Charleston Report - Day 3

I call this picture, "MR and MU."

That would be Michael Ruhlman and Martha Ulfelder.

Yes, other things happened today. But I started with the best. We were fortunate to have writer, chef and cookbook author Michael Ruhlman at our Symposium as the keynote speaker today. I'm a big fan of his books, having read The Soul of a Chef and The Reach of a Chef. He spoke with us about his experiences, but got very passionate about the state of food today. He urged us to get back to a solar-based food system rather than the petroleum-based system we've come to rely upon, and he feels it's up to us to educate ourselves and as well as our customers. "Why are people so quick to accept mediocrity?" he asked.

Chef Theo of PCN asked Ruhlman, "What is the one food trend you'd like to see go away?" Ruhlman said, "Foam." If they'd asked me, I would have said, "100-calorie packs." But that's a whole 'nother post.

There were so many highlights of today (Roundtable with USPCA owner Gail Kenagy! Commercial Kitchen Operations! Working with a Dietician! Working with the Press! When PCs Hire Other PCs!), and I have lots of other mediocre BlackBerry pictures to post, including one from my dinner last night. However, duty calls. We're leaving for our last dinner out in Charleston any minute.