I am in the early stretch of a one-year, 30-country, tour of Europe. By the end of this journey— if I do my job correctly— I will have written two books, hundreds of blogs, and completed a few magazine assignments, while eating my way across the continent.   By the end of the year, I [...]

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”— Hamlet, act I, scene IV. Shakespeare’s Marcellus was wrong. I love this place. COPENHAGEN— Quick, tell me everything you know about Copenhagen, Denmark. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Yeah, me, too. If someone had asked me that question a few months ago, I could have told them that “Hamlet” [...]

I am about to embark on a yearlong journey to Europe. My wife, 14 year-old daughter, 10 year-old son, and I will travel to 30 countries over 12 months. I am writing two books, blogging for various newspapers, gathering recipes and culinary contacts, and writing this weekly column. The trip has been 30 months in [...]

This column is about to hit the road. On August 18th my wife, 14 year-old daughter, 10 year-old son, and I will hop on a jet in New Orleans that will eventually lead us to Istanbul, Turkey. One year later we will board a flight in Dublin, Ireland to return home. In between Istanbul and [...]

Author’s Note- Have a broom and dustpan nearby while reading this column. Names are about to drop all over the place. KANSAS CITY— I am in the heart of the Midwest eating a meal with the Zac Brown Band and 200 of their closest fans. I met Brown during a meal I served this summer [...]

Pop-up restaurants are hot these days. Chefs find underutilized spaces and open up temporary foodservice operations under minimalist conditions. Most have lines out the door for a few months and then they close shop under their own terms. Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Yountville is not a pop-up restaurant, though it did start out as [...]

A decade ago I wrote a column asking people to name the six people in all of history they would like to invite to dinner. I listed my six, and readers sent their dinner lists via email. I picked the most interesting guest grouping and posted it in a subsequent column. It’s a game I [...]

There is a huge difference between and all-vegetable lunch and a vegetarian lunch. I grew up eating all-vegetable lunches. In the summer, my mother and both grandmothers would devote, at least, one lunch a week to nothing but fresh vegetables and cornbread. I spent a year of my life one month eating a vegetarian diet. [...]

I am an easygoing guy. I rarely get mad. Though when I do, I usually choose the healthy path and internalize it. I’m also pretty good about minding my own business. If someone outside of my scope of friends and family wants to be an idiot, I have no problem letting them follow that chosen [...]

I love being a dad. It’s the best— and most important— job I’ll ever have. So far, there have been several monumental moments my 14-year career as a father. Certainly the day each of my children was born tops the list. There are first steps and first words, and all of the funny expressions and [...]