An attempt at gratuitous self promotion, at your benefit.
This is one of those things I probably should have given more thought before throwing it all out there on Twitter, but so be it.
I’ve decided to cook personally for the 500th person who email subscribes to this blog. Just type in your email addy and click the button under “Email Foodie Alerts,” minion. And just to keep the quick-starters motivated, I’ll also choose one randomly from the earlier numbers.
Also, as indicated on the Twitters, I’ll have to have control of the details. If you live in another state, well, you’ll have to settle for something I can ship to you. If you only eat raw unicorn spleens, then you may want to go elsewhere. And if you’re a stalker wanting to kill me and eat my flesh for the meal, please, don’t. I’m awfully bitter.
I will come to your reasonably nearby home, or a place of business, within the state of Arkansas. And I can cater to special needs such as allergies, gluten intolerance, and a kryptonite-like reaction to bananas. Believe me, I can relate.
So, join on, foodies. There are big things to come, currently in the works, and you want them in your inbox.
New Year’s Resolutions for 2012
I somehow feel morally obligated, as a blogger type, to write a new year’s post. Most likely, it’s just a way to force myself into completing a post in one sitting, as I’ve got about a dozen half-finished ones waiting in my drafts folder.
But, there is indeed some usefulness in the exercise. I’m about to finish my degree in culinary arts from Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, and the time is right to lay out some plans, or at least some intentions.
So here goes.
Resolution #1: Get friggin’ healthy, once and for all. Even after cutting out gluten and reaping the benefits in reduced muscle pain and fatigue, other stuff has cropped up. Last doctor visit, my thyroid and liver were out of whack, and I feel like total crap. New meds just have me feeling worse.
This week, I’m taking my bod hostage and it’s gonna listen. Healthy meal plans (including shopping lists and scheduled time to cook) and a little bit of exercise — I seriously have no capacity for more — start now. I’m going to study Chinese and Indian medicine, especially their use of food. And tomorrow, I’m calling the fabulous acupuncturist I used to see years ago, who can cut through all the rigamarole of Western medicine that has left me hanging.
All that being said:
Resolution #2: Talk less about my health. If I haven’t lost you already: Talking about one’s own health is boring, and it’s rude to those who have it worse. I think the reason I do it is just to let people know why I missed school/church/that lunch date/big event/whatever, or why I don’t commit myself to much these days. But I do plan to share stories with you about food and how it relates to health.
Resolution #3: Teach. I adore helping other people learn how to cook for themselves, whether that is here on the blog or in person. Over the past year or two, I’ve had the opportunity to teach groups of children, moms on a weekend retreat, and many individuals. I hope to add group lessons in my own home, and maybe eventually in my own facility.
I also want to get involved teaching in programs like Cooking Matters, which is just getting started in Arkansas. Turns out that two of my chef instructors at school are involved already. I don’t have the cred that they do, but I would love to get there.
Resolution #4: Learn. I still have two more classes at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School (American Regional Cuisine and, for fun, Cake Decorating), so obviously I’ll learn plenty there this year. But I plan to do my own schooling, too.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never worked in the foodservice industry, other than on my own. I still have stuff to learn from others. But rather than get a long-term job somewhere, I plan to “stage” (pronounced stahzj) several different places. I might even just take you along. Stay tuned for all that.
Resolution #5: Be open to opportunity, and be wise in choosing. As I’ve come closer to my graduation, I’ve had all kinds of plans in mind, mostly pretty elaborate, expensive ones. A few months back, though, I decided to hang back and see what comes up, mainly to commit to a great year with my son before he starts kindergarten.
This has been a good policy, because several things have come up. Now, I’ll just have to choose and balance them wisely, keeping both my family and you, dear foodie reader, in mind.
Help Food Bloggers Help the Arkansas Rice Depot!
Wowsa. I just sent a big ol’ fundraising email to a zillion people, and then couldn’t figure out why it didn’t appear in my “sent” folder.
