Oysters...the ultimate aphrodisiac...
My story on young foodie couples is running on the cover of Thursday’s Hartford Courant Flavor section (and online now.) It’s a look at couples in their 20s and 30s who share a mutual interest in food, dining, cooking and wines.
The article concept was inspired by my friends Kat and Ben (pictured at left) who graciously agreed to be interviewed for this piece. In addition to cooking elaborate Sunday dinners, traveling the Connecticut Wine Trail and smoking their own meats, these two attended the Celebrity Chef Dinearound at last weekend’s Sun WineFest and finally met their chef idol, Bobby Flay. Color me super-jealous.
This picture was taken in Ogunquit last July, when the four of us ordered a dozen oysters for an appetizer, and then six more oysters for dessert. That’s how we roll…
Leeanne Griffin is a freelance writer and food enthusiast.
I have to share a great story about oysters. Talk about sexy food. My (now) wife and I operated a restaurant on Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands on the Barrier Reef in the late 80′s … yeah I know … do the math. Well living on an island isn’t that easy so any opportunity to do something extradordinary is snapped up. One of my mates on the island owned a light airplane and also had a friend around Sydney, who farmed Sydney Rock Oysters. Trader (his nick name) called and said he was flying 50 doz live oysters in, and asked if one of my chefs would shuck them for him. I agreed, but the tariff would be to share a few doz out on the deck (overlooking the harbour) and I would provide the Moet. What was supposed to be a couple of doz sampling with some French bubbles, ended up in 40 doz consumed between four of us and several bottles of the French bubbly…
Now the kicker is this… nine months later our first beautiful daughter was born .. and any way we did the math, it all pointed back to that lunch! What can I say….
Great story!
Not only do Kat and Ben seem fun, they are also good-looking
Your article came out really great, and I’m not just saying that because I was in it! I remember telling you about a news blip I read that said enrollment at culinary schools had been skyrocketing, sales of cookbooks at the major bookstores were some of their best selling items, etc., and I think it’s definitely due to the ‘Food Network culture’ that’s been expanding over the past 5-10 years. There’s food programming for everybody – whether you want something instructional, cultural, historical, competitive, or just fun and entertaining.
It’s a really fun hobby, one that makes me laugh when I think about what a fussy eater I was going up. And it’s more than just cooking – it’s trying new restaurants, the wine-tastings, the food festivals, the fun blogs and recipe sites. Most of the major chefs all have their own websites and are sur prisingly
accessible when it comes to questions.
Thanks again for thinking of us when it came time to write that story!
Oh and I thought Flay was pretty unengaging at the SunFest. I know the guy goes non-stop with his shows (I read they’re taping the Next Food Network Star now), he’s got another BBP opening in Philly, another book coming out, so I should probably cut him some slack but he said very little when people were trying to talk to him. A huge line formed at the end of the night for autographs and he signed about 3 or 4 then got whisked away without acknowledging the crowd. I thought a simple ‘I’m sorry guys, I’ve got another engagement, I’ll be at my restaurant later if you still want a picture’ would have acceptable. At least he signed my ancho.
Loved the article! Go Kat and Ben!