Dessert Matters

It isn’t often that you can get your wife’s permission to spend three-days with a dozen attractive, passionate women. And to do so, without the excuse of an old buddy’s bachelor party in Vegas is completely unheard of. But that is exactly what happened to me last weekend, when I joined Tori Richie’s Food Writing Class, courtesy of Tante Marie’s cooking school in San Francisco. Three days with a group of women passionate about food. How good was it? Well I missed a Forty-Niners game to attend the final session. You do the math.

If any of you guys are considering following in my footsteps, you ought to know a couple of things up front. First, when you break bread with a group of women over three days, don’t worry about dessert. Some one will always bring dessert. On the other hand, you likely will have to BYOM—bring your own meat. Maybe it’s that animal carcasses don’t fit neatly into their bags, or perhaps it’s the threat of blood drippings breaching a butcher paper barrier. But whatever the reason, if you want to eat meat, bring it yourself.

I did meet one classmate, who is planning an October trip to New York and already has reservations at—not Per Se, not Babbo, not le Bernadin—but Peter Luger, the venerable Brooklyn man-joint and steakhouse. I did not get to know her very well over only three days, but this one piece of data suggests that she might, in fact, be the perfect women.

Second, when women think “food”, the context of the meal is at least as important as the quality of the actual hydro-carbons they consume. So expect a great deal of conversation about candles, centerpieces, scents and other accrutements. The good news is they don’t seem to notice when you completely glaze over during these discussions.

The class itself was at once inspirational and cautionary. Writing for a living is hard work, and much of the reward comes from the act of writing itself, rather than the resulting fame and fortune. The people I met were “hungry” to become accomplished food writers, which was inspirational. Even more inspiring were the chocolate chip cake and lime macaroons these ladies brought for sharing. Tangy molten centers oozing fresh citrus oils. Did I just say that? I must be succumbing to their influence. Somebody bring me a pork chop!

Some gems from the weekend:

Tuesday Recipe www.tuesdayrecipe.com . Sign Up.

Bay Area Burger Blog http://bestburgersfbay.blogspot.com/