Turns out I sent it from my school account. Hope they don’t mind! :X (Hooray for Pulaski Tech?)
Anyway, I’m copying my email for you to read here, so you can give. Yes, that’s your call to action, in marketing-speak.
Give.Some.Money. Well, if you can. Even if it’s just a buck.
Can you tell I’m really tired? I may not be at school tomorrow. I’ll either be crashed in my bed, or I’ll be kicked out for using state IT equipment for fundraising purposes. Every day, a new, exciting challenge.
The email.
_________________________________
Food Bloggers Helping the Arkansas Rice Depot – a personal appeal from Christie
Hi, friends, foodie and otherwise!
I’m usually one who rails against spam, so forgive me and allow me just one interruption into your mailbox.
You’ve probably heard of Arkansas Rice Depot, but maybe you only have a vague idea of what it does. This organization, started in 1982 by a small group of Arkansans with their own money, sought out to mobilize the resources of our state (most notably at the time, rice) and organize ways to get it to hungry children, seniors and others in our state who need it.
Today, the organization focuses its efforts into four categories: Food for Families, Food for Children, Food for Seniors, and Disaster Relief. The Rice Depot feeds up to 14% of the state’s population. As you can imagine, these are monumental challenges in a tight economy, and they are supported in large part by donations.
This month, several of us food blogger types are asking for your help. Most of us have plenty to eat, and many of us even have the privilege of “playing with our food” by creating fine dishes. It’s time to give back.
If you can even give one dollar, please click this link and do so:
http://arrice.convio.net/ChristieIson
Thank you for your attention, and thanks for helping us food bloggers help our hungry neighbors!
-Christie Ison
@ARFoodie on Twitter
www.fancypantsfoodie.com
I Need to Go to IFBC.
Foodista (you know, the folks who published that cookbook that I’m in) is having a contest. Apparently, they’re giving away three tickets to the International Food Bloggers Conference, to be held next month in New Orleans.
See, the thing is, I’m dying to go. It was at this very conference two years ago that they concocted the idea for above mentioned cookbook. It’s also the absolute mecca for all things on the cutting edge of food, writing and media…all the things I’m into. I was going to write a drippy post about poor old me, I never get to go to stuff like this, pleeeease pick me.
But I decided to be a bit more real.
Here’s exactly why I need to go to IFBC.
- I’m a culinary student. Sure, I could say the conference would benefit my upcoming culinary career, which it undoubtedly would. But the real deal is, my session notes would be awesome suck-up fodder for discussion with my chef instructors. I mean, while the other hosers are picking their noses and forgetting their sanitation buckets, I’ll be chatting up video-based culinary instruction, sustainable eating and food science. Win.
. - I’m vain. Well, not really, but in certain circumstances, and definitely when it comes to my food. I feel like I have something to offer the world, and sessions about marketing my personal brand and recipe writing and development will help me spread the Fancy Pants Foodie bloggospel to the world. Oh, and Diane Jacob, the one linked above at recipe development, also wrote Will Write For Food, the textbook for the food writing class I took at culinary school. That’s bound to be good for something, if only a, “hey, they used your book in my class,” and she’ll be all, “that’s cool, be my friend.” Or not.
. - I’m a conference junkie. Back in my days as a public relations
gurupractitioner, I went to all kinds of conferences — tourism, advertising, design, writing. I love the way it makes my mind go crazy. I eventually started taking two notebooks: one for notes of what was said, and another for the brainstorms that inevitably followed. I plan for the same to happen on an epic foodie level at IFBC. Plus, at conferences, I meet a lot of folks that are smarter than me in different areas (I said I was kidding about the vain thing, right?). Foodie world domination partners unite! (Ooh, can we bring superhero costumes?)
