I’m certain that just yesterday I was anticipating Labor Day Weekend. Now as I look at the calendar I’m realizing it has been three weeks since my last posting! Wow, has this month passed quickly! Thank you for your patience in waiting for something new.
The past month has been filled with lots of great guests, fun travel, and re-acquainting with old friends.
A HUGE THANK YOU for everyone that joined me for classes over Labor Day weekend! Every class was full and we enjoyed a great time with lots of great food! 
The week after labor day was filled with the exciting news that I will be featured in an up-coming holiday newstand publication called “Favorite Recipes of America’s Great Chefs”.
They are including my recipe for Danish Puff pastry which one of my early “specialties” as a kid and originated with the Gold Medal Flour “Century of Success” Cookbook. Keep your eyes out for it, it’s supposed to be out on the checkout stands around the end of October.
September 10th and 11th I participated for the 3rd year as guest chef for the “Delicious Destinations” gala fundraising event for the St. Vincent’s Health system in Jacksonville, FL. Held at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL the event features both live and silent auctions while guests meander through various rooms enjoying the specialty offerings of upwards of a dozen or more guest chefs. I opted to feature the Banana Pudding Crepes which were featured in the Chefs vs. City segment taped at 700 Kitchen for the Food Network.
An exciting surprise was learning that fellow chef Erika Davis, Executive Pastry Chef for Ponte Vedra Inn & Club participated this past year in “Top Chef: Just Desserts” which is currently airing on Bravo. Of course she couldn’t share any details of the competition but it is exciting nonetheless to watch someone I know competing on the show…be sure to cheer on and vote for Erica!
Next it was time for some R&R by hopping a plane for the Finger Lakes of upstate New York to visit some very dear friends I haven’t seen in awhile.
If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Finger Lakes region just outside of Rochester, NY you should definitely add it to your list of destinations. The microclimates of the Finger Lakes are ideal for growing wine grapes and thus the region has boomed over the past two decades to feature wine trails circling many of the lakes, restaurants featuring locally grown and produced food items as well as quaint B&B’s.
Having done the wine trails on previous visits this years trip was more relaxed but nonetheless exciting as I visited the Rochester Public market, went raspberry picking (if only I lived there to really make use of those beautiful berries!) and visited the Jello Museum in LeRoy, NY.
I plan to get back to regular posting and hope that your September has been a good one too!