I love my life.
I mean, I love my wife. And my life. It's pretty cool. And so is she.
It's been a while since I posted..... since then, we've had 2 AWESOME vacations. I'll come back to it at some point, but the first of them was an 8-day Caribbean cruise, bookended by a couple of days in Miami on each end. Awesome.
But this last one..... wow.
If you are into food, watch Food Network (and/or Top Chef) a lot, and can afford it (no, it's not cheap)..... get thee to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic at some point. It's annual, and is in June, just about a perfect time to be in Aspen.
It was a semi-bucket list thing for me. I'd seen pictures, read some things about it. When I left Apple in January, I decided "this is the year we'll do it." Shelley..... well, she humored me. Indulged me. Whatever the word, she agreed to come with me, even though she and I have different passion for food and cooking.
Wow. It was fun.
At face value, the "Classic" is 2.5 days of seminars focusing on the best of food and drink (led by chefs and food/wine personalities you see on TV), and mass food and wine tastings under tents, set in the somewhat idyllic hamlet of Aspen.
But that's only the start. It's much, much more. Especially if you follow the food shows and love stargazing.... as I do.
It's getting on the plane, and realizing that you're sitting 2 rows behind an Iron Chef (José Garces), and next to a former runner-up on Top Chef (Mike Isabella). And they're just cool guys.
It's hanging out near the chefs' cocktail party the night before the Classic starts..... seeing tons of celebrity chefs, and then Chopped judge (and star chef in his own right) Scott Conant comes over for a selfie. Dang nice guy.
Scott Conant..... we've been Chopped.
It's getting up early the first "official" day of the Classic, and running a Charity 5k, organized by some of the chefs. And seeing Richard Blais (Top Chef, among others), Tim Love (Restaurant Start-up), and Marcus Samuelsson (various shows over the years) get out there with everybody else in their shorts and t-shirts. And then having Marcus be nice enough to pose for a picture, interrupting what he was doing. (And dang...... he finished 10th overall, out of over 300 runners.)
Marcus Samuelsson and Shelley
It's going to the first seminar, and seeing the legendary Jacques Pépin gleefully and impishly sabotage his daughter's plans for their demo. Or watching him happily sign books and chat with people throughout the weekend. (I shook the great man's hand.... an honor.)
Jacques Pépin, signing one of his books
It's crowding into a huge set of tents with several hundred (maybe a thousand or more) other folks, sampling wine, cheese, and bites prepared by Food & Wine's Best New Chef nominees. And some of those bites were great. (And some..... well..... weren't our thing.)
It's seeing the aforementioned Tim Love teach you simple techniques to make a great steak (use peanut or grapeseed oil..... salt from up high) - all while drinking wine straight from the bottle, and doing multiple tequila shots with audience members. Proudly showing the results of his work:
You can't see them, but the steaks Tim Love has here looked and tasted great. The taste lingers.
..... and then posing for pictures afterward.
Chef Tim Love with Shelley and Chuck
It's about seeing Richard Blais doing some off-the-wall stuff with sandwiches.... and a couple mornings later, not really minding when you stop him and ask for a picture. (Go Giants!)
Chuck and Richard Blais
It's about getting out of the elevator with somebody you kind of recognize.... and then the next morning, realizing that he's Ken Oringer, who's co-leading a seminar on paella with Boston cooking savant Jamie Bissonette, who you chatted with while getting coffee. And it's about sharing a running joke with Ken all weekend.
Ken Oringer and Shelley, sharing a laugh
It's sipping a Bloody Mary, and seeing recent Top Chef winner Kristen Kish just walking around town, incognito (more or less).
It's seeing Top Chef judges Gail Simmons and Hugh Acheson give a fun demo, similar to a Quickfire challenge (for those familiar with the show). And then, having wrapped up early, learning via audience Q&A the passion with which Hugh works, trying to help educate and provide better food options for his adopted country (the U.S.). Amidst a weekend of fun and somewhat frivolous entertainment, it was a beautiful, passionate, serious moment. I will follow that man from this point forward, and recommend that you do so as well.
It's a lot of standing and waiting. But sometimes that waiting is for an elevator. And then as you and 10 people wait for that door to open, it does - and current Top Chef Mei Lin steps out, and all 11 of you go instantaneously quiet. Respect for greatness.
And sometimes you're already in the elevator, and Carla Hall (The Chew) steps in. Tall cool one, that Carla. Very cool.
And finally, at the end, they have the Cook-Off, where Carla battles Andrew Zimmer (Bizarre Foods) in Top Chef-like cook-off.... with a couple of celebrities helping out. From the world of sports, John Salley (3-time NBA champion, and one of the nicest guys imaginable), and one of the top recording musical artists today, Pink. Was it a cook-off or a twist-off? It doesn't matter, it was damn fun. And at the end of it, they were all happy to pose for pictures.
Carla Hall, Dana Cowin (Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief), John Salley, Sissy Biggers, Pink, Andrew Zimmern..... and somebody I don't recognize
And then Aspen empties. Like, within the matter of a few hours, it goes from bustling and heads back to the off-season.
And looking back, you realize that everybody you met was amazing. Everybody you met, no matter how famous, was approachable. Everybody gave of themselves.
And you also realize that you probably only saw and met fewer than half of the amazing chefs and personalities that were there. You probably walked by the remarkable Eric Ripert half a dozen times without realizing it, simply because you're not that great at recognizing people. And they're just people..... not traveling with massive hordes of handlers or PR guys.
And finally, at the end of it, you realize how wonderful it is when your amazing "I can burn water" wife, who all the chefs remember more than they remember you, says she had a great time.
That makes it all worth it.
'Tis true.....