Category Archives: More Food Gal — In Other Publications

The New Edible Silicon Valley

Don't miss my profile of Jesse Cool in the new Edible Silicon Valley magazine.

Haven’t you scratched your head over the fact that there was an Edible San Francisco, Edible Marin, Edible Monterey Bay and so many others — yet no Edible Silicon Valley magazine?

Wonder no more.

Now, there is one.

Edible Silicon Valley debuted its first issue this month.

Yours truly is proud to be a regular writer for the new publication. Enjoy my first story for the magazine, a profile of Jesse Cool, the Peninsula chef-restaurateur who’s been a long-time champion of sustainable, organic and local foods.

An experimental crop of organic wheat that Cool grew in her backyard.

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Hear the Food Gal on KQED’s Forum

If you missed yesterday’s “Restaurant Roundup” on the airwaves of KQED’s “Forum” program, you missed out.

But not to despair.

You can catch the nearly hour-long podcast to hear what yours truly, along with Restaurant Reviewer Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle and Jonathan Kauffmann, San Francisco editor of Tasting Table, dished about Bay Area restaurants, chefs and dining trends.

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World’s Youngest Master Sommelier

Roland Micu, the youngest certified Master Sommelier in the world. (Photo courtesy of the International Culinary Center in Campbell)

Last year at age 28, Roland Micu passed the last of four rigorous exams to become the youngest certified Master Sommelier in the world.

To get a sense of the weight of that accomplishment, consider that since the Court of Master Sommeliers was established in 1969 that only 197 people around the globe have attained that certification.

For most candidates, it takes multiple tries to pass the daunting Level IV exam, in which six wines must be tasted blind in 25 minutes to identify the varietal, country of origin, district and appellation, as well as vintage precisely.

Micu did it on his first attempt.

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William May, the Famous Doorman at the San Francisco Fairmont

San Francisco's fabled doorman, William May.

Most people only notice service when it’s bad.

Because when it’s good, every need is anticipated so you never have to ask for anything.

William May prides himself on that kind of outstanding service.

For 26 years, he’s been the main doorman at the world-famous Fairmont San Francisco, the grand hotel where kings, queens and every U.S. president has stayed.

For many guests, he’s the first face to greet them when they visit San Francisco, setting the tone for the rest of their stay.

You might not think the position of doorman anything exceptional. But May has turned it into not only a skill, but an art form. In the process, the 60-year-old May has become as much of a  celebrity as the 105-year-old hotel atop Nob Hill, itself.

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Secret Ingredient Brownies & A Food Gal Podcast

Fudgy brownies with a sudsy ingredient.

Monday night, as the featured speaker at the Sunnyvale Public Library, I thought I’d have some fun with the audience members.

After all, if you’re going to talk about food writing, people are bound to get hungry, right?

So, I baked home-made fudge brownies for everyone, using a new recipe I recently came across. As folks nibbled away, I asked if anyone could guess the secret ingredient in these brownies.

Don’t even think it was some kind of controlled substance, though one guy did venture that guess. Other folks struck out with guesses of avocado, tofu, prunes, vinegar, black beans, red bean paste and even soy sauce.

In the end, after giving folks a hint that it was a “liquid” ingredient, one woman finally guessed the correct answer to win one of my very snazzy Food Gal aprons.

Of course, you guys reading this post have it easy. The photo above is a complete giveaway. The secret ingredient in these brownies? Guinness Stout.

“Guinness Brownies” is a recipe from the new cookbook, “Tate’s Bake Shop: Baking for Friends” (self-published), of which I recently received a review copy.  The cookbook, which features more than 120 recipes, is by Kathleen King, the owner of Tate’s Bake Shop in Southhampton, NY.

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