Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Flavor Bible Event, A Sweet Flavorful Memory

The other day I was telling a friend that one of the my favorite Seattle Food Blogger Events was when I got to meet Karen Page and Andrew Dornenberg.  In case you don't know, I have been organizing and planning the Seattle Food Blogger Events for the last few years. Sometimes we meet with cookbook authors, sometimes we have potlucks and sometimes we just get together for a party.

I really liked meeting Karen and Andrew, it felt so comfortable and natural to grill them with questions. They, instead of waiting for us to ask questions, they wanted to ask us first.  They really cared about us.
What are your blogs about? How long have you been writing?
They asked in the most sincere way possible. Sometimes when I think back to an important moment in my blog life (a year of blogging is like 10 in real life) blog years are like dog years, I remember how inspired I felt at this morning coffee meet up.

What happens when you start to blog?
Your brain learns to work really hard to turn moments into posts and you never have a free minute again. Every minute is muse for inspiration.

Meeting them was when I decided to push harder (I was 8 months pregnant but I wasn't ready to push just yet).  I absorbed inspiration that would give me a little insight on where I wanted to go in life. I can go on with this story forever. I will just say that one year has passed and they are celebrating "The Flavor Bible" 1 year anniversary! 

I will leave you with the post I wrote back then. One year ago,

Saturday some of Seattle food bloggers got together to meet up with Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, the award winning authors of "Culinary Artistry", "What to Drink with What You Eat" and the " The Flavor Bible".


The bloggers were Ronald of Cornichon, Michael of Herbivoracious, Mark of Plate Lunch, Jake of Daily Munch (which I write for too) and Traca of Seattle Tall Poppy.



We met at the Muse Coffee Company, which is wonderful little cafe located in Queen Anne. The kind of place where you can work on your computer (free wifi), grab a coffee and admire the art on the walls. The name really suits the place because you can't leave that place without finding your muse.



"The Flavor Bible" is nothing less than a must-have in every creative cook's household.

No, it's not a recipe book, it's a reference book that gives you lists of which foods harmonize well together.

How does it work?

You look up the ingredient that you want to use and then read down the list of foods that pair well with this ingredient. For example: Pineapple has many ingredients on the list such as bananas, brandy, avocado (surprising), black pepper and so many more. There is also a list of flavor affinities...pineapple+ avocado+ watercress, pineapple+ coconut+ honey+ ginger and other combinations that just give you an oomph of motivation.



All the information in the book was obtained by interviewing famous chefs (Andrew is a chef himself as well) and throughout the book there are tips from these chefs and interesting dishes that these chefs make. Since I got the book, I have been carrying it around the house and playing "guess that ingredient" with my husband. He says an ingredient, we look it up and we see who can guess more combinations.



Karen and Andrew were so honest, open and genuine. Leaving each of us with the motivation to keep writing, pushing and cooking. True proof that if you work hard enough, your dreams will come true. I apologize for the sappy ending but there really is no other way to put it.

Thanks Karen and Andrew!

4 comments:

Justin said...

andrew and karen are so great

Nurit said...

It is always so wonderful to meet smart and succesful people who haven't lost their minds on the way and are still charming, friendly, and welcoming.

Michael @ Herbivoracious.com said...

Good lord, was that a year ago! It was a wonderful event and I still refer to The Flavor Bible frequently.

eM said...

i keep meaning to pick this up!