. - I’m a mom and I need to get out of here. I really love my two adorable kids and super-hotness husband, but let’s face it, a sister needs a break. I really do have big plans for my blog and my cooking/teaching business when I’m done with culinary school, and I need some inspiration and time away to let it gel. Who can write a business plan while fetching the nth sippy cup of apple juice and trying to (finally) convince them that Lunchables are evil?
Christie Ison is a mid-life u-turn culinary student at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School in Little Rock, Arkansas and writer of the wildly (well, mildly) popular food blog, Fancy Pants Foodie. In former lives, she has practiced public relations, magical stay-at-home mom arts, and engendering world peace one fancy meal at a time.
She’s totally kidding about her fellow students being “hosers.” Mostly.
UPDATE (8-4-11): I WON! Their response was a bit later than expected, so I thought I didn’t win. But I did. So now to figure out how to get hotel and airfare scraped up. 
Alton Brown’s Twitter Troubles
Yet another update (and I’m seriously done with this story), September 5, 2011
With this update, I’m re-titling the post, from “Alton Brown’s Deleted Twitter Missive” (see below) to “Alton Brown’s Twitter Troubles.”
I’m shocked, really. He came back.
The other day, I saw a mention by @FoodNetwork that AB was back on the Twitters. Seems that he took a beating from was encouraged by his publicist, chef friends, fans and others, enough to convince him that social media wasn’t all that evil after all.
Here’s the explanatory post from his blog on AltonBrown.com:
Waffle, Anyone?
As some of you may remember, about a month ago I left Twitter to: sick, lowlife scumbags. Well, it turns out the sick, lowlife scumbag population on Twitter is actually rather low while the number of nice, normal (seemingly at least) folks is relatively high. This “normal majority” also seems quite adept at guessing email addresses because my various cyber boxes have been overrun ever since. I even received a note from an real live celebrity (confirmed!) sharing wit and wisdom regarding social media.
Well I’ve had enough nagging, gosh darn it. You win. My people have talked to Twitter’s people and as of today I’m back. This time though, things will be different. Although I’ll tweet as regularly as possible, I’m only going to answer questions twice a week. On Tuesday and Friday mornings, I will answer the first 10 questions I see as long as they’re suitable for public consumption. Other than that I’ll attempt to limit myself to culinary and cultural matters.
So, once more unto the Twitter breach…
But, rest assured…I’m loaded for troll.
Update August 3, 2011
I’m honestly quite tired of this story and only updating it because of the massive amount of traffic I’m getting from folks looking for an update.
Yesterday, AB got the mother of all stalker tweets from someone apparently pretending to be his wife, DeAnna. Details are sketchy (and the tweet and account were deleted before I knew about it), but it reportedly included a photo of his wife and child, Zoey.
Later in the day, his account was gone. This time, apparently, for good. And I can’t say I blame him. (Note: A few friends seem to be having conversations with him, so it’s possible that the account has simply been moved to “private.”)
Enduring the public eye is one thing, and I think his Twitter fans (myself included) have scolded him for having a little too thin skin. But messing with the family, now that I can understand.
His final few tweets scolding said stalker:
Harsh.
Well, if we’re not gonna see him on the innertubes, we’ll see him on the regular tubes. The two final, one-hour special episodes of Good Eats remain, the first being “Right on Q,” to air on Food Network this Saturday, 7 p.m. Central.
Update, July 20, 2011
This story is wearing me out. All this drama, and AB is back on Twitter this morning explaining himself:
So, as disappointed as I was in AB last night, I’m happy with his humble return this morning. I believe he is a person of faith and may have had a little bit of conviction over the attitude he portrayed. In any case, kudos to him and to @creativedrunk for setting him straight.
July 19, 2011
OK. I write this post knowing I’m going to look like one of those psycho-stalkers that nearly ran Alton Brown off from Twitter in the first place. I’m not.
I am a big fan, but just in a normal, culinarily-interested sort of way.
Meanwhile, I am a writer, a former marketing/PR person, and a slightly-more-astute-than-average social media user. So.
