, with trips to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and Lake Tahoe on the side. I crossed the border to […]

Continue

travel: peripatetic…

~ I apologize for my silence. I’ve been on the road. In the last month and a half, I’ve crossed this continent four times, bouncing between New York and San Francisco, San Diego and Burlington, Vermont, with trips to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia and Lake Tahoe on the side. I crossed the border to […]

Continue

bocuse d’or…

Thanks to an amazing group of people, whom I thank below, I was afforded a rare, behind the scenes look at the final days of Team U.S.A.’s year-long journey to the Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France. Although I arrived a spectator, with hope of little more, I was unexpectedly welcomed and included by the […]

Continue

bocuse d’or…

Thanks to an amazing group of people, whom I thank below, I was afforded a rare, behind the scenes look at the final days of Team U.S.A.’s year-long journey to the Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France. Although I arrived a spectator, with hope of little more, I was unexpectedly welcomed and included by the […]

Continue

photo of the week 30: go team u.s.a….

Since landing in the U.K. over a week ago, I’ve had a pretty amazing trip to Europe so far.  I’ve been busy eating, seeing old friends, and making new ones. Today, Wednesday, January 26, the United States sends Jamal James Kent of Eleven Madison Park to “the box,” along with his commis, 22 year-old Tom […]

Continue

photo of the week 30: go team u.s.a….

Since landing in the U.K. over a week ago, I’ve had a pretty amazing trip to Europe so far.  I’ve been busy eating, seeing old friends, and making new ones. Today, Wednesday, January 26, the United States sends Jamal James Kent of Eleven Madison Park to “the box,” along with his commis, 22 year-old Tom […]

Continue

review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

Continue

review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

Continue

review: remembrance of things past…

Spaghetti Nero Cafe Boulud, New York It doesn’t happen often.  In fact, it happens so rarely that you sometimes can’t recall the last time it happened. But once in a few hundred meals or so, a dining experience knocks you off your duff and leaves you breathless. I can tell you the last time this […]

Continue

review: remembrance of things past…

Spaghetti Nero Cafe Boulud, New York It doesn’t happen often.  In fact, it happens so rarely that you sometimes can’t recall the last time it happened. But once in a few hundred meals or so, a dining experience knocks you off your duff and leaves you breathless. I can tell you the last time this […]

Continue