About ten years ago, I decided that it was time to write about my life. I had no real expectation that anyone would want to read my writing, but I decided to put down my thoughts, experiences, and some recipes that reflected the time I lived through. I realize that everyone’s life is important to […]
After closing the bakery I decided that if I really wanted to live the life of a chef I’d better learn the right way to do things, before bad habits had a chance to set in. I applied to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, was accepted, and left New York City, and […]
In 1987 I decided I really missed New England, and I would do my damnedest to get back up there. Through an ad in a culinary magazine I found out about a restaurant manager job at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. I applied, they flew me up for an interview, then flew […]
There’s no doubt that the most exhausting, frustrating, and potentially dangerous category of foodservice is off-premise catering. It can also be the most profitable if you’re good at the pricing, planning, and organizing involved. I taught catering at New England Culinary Institute, and Richard was, for a time, the catering manager there, so we’re both […]
I know that one of life’s great fantasies for many people is to open up a small, personal restaurant in a beautiful spot: to serve great food and wine to your friends and grateful strangers who are amazed by your talent for food and hospitality. For reasons that I have never entirely understood, lawyers, doctors, […]
Often when I wake on a summer morning my first thought is of how much I still love my beautiful home and my very short commute to work. It’s 2009 and we’ve been running Ariel’s for over 12 years now. Richard and I are frequently exhausted, but we would not trade our life for anyone’s. […]
I have always had the need to shake things up every five years or so. It’s not necessarily boredom or discontent with my life. It’s just a desire for something new, something that I haven’t done before, somewhere that I haven’t experienced. I don’t even really think that something new will make my life better, […]
So we’ve been living the Expat life for 2 1/2 years now. No complaints, we’ve been lucky enough to find a community that accepts us and encourages us. We have Mexican friends and International expat friends. We’re making a living doing what we love, and we get time to indulge in our passions – for […]
Why I’m Here When I first got an Email from Ben asking me advice on opening a Mexican restaurant in Cali, Colombia I gave him the same advice I always give to someone who wants to open a restaurant with no experience: Don’t be a ****ing idiot! But it turned out that this young (27 […]
Everyone goes to the Tuesday Market. Locals, expats, visitors. Housemaids, chefs, restaurant and bodega owners. Farmers, of course, who go to sell their produce, eggs, chickens. Entrepreneurs with stands of nuts and candies, CD’s, clothing(literally Tons of clothing), small kitchen equipment, hand made cheeses, chorizo, fish trucked in from the west coast, honey, agua frescas, […]