* * * Ruth Reichl, food writer and former editor of Gourmet magazine. * * * The annual Miami Book Fair International started yesterday.  This year the Book Fair is lean, but still strong.  For example, the International Pavilions, which showcase the literature, arts and food of different countries are on hiatus, as well as the [...] » Read more..

/ David Samayoa Getting me to go to a lecture about wine is pretty tough, unless you tell me that I’m going to be sitting next to Chuck Ferrin and he’ll be explaining everything in his usual knowledgeable, but irreverant way.  I may be the only one, but there’s the truth.  Once I start drinking the [...] » Read more..

* * * Chef-instructor Michael Moran and students/ Photographs in this post courtesy of Mitchell Zachs-FIU School of Hospitality Management* * * My,  Lunch Week sure is long!  I suppose when you write your own blog you can take some liberties… FIU Hospitality School reopened its dining room last week.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, student chefs [...] » Read more..

I attended Taste of the Nation at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne for the first time last Thursday, courtesy of Foodbuzz.com and the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Taste of the Nation is an annual charity event which raises money for the national organization Share our Strength.  One of Share our Strength’s main campaigns is ending child hunger [...] » Read more..

We’re in the midst of a booming mango season. There are enough mango-related food events in the next few weeks to satisfy even the most devoted mangophile.  For those of you with a bumper crop of mangos, read further for an opportunity to trade your bounty for dinner: International Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden: This [...] » Read more..

If you eat food, then this movie is for you. . .at least if you are like most of us, and the bulk of your of your diet comes from the supermarket.   Then, it’s important to understand what happens  to that food before it gets to you.  If you are concerned about why there [...] » Read more..

Friends will sometimes ask me how I accrue this random knowledge of interesting events and places about town.  Besides the fact that I’m a speed reader and can skim a lot of information from a quick flip of the blogs, I have some sources. If I’m in a pinch for what to do on the weekend, [...] » Read more..

This Sunday, master storyteller and cook, Liliane Nerette Louis demonstrates how to cook traditional Haitian dishes at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.  She will also talk about Haitian food ways.  Ms. Louis won a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 2006 for her storytelling.  Good food and good stories is what it’s all about, isn’t [...] » Read more..

This is the first of a series of cooking competitions designed to showcase the regional culinary traditions of Italy.  Chefs from local Italian restaurants will be pitted against each other throughout the summer.  The first event is “Liguria vs. Umbria” Chef Ivo Mazzon from Joey’s Italian Café will cook for Liguria.  He will prepare omelette with [...] » Read more..

I was invited by Slow Food Miami Chair Donna Reno to attend their last dinner of the season in late April at the Sagamore Hotel.  This dinner benefited the Slow Food Miami School Gardens Program, as well as UNICEF Darfur in Action. The event started with a reception and presentation by Hunter Reno, Slow Food Board [...] » Read more..