If you read my earlier post about Mr. Brown’s appearance on the Twitters, you’d know how strange it was, because he swore NEVER to show face (er, puppet?) there. Since then, he’s had several fits and fights, first with said psycho-stalkers (the blocking/unblocking wars), and later with those griping about his tweet-deletion policy.
The final straw, however, was a sole Twitter user, with nary but a handful of followers, called @GoodRetweets.
Someone started this account to retweet AB’s tweets for those of us who don’t happen to stalk his feed, so when he deleted them (at the last, every 12 hours), we could learn a little something about butter or BBQ.
Apparently, this wasn’t good tweets.
AB wrote this ranty missive on his newly-updated website, and (surprise) later deleted it. My guess is that his publicist yanked his chain pretty hard. Funny thing is, just like all those tweets, the Internet remembers. (Thanks to @aboutlittlerock and @tsudo for help in digging this up.)
(Cached from www.altonbrown.com)
A reliable cyber-home of my own.
Tuesday 2118Z
A couple of months ago, I decided I’d try Twitter. I figured, what do I have to lose.
Things went okay for a while. Sure there were some “stalkers” and there were way too many questions to answer but we managed to use it to put together a fun little flash-signing in NYC and I liked posting pictures of ingredients from Kitchen Stadium.
But it didn’t last.
See, the problem was I wanted to be able to delete my “tweets” after they’d been up a suitable length of time, in my estimation…12 hours. A couple of followers griped but no big deal, it was (is) my tweet and I’ll run it as I see fit. Then, just this afternoon someone out there, either a follower or Twitter or some alien power decided to repost my tweets…all of them. Something about that really got (gets) my goat and so I have decided to withdraw into the only on-line space it seems I can actually control…here in the Notebook section of altonbrown.com. It’s nice actually, plenty of space and I can easily post photos and the like…like this:
So, if you’re interested, drop by from time to time. But don’t look for me on twitter…I’m just way too in to control.
AB out.
Alton Brown on Twitter?
Profile picture for @Alton_Brown (and later, @AltonBrown) on Twitter.
Note updates below.
Foodies on Twitter are all abuzz with the rumor that Alton Brown has joined the 140-character fray, appearing Thursday, May 5 with the handle @Alton_Brown.
His first day (as were many of ours on the Twitters) was a little clunky, with tweets ranging from self-reminders (“Remember to pick up foil tape”) to resignation that, with no followers yet, at least his agent will be “off [his] back.”
By Friday, as the mentions started appearing from his chef friends, he had nearly 7,000 followers and has started the flow of conversation with famous and fans alike.
What makes this so interesting is that Brown is famously insistent on not doing “fan stuff,” including social and digital media beyond his sparse website.
An article posted in October of 2009 at Austin 360 gives writer Addie Broyles’ account of innocently asking Brown about social media. He apparently all but spins his head at the mention of Twitter and Facebook, ranting about all the work he has to commission just to oust fakers claiming his persona.
A link appears to this article at a FoodNetworkFans.com thread titled “Why you’ll never see Alton Brown on Twitter or Facebook,” where others chime in with personal accounts of meeting Brown and hearing a similar disdain for online doings.
Brown is famously leery of overzealous fans, which may explain his caution in joining social media. He even not-so-subtly jabs at his most obsessed followers in the 2002 Good Eats episode, “This Spud’s For You, Too,” in which a crazed fan takes him hostage in her home.
If @Alton_Brown is indeed AB, his first interactions on Twitter were mainly with his Food Network and chef-world cohorts: Giada de Laurentiis, Michael Chiarello, and Food Network’s The Hungry Detective host Chris Cognac. Before his own show, Cognac had appeared on Brown’s Feasting on Asphalt series.
A tweet from Cognac:
Well, he would know, I guess.
Best wishes to AB on his first social media adventure. Here’s hoping he is able to capture all the marketing and educational possibilities Twitter has to offer, and stay sane doing so.
