Chapter 2

I think I put the “blah” in blog ^:^ 

Not from my writing, mind you – but I can’t seem to carve out the time to write the blog, as I am so busy writing my book…

Yet, I love blogs. I love their immediacy, consistent story telling; their intimacy and the courage displayed in their author’s delivery.  There’s no hesitation to share expertise, opinions, photos.

Once I checked with my editor that it was OK to pursue the blog, I thought I’d take to it like morning coffee.

In fact, I eagerly wrote the first entry and couldn’t wait to write and post news about the trials, triumphs, joys and exciting adventures involved in writing and producing my first book: “Celebrity Chefs & Their Gardens” (working title.) The concept I pitched my publisher was to explore the nexus of where garden art meets the other arts – the franchise would be how gardens inspire musicians, sculptures, painters, and above all, the culinary artist. They most demonstrably use the bounty of the garden in their culinary art. 

It is a joyful experience that interests just about everyone who hears about the process – from foodies to gardeners to politicos to champions of healthy eating as way to healthy living aficionados.  (I did say everyone, right?) 

Further, my daily routine couldn’t have been better conceived or more simple or fun.  During the week when we live in our jewel-box apartment in Greenwich Village in New York City, the goal was to follow my early morning workout at the health club with some coffee, writing the blog, shower, (maybe reverse that order – no dirty blog writing!), write a celebrity chef profile (or two) for the book, break; then render the garden art for the book – which is a water color of every chef’s garden design whether it’s their personal home garden, the Greenmarket (www.cenycgreenmarket.org)  , the restaurant’s or a favorite farm he uses.  (and the chefs are, curiously, almost all men.) 

I did this brilliant routine exactly -- zero times. 

How could this be, I’d ask myself over the evening’s martini cocktail as I reviewed the day and took a break with my husband before returning to writing or the art. 

Mainly, because I was so busy scheduling photo shoots and interviews.  If I have 16 NYC master chefs with two photo shoots for each – the kitchen and the garden, along with the interviews – well, you can do the math… And not surprisingly, schedules change – especially for “my” famous chefs who manage multiple restaurants in their empire, and/or support a plethora of community greenmarket and farm initiatives.  Many have admin staff and/or public relations support.  I have to contact my crackerjack team: the book’s photographer, Jennifer Calais Smith (www.jennifercalaissmith.com) and the food stylist, Patty White (www.pattywhitefoodstylist.com)

So you see, when rescheduling, there are any number of players that need to be consulted.  No different from any corporate or project work, it’s just I was the only one doing the scheduling and correspondence and the changes.  And believe me, I loved coordinating with all the chefs and their staffs.  They are all super talented, energized, dedicated artists and professionals.

With deadlines looming, it wasn’t too long before I realized I needed help.    I had to write and produce the art. No one else could do that.  But if I could get some assistance in the coordination of all the detailed full-color, photography, then we’d be good.  Ta da! Enter Lauren Grimley – smart, savvy, not to mention oh-so-pretty girlfriend, now former girlfriend L, of my nephew, Garrett.  She’s genius and can surely help me keep my focus on what I need to do while adding to the team dynamic.

It has, ahem, been some months, that I have submitted a posting.   But I am an avowed optimist and think these turn of events will lead to more time for writing, art and blogging.

Back to a central question of my singular first/only blog:

What chefs in NYC and Long Island, including the Hamptons, the Gold Coast, and Five Towns do you recommend for the book??

Here we go J

catching up with the book

Today is my first posting about writing my first book.  

I had every intention of doing this much earlier - years ago, in fact.  

Maybe because we just came home from seeing "Julie & Julia" at the cinema or maybe I seemingly have more time now (more about that later), but I was determined to launch writing about the book today.

The soon (too soon?!) to be published book started as a concept in early 2002.  At that time, I was most interested in how the garden inspires artists -- all artists: musicians, painters,  fashion designers, cinematographers, writers, photographers and .... But most significantly, culinary artists, because they so obviously utilize the bounty of the garden to create their own art.  

So I thought a book franchise might start there --exploring the art of the garden from the perspective of how provocative and compelling a garden is to the creativity of  artistic endeavor.  

And it was!  I was over the moon when I was able to secure a publishing contract at that time for the book, "Celebrity Chefs & Their Gardens."  But then, all too soon, that publisher said there were too many garden books on the market and we needed to wait.  

For me?  Other opportunities arrived and I put the book concept on the shelf, so to speak. 

 

I had a new publisher interested in 2007 and we worked through the concept throughout 2008.  

At the same time, the world of gardening changed. A lot. Increasingly, gardeners were focusing more on growing their own food.  More and more, community gardens were turning from ornamental plants to vegetables and fruits.  Food scares and concerns about the safety of our food were news headlines!  Michael Pollan and Alice Waters were becoming icons for what seemed to be a growing (sorry) movement..

So I could feel the book subtly migrate to explore and learn about the unique chefs that celebrated not just the art of the garden but the integrity and tradition and purity of the garden and what that meant to our culture.  

I set out to identify those "celebrity chefs" who I now prefer to refer to as master chefs or noble chefs, who are leaders in marrying culinary art with garden art in an almost truer sense.  They grow their own food for the restaurant, their gardens do indeed inspire their work in the kitchen, and/or they elevate their local farmers and growers as partners in their pursuit of truly fine dining.  Menus imbued with seasonal, fresh local food. Not imported. Not exotic in the old way.  

I hoped these chefs, these culinary artists, could illuminate how they heroically changed the way we think about dining, about food, about nutrition.  They helped lead a revolution - a movement.  It soon became about lifestyle and politics too.

The book contract was finalized around Christmas 2008. I was so honored and so excited.  The book is to be published for spring 2010.

This will be the story of how that book came about, my overture to the chefs, my interview adventures (and there have been some epic tales!) and securing the perfect lineup of celebrity, er, noble chefs. And  finding the most wonderful photographer, food stylist and of course, working with a fantastic and supportive editor.  

Whenever I tell my friends and family about the chefs and their philosophy, not to mention the struggles and "triumphs" to coordinate all the elements of the book, they love it. I hope you do too. It is so exciting to learn from these culinary leaders.

This first book focuses on chefs from New York City, the Hamptons and the Garden State.  I will share the list of chefs later...  

(Tell me who you would nominate to include in the book?)

I hope you will enjoy this story....