Yayhoo! It’s finally fall! As we head into this holiday weekend, I’m thinking football, comfort food, and fabulous upcoming foodie events. This season, I’ll have a chance to talk with some of the best in the industry!
Here are the five food events I’m looking forward to the most:
1) Tomorrow’s “F is for Food” event with Chefs Tom Douglas and Kathleen Flinn. As part of this weekend’s Bumbershoot, Seattle’s major music and arts fest, Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, and chef/restaurateur Tom Douglas will take the stage Saturday morning to talk writing and food. Juliette Kaplan, winner of the festival’s Food For Thought contest where writers submitted their most memorable food event, will also read her winning entry.
2) My interview with Chef Tom Douglas! I’ve been in the Pacific Northwest for ten years now, and I’ve heard Tom’s name a million times. A leader in the Seattle culinary scene, Douglas has created a fab food mecca in the Emerald City, with a whole host of highly-rated restaurants, including Dahlia Lounge, Lola, and Serious Pie. I’ll have a chance to get Tom’s thoughts on the national food scene and Seattle’s love of seafood before his appearance at Bumbershoot. Stay tuned for the Daily Blender exclusive!
3) Ruth Reichl! Woot! I’m late to the food scene, I’ll admit – but I’m catching up quickly! I can’t wait for Reichl’s visit to the new (nearly new?) Nines Hotel here in Portland this fall. The Gourmet editor-in-chief, restaurant reviewer, and all-around culinary maven will be in town to talk about her foodie experiences on September 30th. Expect a few great tidbits on her upcoming PBS series, Gourmet’s Adventures With Ruth.
4) The 2009 Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival. New York City holds a bit of my heart, as it does for most people. I’ve visited the moody, colorful, inherently familiar metropolis a number of times, but I’ve never enjoyed it as much as I did when I attended this fantastic food and wine festival last fall. If you want a star-studded event, this is it, with all the faces of the pop culture food scene from Bourdain to Fieri. Check out my Friday Five picks for this year’s event, and be sure to catch for my live coverage, October 8-11th.
5) David Chang and Mark Fuller in Seattle! I’m very excited to be a part of this event, part of the Cooks & Books series from Kim Ricketts Book Events. The Momofuku chef is visiting Seattle to promote his new cookbook and collaborate on a fantastic dinner at Fuller’s Spring Hill. I had the chance to meet both men at this year’s Food & Wine Classic in Aspen – Chang, a 2006 Food & Wine Best New Chef and Fuller, a 2009 Best New Chef – and I’m looking forward to talk with them again about their food inspirations and plans for the future.
~Jennifer Heigl
This is a terrific list – wish I had seen it last week!