the gourmet institute

A little bird in the culinary PR world gave me the heads up about this Gourmet Institute weekend-long event and I assure you, I've been hounding the poor kid ever since. This has yours truly written ALL OVER IT. First off, as you all know, Ruth Reichl is my hero. My inspriation. My idol. Clearly, I could go on and on. Second of all, Gourmet is my jam. Not only for fool proof and always impressive recipes but for food photography so intense yet simplistic, it's frameworthy. I tear out recipes and photographs from every issue as a reminder of how to do food right. THEN, you add in folks like Dan Barber, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Psilakis, Marcus Samuelsson, and Jean-Georges Vongreitchen (among many, many others) giving seminars, demonstrations, tastings, and cooking classes and I'm not even kidding you, I'm having a full blown panic attack. Hives are happening.

Kiira. Must. Attend.

This is the epitome of the ultimate culinary experience. Unplugged.

Give me a second to collect myself.

Ahem. Alright, so this epic event is going down October 23-25 and a "Special Weekend Package" is going for $825. Here's where you all are going to come into play. Donate. Now.

All jokes aside, a number of restaurants are participating and offering dinner specials which makes this all a little bit more accessible. But, for the time being? Some sort of fundraiser will be in the works combined with nightly prayers. All hail.

ruth reichl's new york diet

One of the many, many things I love about Grub Street, are their weekly New York Diets. They follow one person (typically a New Yorker) for a week straight and have them document everything they ate during that week. And who's up this week? None other than my girl Ruth Reichl. I cannot believe they haven't followed her before as it's one of the best most food-packed weeks I've ever come across. This woman can eat. And boy do I worship her for it. Read through it. From sucking lobsters dry to the best fried chicken she's ever had in her entire life to whipping up spaghetti carbonara for one after a long flight home, I think you'll find it entertaining and salivating to say the least.