The Edible Garden (http://www.nybg.org/eg/) is the summer exhibit of the prestigious Botanical Garden. Gorgeous vegetable and herb gardens. Celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali, Todd English, Dan Barber, Martha Stewart, etc… did demonstrations there all summer, so it was a treat for me to cook there too.

Here is a quick video of it. Enjoy.

I did 2 demonstrations there. Maybe 80 people at each demonstration. And a book signing at the end. It was fun to interact with New Yorkers.

The award ceremony is taking place on Friday April 30th 2010 at the Don Cesar Beach Resort & Spa in St Petersburg Beach, FL. We can put you in contact with the organizers if you wish to attend.

Meanwhile, here is my publisher’s press release:

Feb. 26, 2010– The Chef’s Répertoire, written by Chef Gui Alinat and published by American Technical Publishers, has won a Culinary Academy Award for Literature in the Culinary References category of the International Annual Cookbooks and Culinary Arts 2009 Awards Program.

Noreen Kinney, founder of the Cordon d’Or—Gold Ribbon, developed the awards to raise interest in good food. The honor and reputation of this award continues to grow throughout the culinary world.

Chef Gui is a certified chef, food writer, and food photographer. He is an instructor at the Art Institute of Tampa and the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Gui’s reference book is for foodservice and hospitality professionals, food writer/bloggers, and culinary enthusiasts. It includes over 1100 modern classic dishes found on American menus and incorporates information from pronunciation and origin to ingredients and techniques. It is divided into 12 thumb-tabbed sections and easily slips into a chef’s apron pocket.

“Chef Gui has created a quick-reference inventory that every American working in the hospitality industry should own,” said Rick Tramanto, Executive Chef and Partner of TRU.

The Cordon D’Or—Gold Ribbon awards presentation is set to take place on April 30, 2010, at the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Winners from across the world attend the event and accept their accolades. The event is open to the public.

For additional information on The Chef’s Répertoire and Chef Gui Alinat, please contact American Technical Publishers at 708.957.1100 or visit www.go2atp.com.

American Technical Publishers continues to work closely with industry leaders to develop training materials that set the standard for training excellence.                      

You can download the press release by clicking here.

Now, as much as I like Chef Colicchio, I really take issue with his disappointing (from a nutritional, ethical and conviviality standpoint) “Eat tastefully campaign” in association with Diet Coke, the American Diabetic Association and the CIA (not the spies, the chefs!).

You can read the press release here: Eat Tastefully Campaign: Diet Coke, Renowned Chef, Pop-Up Kitchen Reveal Secrets to Great Taste, Living Well

Chef Colicchio touts the merits of a soda because “it’s not overly complicated”. I’m not a physician or a nutritionist but talking about enjoying uncomplicated things, I’ve long known that our body only needs one, count them, one beverage: water.

Sure, milk is part of a healthy diet, and so is, in moderation and for many different reasons, wine, especially red wine.

But soda?.. Why would soda be part of a healthy diet? Something you pour on your corroded battery so you can start your car? Really?.. Come on, Chef Colicchio can’t really be serious. A soda is a soda. You don’t fight childhood, teenage and adult obesity, diabetes and poor nutrition habits with more of the same. Drinking “Diet” soda is a very easy, uneffective way out of a bigger problem: changing our nutrition habits once and for all.
The fact that Diet Coke has no calorie and no sugar is totally irrelevant. The (bad) habit of drinking a soda with your meal is a tough habit to break. Regularly drinking soda with your meal can’t be a good thing, no matter what Chef thinks. And actually, I don’t find him very convincing when he struggles to explain the gourmet meal/Diet Coke pairing at 1:30. Citrus bite to it? Caramel flavors?..

This is not the first time I scorn at celebrity chefs teaming up with junk food corporations. A few months ago, I commented on Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi’s commercial for Carl Jr’s.

Now, I know, I know, all this sounds very hypocritical. I’m a chef who follows a healthy, natural way of eating and cooking. But if only I could get rid of some of the junk food publicity on my blog, that would be a good thing too!

What do YOU think? Post a comment below and take the poll.