food writers

Last week I brought you part one of our chat with Gail Simmons. We learned about her history and background so this week we're going to learn more about her life, especially in regards to everyone's favorite cooking reality show, Top Chef.

Part one of our interview left off with Gail talking about Food & Wine magazine. She's currently the Special Projects Manager, which means she's responsible for various projects, including the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. The Classic is her number one priority, which is why, due to the filming schedule, Ted Allen appears on Top Chef as her replacement.

When Bravo approached Food & Wine about participating in their new food reality show, Project Runway had already been on the air for a while. It was the same production company, so they knew it would be handled well.

"When Bravo came to us and said they wanted to do this show, it was just such a perfect fit. Because we [Food & Wine] are about finding young talent, and that's exactly what Bravo's franchise of reality competition shows are about."

So even though they knew it would be done well, was she receptive towards being on reality tv?

"Not that I was unreceptive, it's just that I didn't know what would happen. Even before Top Chef I did a lot of television and media work for the magazine: The Today Show, CBS, etc. When I found out I was going to be on a reality show, I knew it would be done tastefully and told my mom, 'Don't worry, I won't be tied to a tree eating maggots in a bikini.'"

To hear more from Gail, including how she feels about being the "mean" judge, read more

A few weeks ago PartySugar and I were supposed to meet Top Chef's resident ice queen — yes, the one from Food & Wine magazine — only she never showed up. Instead we met the wonderfully sweet, surprisingly goofy Gail Simmons. So how does someone so nice get such a bad-a** reputation? Turns out it's all due to editing, but we'll get to that later.

We met Simmons, who was in town for a wine festival in Sonoma, at Boulettes Larder for a picturesque breakfast at the Ferry Building. And while she wouldn't divulge any Top Chef secrets — except to say that a lot of the blogs have been wrong, something that was obvious last week — she did offer up a few behind the scene tidbits, as well as the rundown of her career — and yes, she is perfectly qualified to be a judge.

If you've ever wanted to know more about this Top Chef judge, check out part one of our interview with her. And be sure to come back next week for part two! read more

Today would have marked the 99th birthday of prolific writer Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (most commonly known as M.F.K. Fisher). She was a prominent food critic and one of the great culinary writers of the 20th century. To commemorate her birthday I thought I'd share my favorite M.F.K. Fisher quote with you:

"It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others.

So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it; and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied; and it is all one." - M.F.K. Fisher, from The Art of Eating