Update, May 8, 2011:
On Saturday, May 7, Brown made a surprising announcement: He would be deleting tweets. Daily.
The exact announcement, I can’t exactly produce, because I didn’t think to capture it before said promised deleting occurred. But, basically, it said he’d be deleting all his Twitter feed daily, because there was “too much stuff out there.” Or something.
Those of us who have been in the Twitter world a little while and respect its code of ethics have been a little shocked. A handful of followers have tried to give AB the heads up… it makes you look awfully strange, if not worse. Plus, if you reply to a follower (which, so far, he has been good about doing), they may never see your reply if you delete it first.
Here’s hoping he changes his mind. I often read backlogs of tweets when I haven’t had the chance to read someone’s feed for a few days.
Your thoughts? Would love to hear from tech/marketing/publicity folks on this one.
Update, May 10, 2011:
I swear, this will be the last I have to say on the matter, but the changes in this story fascinate me. I’ll end it here, lest look like one of the psycho-stalkers out there in the AB fan world.
Yesterday, @Alton_Brown disappeared. His amassed 9Kish followers were greatly confused, and new folks trying to follow were disappointed. Just as I was about to go off on above mentioned psycho-stalkers for scaring him off (OK, I did, on Twitter), I saw mentions from other foodies.
“Eeeeek! @AltonBrown is on Twitter!!!” And some such. Note the missing underscore.
At the new abode, AB (or whoever it really is, if not him) announced the ending of the Good Eats empire. After the next, new half-hour episode, there will be three one-hour specials, then, done. He promised new things in the future… “‘Good’ things.”
So, why would a well-loved food celebrity swear off social media, appear, use strange tactics like tweet deletion, switch handles altogether, then make a fairly major announcement?
Sigh. Probably just like all of us our first week on Twitter. Except, we’re not famous.
Branson Getaway — We Have a Winner!
Congrats to Carolee Emerson (@cemerson0646 on Twitter) on winning our Branson Getaway contest, celebrating the release of the new Foodista Best of Food Blogs book. She’ll get to pick her days for a fab getaway with the family (or without!) at the Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge.
I’ve never done a contest before, so I wanted to make sure I was completely fair. Many personal friends entered, and many new folks. I noticed another blogger friend using random.org, so I did the same. All you do is count your comments, excluding your own replies, and enter the number in the random number generator. Here’s what it said:
And comment #12, the final one, was Carolee.
Thanks to all who entered. It wasn’t many, but a good start for a first fab contest! More to come soon on behind-the-scenes at an upscale dinner event at Pulaski Tech.
I’m Published! (Plus a Branson Getaway contest)
As I mentioned earlier, I (somehow) won Foodista.com’s Best of Food Blogs contest and was selected to appear in a book of their favorite 100 blogger recipes. It was a crowd-sourced publishing experiment in merging the two things we foodies love best: blogs and printed cookbooks.
The book, Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices, published today! I haven’t received my hard copy yet, but from the images and photos on Amazon, it looks fabulous. I had thought my photo was on the cover, but that was just Foodista’s promotional poster. No matter, it’s gorgeous and brilliant (I read some with Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature) and I’m SPAZZING OUT I’M SO EXCITED!!!
Ahem.
So, how abouts you pick up a copy at the link above? (Click the book cover image.) From what I’ve read, it has lots and lots of inspiring recipes, not to mention the snazzy writing of 99 of my fellow food bloggers.
And me. I’m on pages 174-175.
Hows about this…a contest! I’m offering a two-night stay at the Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Missouri. Facilities and dates will be worked out upon awarding the prize, based upon availability. I will randomly choose one winner from those who spread the word (and use this link) via Facebook or Twitter. Just let me know in the comments below that you did it! (If you tweet, please cc me using @ARFoodie, too.)
I’m giving you one week, so your deadline is next Tuesday, October 26 at noon, Central time.
