On Today's Show: CRNtalk.com
Executive Chef Dakota Weiss - Hotel Shangri La Santa Monica, CA
“I make food that makes you feel at ease,” Says Hotel Shangri-La Executive Chef Dakota Weiss, “not comfort food exactly, but every dish I make is approachable, fresh, and with a twist – but never pretentious.” Trained in the traditional French technique, Dakota is among a handful of sought-after Executive Chefs who don’t use gimmicks like chemicals or foams to create inspired, market-fresh cuisine that satisfies, but never mystifies.A native of the American Southwest, Dakota graduated from the American Culinary Institute and began her career at the Coyote Café, a virtual American institution, and the birthplace of Southwest cuisine. “I was so inspired by the Chef de Cuisine at Coyote Café,” She says, “We used only local, organic ingredients, and paired them perfectly. It was an amazing learning experience.” Dakota went on to become the first female sous chef at Coyote Café.She was quickly snapped up by the venerable Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas where her career in hospitality cuisine began. Successful stints at Ritz Carlton properties around the world—including Shanghai—informed and expanded her menus. After being recruited to the West Coast by the Sunset Tower Hotel, where she was the Executive Chef, Hotel Shangri- La offered her the prestigious post heading its seaside kitchen.Dakota’s menu for the Shangri-La dining room is a synthesis of her successful kitchens around the world: sophisticated but simple, social dining that emphasizes local, organic food served in decidedly new ways. Dishes on her new Hotel Shangri La menu include Wild Salmon on a bed of leaks, Lamb loin with rattatioulle with a parmesian crust and a desert menu that includes strawberry shortcake and a twist on the traditional donut with an orange glaze that is not to be missed.
Hugh Garvey Features Editor "Bon Appétit"
Hugh Garvey is the Features Editor at Bon Appétit, and has written about food, culture, and lifestyle for publications including Cookie, Wired, GQ, Travel and Leisure, and T: the New York Times Style Magazine, among others. At the Village Voice, Garvey created and wrote the paper's first cocktail column, "Liquid City." He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children, 8-year-old Violet and 5-year-old Desmond, both of whom have happily eaten Stilton cheese, grilled octopus, and black bear ham -- and asked for seconds.
Dedicated foodies Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans saw no reason to abandon adventurous eating once they had kids. Between them, they and their wives now have four children under five-all of whom eat “adult” fare and gladly try new foods. In this lively full-color cookbook, Garvey and Yeomans share their strategies for raising fearless, unfussy eaters. They don’t try to hide their vegetables or trick kids into eating healthy food. Instead, they show how to broaden kids’ tastes—and put together simple but sophisticated meals that the whole family will love. "The Gastrokid Cookbook: Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast-Food World" by Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans
Lee Woodruff - author & Columnist
Lee is author and wife of ABC correspondent Bob Woodruff who nearly lost his life in Iraq..she has info on Family Travel Survey..folks are now looking at plans for T-day & Christmas. My first book In an Instant was co-authored with my husband Bob, the ABC News Anchor who was critically injured in Iraq in 2006. No one was more surprised than we were when it hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for four weeks. We were proud that the book helped to put a face on the serious issue of traumatic brain injury among returning Iraq war veterans, as well as the millions of Americans who live with this often invisible, but life-changing affliction. In the end, people tell me it is a love story; a story about a family, a marriage and a journey to heal. Following Bob’s injury and miraculous recovery, we founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Remind.org to assist wounded servicemen and their families receive the long-term care that they need and help them successfully reintegrate into their communities. We both continue to speak and raise awareness about the plight of our returning veterans. "I've discovered that rather than forgoing a vacation this year, many people are taking shorter trips or hitting the road for a family car trip. There are particularly good values available on hotels right now, so creating family vacation memories does not have to be expensive. There's a lot you can do on a smaller budget," said Lee Woodruff, author, travel expert and mother of four. "If you're thinking about taking a road trip with your family this summer or fall, one of my favorite new travel tools is Expedia.com's Drive Getaway tool (www.expedia.com/drivegetaway). It gives you ideas for quick getaways from your home on a single tank of gas or less, and it's a great way to find ideas for fun, family-oriented places close to home. "While the majority of Americans surveyed who have vacationed with their family (more than 50 percent) likes to take trips during the summer, planning a vacation for Labor Day or after is a good way to stretch your dollars. To help travelers take advantage of this opportunity to save money, Expedia.com has expanded its Biggest Hotel Sale Ever (www.expedia.com/summersale), making a Labor Day getaway even more affordable. The sale includes more than 6,000 hotels worldwide offering deals on reservations booked by August 31 for travel through September 7, 2009.
Expedia's Family Travel Survey revealed a number of additional insights about what's most important to Americans when they're planning a family vacation.
Family Vacation is Overdue. The average American who has taken a family vacation at some point in their lives admits it has been five years since they had a truly great trip with their loved ones. Nearly thirty percent say it has been this long or even longer. Kids Impact Choice of Destination. These days, nostalgia drives many American family vacations. Nearly two in three parents (64 percent) who have enjoyed family vacations in the past have taken their own families to a destination they visited as a child. More than three in five (61 percent) parents who have vacationed with their family make sure to select a destination that their children will enjoy as much as they will. And 28 percent focus just on what they think will make the kids happy. You Don't Have to Spend Months Planning. More than a quarter (27 percent) of Americans who have been on family vacations feel a spontaneous trip is more fun for their family than one planned well in advance of the vacation date. We Love Our Cars. Americans who've been on family vacations know there are many benefits of taking a trip by car. Nearly seven in ten (69 percent) appreciate that the family can make stops along the way, while just as many enjoy the great opportunity to see and experience interesting stops and road-side attractions en route to their destination. For ideas about fun trips you can take close to home, check out Expedia.com's Drive Getaway tool at www.expedia.com/drivegetaway. The Drive Getaway tool allows users to filter results for each starting city by offering three "trip length" choices: full tank (151-300 miles), half tank (76-150 miles) or quarter tank (0-75 miles). In addition to the recommendations, the tool also provides TripAdvisor(R) user-generated photos of destinations and attractions. The launch of the Drive Getaway Tool is just another way Expedia.com is putting the traveler first and making it easier for families to plan travel that will create lasting memories. * Among respondents who have been on a family vacation. About Expedia.com Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide personalized service.
Dottie Jordan Pres & CEO Virginia Peninsula C of C Newport News, VA
Newport News is an independent city in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It is at the south-western end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News Point on the harbor of Hampton Roads. The area known as Newport News was part of Warwick County, one of the eight original shires of Virginia formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I in 1634. The county was largely composed of farms and undeveloped land until almost 250 years later. In 1881, 15 years of explosive development began under the leadership of Collis P. Huntington, whose new Peninsula Extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway from Richmond opened up transportation along the Peninsula and provided a new pathway for the railroad to bring West Virginia bituminous coal to port for coastal shipping and worldwide export. With the new railroad came a terminal and coal piers where the colliers were loaded. Within a few years, Huntington and his associates also built a large shipyard.
The "Wine Guru" - Joel M. Fisher, PhD
the wine columnist for the Culinary Connection of the Chefs de Cuisine Association of California. He was a Contributing Editor of Patterson's Beverage Journal.