Four New Awards from San Diego Press Club

This year’s San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism (J-Awards) competition results were just announced and I received three awards for food writing. I earned the top award in the Magazine Food & Restaurant category for my piece for Edible San Diego on Chino Farms. And San Diego Foodstuff received second- and third-place honors for my posts respectively on dealing with diabetes and making dill pickles.

Additionally, San Diego Wine and Dine, which had a radio show I co-hosted, received First Place in the Integrated Media: Food & Restaurant category for our coverage of “Amaya: Easy Going Elegance at The Grand Del Mar.”

Check Out My L.A. Koreatown Piece in Sept. 2012 Sunset Magazine

I'm so tickled to announce that I have a big feature in this month's Sunset Magazine. The editors asked me to go up to Los Angeles and experience Koreatown's food with Chef Debbie Lee of Food Network Star. The result is a 10-page spread that includes a Korean food 101 and lots of gorgeous photos. Debbie was a superb guide through the complexities and joy of Korean food and I thoroughly enjoyed her very modern take on Korean food at her place, Ahn-Joo in Glendale. If you're in L.A., check it out -- and try some of the places we went in Koreatown!

Debbie in front of Elephant Snack Corner

Debbie in front of Elephant Snack Corner

A New Role: Board Member of Les Dames d'Escoffier International, San Diego Chapter

I've been a member of the San Diego chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier International for two years. This month I was elected to the chapter's board of directors and will serve as second vice president--in charge of PR and media. Julie Darling of Just Call Us Catering/Kitchen Rental/Volunteers has been elected to the board as well and will serve as third vice president, handling our chapter's programs. Chef Tricia McCormick is our third newly elected board member and will be secretary. We join President Marie Kelley, First VP/President Elect Candy Wallace, Treasurer Carol Blomstrom, and Past President Linda Bills. Already we have two events for the summer planned for our newly expanded membership and are looking forward to a year packed with education, fundraising, and networking.

Les Dames d’Escoffier is the only organization of its kind: a worldwide  philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of  food, fine beverage and hospitality. The LDEI-San Diego Chapter offers educational, networking, and just  plain delicious programs for professional culinary women, as well as  opportunities to mentor promising women who want careers in the food,  beverage and hospitality industries.We work to advance the significance  of foods and beverages in bridging cultural barriers. And, we create and  support ways to give back to San Diego, including providing culinary  scholarships to women and supporting the LDEI Green Tables initiative.

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A Fun Little Surprise on Gourmet.com

I'm part of the BlogHer network, which is collaborating with Gourmet Live. I was asked by them to suggest the best restaurant in San Diego to hold a party -- which would appear on gourmet.com. My write up is one of 10 around the country just published and now live on the site. Take a look to see what I recommended. And if you have any of your own suggestions, please leave a comment.

Road Trip

Road Trip

"Green Gold" Appears in August/September Issue of Saveur Magazine

I'm happy to say that my first story for Saveur Magazine has just been published. "Green Gold" is the featured "Source" piece and highlights the magnificent avocado oil produced in San Diego County by Cid da Silva under the name Bella Vado Avocado Oil. This has been a very long time coming and it's so gratifying to finally see it in print.

 

 

 

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Bragging Rights on Four Awards from the San Diego Press Club

Time for a little bragging! Last night was the San Diego Press Club's 37th Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards--or J-Awards. It was a great enough evening seeing a wonderful turnout, despite the rain, and having all the guests enjoy the bounty of 15 restaurants and four local purveyors that I recruited and organized. But, I also took home some awards: First and second place for stories I wrote for the now late SDNN ("The Delights of Air-Chilled Chicken" and "California Modern is Chez Trez"), first place for a magazine feature for Edible San Diego ("Catch of the Day: The Confounding Nature of Sustainable Seafood"), and first place for a post I wrote for San Diego Foodstuff ("Knight Salumi: The Best Cure for Meat").

It's truly a thrill to get a little recognition from my peers for work I love doing.