If you haven’t heard Chef Jeff Henderson’s story, you should.

Meet this fascinating chef at a free event in Oakland, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18, when he talks about how he turned his life around from that of a convicted drug dealer to the first African-American chef de cuisine at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

He’s also been featured on the Food Network in the show, “The Chef Jeff Project.” After 10 years in prison, Henderson chronicled his tale in “Cooked,” which is being turned into a motion picture.

I heard Henderson speak at a food conference a few years ago, and found him thoroughly mesmerizing.

He’ll be appearing at the East Oakland Youth Development Center, 8200 International Blvd., and talking about the power of making positive life choices. He’ll also conduct a mini cooking demo with the students in the center’s cooking program.

Read more

Gourmet’s Editor in Chief, the one and only Ruth Reichl, will be meeting and greeting in Palo Alto, 5:45 p.m. Sept. 29.

The award-winning former restaurant critic, author, and foodie extraordinaire will discuss how we’re eating differently today, and share some of her favorite recipes from the new cookbook, “Gourmet Today” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

The event, presented by the Commonwealth Club of Silicon Valley, will be at Cubberley Community Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road.

Price is $15 for members, and $25 for non-members. Premium ticket holders ($100) also get access to a reception catered by Draeger’s, a copy of the cookbook, and reserved seating. For reservations, call (800) 847-7730 or click here.

You may remember my good buddy and former colleague, Sheila Himmel, as the former restaurant critic of the San Jose Mercury News. Since leaving the newspaper, she’s written her first book, which has just been published.

“Hungry” (Berkeley Trade) was written by Himmel and her daughter, Lisa. It’s the unusual, true memoir of a restaurant reviewer who makes her living eating and her daughter, who in an ironic, almost Shakespearean-twist, is battling anorexia and bulimia.

You can meet both Sheila and Lisa at 7:30 p.m, Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, when they will discuss the bittersweet, powerful, and ultimately uplifting road they have traveled together.

Andrea Nguyen is another prolific and busy friend. The Santa Cruz author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” (Ten Speed Press), has just come out with her second book, “Asian Dumplings” (Ten Speed Press).

Meet her 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 26 at Omnivore Books on Food, a jewel box of a book store in San Francisco that’s dedicated solely to cookbooks. Nguyen will be discussing the global varieties of dumplings she showcases in her book. She always brings food to her events, too, so do come say hello to her at this free event.

What food blogger doesn’t know Pastry Chef David Lebovitz, the cookbook author and widely read blogger who chronicles all things sugary in Paris? Now, you can meet him when he stops by Fog City News in San Francisco, noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 25.

Read more

Then, you might just get a boost to help that dream come true.

The Oregon Travel Commission is hosting a contest to give away seven “cuisinternships” (that’s culinary internships to those in the know). Yes, seven winners will be selected to spend one all-expense-paid week shadowing an expert in his or her preferred culinary craft. The internships up for grabs are:

• Artisan Food Producer: Become a culinary artisan in Southern Oregon with chocolatier Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms and cheese maker David Gremmels of Rogue Creamery.
• Brew Master: Turn hops and grains into craft beer with brew master Jamie Emmerson of Hood River ‘s Full Sail Brewery.
• Chef: Immerse yourself in Portland ‘s dynamic food scene working alongside Chef Gabe Rucker — one of Portland ‘s culinary provocateurs — learning how to turn out inventive, gourmet meals that delight diners at the award-winning Le Pigeon restaurant.
• Rancher: Saddle up and herd cattle while learning sustainable ranching on two of Eastern Oregon ‘s Country Natural Beef ranches with the Pickard and Boyer families, who have been in the business for generations.
• Fisherman: Head out to sea with charter boat skipper Lars Robison of Dockside Charters and learn the fine art of catching the Oregon Coast ‘s prized wild salmon and rockfish.
• Winemaker: Walk the Willamette Valley vineyards of Penner-Ash Wine Cellars with renowned vintner Lynn Penner-Ash, learning the hands-on techniques involved in vineyard designate wine-making.
• Distiller: Get an advanced degree in mixology and learn about Oregon ‘s booming craft spirits industry with distiller Jim Bendis of Central Oregon ‘s Bendistillery.

Read more