UPDATE: Just to be clear, travel is on your own.
The link, in case you have trouble copying: http://bit.ly/bLC9Nx
Good luck!
So Sushi, I Was Wrong (about Lewis Curtis on Hell’s Kitchen)
Image from Lewis Curtis' Hell's Kitchen Facebook page.
SPOILER ALERT…If you’ve DVR’d last night’s premiere of Hell’s Kitchen and haven’t watched it yet, don’t read this!
In an earlier post about the Wildwood Park Wine and Food Festival, I talked about meeting Lewis Curtis, executive chef at Lulav. Curtis appeared in last night’s premiere two-fer of Hell’s Kitchen…at least until he was axed in a surprise move by Chef Gordon Ramsay in the last moments of the second-hour episode.
At Wildwood, I described Curtis as “delightfully punkish, the one you’ll ‘love to hate’ in the show.” I was wrong. And possibly, in my opinion, it was his lack of ratings-drawing “punk” that got him cut.
Lulav Executive Chef Lewis Curtis (right) watches Wednesday's Iron Chef competition with sous chef J. Matt Lile (left).
Curtis came across as genuine and heartfelt, showing great emotion in the one-on-one interview after his dismissal. He also sounded much more country-fried on the show than he does in person, and I’ve spoken with him twice in the past week. Maybe, just as the television camera sometimes adds 20 pounds, for others it adds a few degrees south of the Mason-Dixon line.
The show’s second hour featured a sushi challenge, starting with a demo from none other than (!) Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Curtis never seemed to get the hang of sushi, failing the challenge gloriously. So, of course, Ramsay places Curtis in charge of sushi for the men’s team during dinner service.
Would this happen in a real restaurant? Possibly in a teaching kitchen, or on a slow night when the chef wants a cook to learn a new skill. But Curtis was set up for disaster, which was apparent when, two hours into service, he still hadn’t produced a saleable plate of sushi.
At the end of the show, three other cooks stood before Ramsay for his decision on who would go home: moronic, bumbling Raj; talented, headstrong Boris; and charming, overconfident Vinny. Ramsay took a deep breath and plucked Curtis from the waiting group, sending him home instead for holding up dinner.
As a budding culinarian, I can’t fault the guy. We all have styles in which we’re comfortable, and Asian (at least sushi), obviously, just isn’t his. I’m sad that we won’t see his other talents on the screen. So I guess you’ll have to just go to Lulav and try the food.
And it’s a winner…Spicy Pumpkin Carrot Muffins!
Look, my photo is #4 on the top row!
If you happened to be reading Fancy Pants Foodie about a year ago, you may have seen (or even tasted) my inventioneered fall recipe, Spicy Pumpkin Carrot Muffins. It was an experiment gone, well, right.
Apparently, the folks at Foodista.com agree. The recipe was among 100 winners of their Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest and will be published in a cookbook on October 19.
From the announcement at Foodista:
Foodista and Andrews McMeel Publishing are thrilled to announce the winners of The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest! From December 1, 2009 through February 28, 2010, Food bloggers worldwide were invited to submit their favorite blog posts, recipes, and photos to compete for a spot in a published cookbook. After receiving over 1,500 submissions, which were then voted on by the Foodista community, the selection process shifted into a more traditional editorial effort (informed by community votes), to choose and edit the final 100 entries.
Andrews McMeel will publish the winning blog posts and recipes in a beautiful, full-color, internationally distributed cookbook, set for release on October 19, 2010. Born out of the “Blog to Book” panel at the first International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) in 2009, the cookbook celebrates the best food bloggers worldwide.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated!
[Pre-order your copy of the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook by clicking here]
I am SO excited!!! I know there are a lot of awesome, experienced food bloggers out there, with recipes better than mine…so I’m very blessed to have a recipe chosen for this book. Hope you’ll pick one up so we can do a silly happy dance together.
Or at least cook some cool stuff.
