Hope everyone had a lovely weekend and got to enjoy the fall weather as much as I did (if you live in climates that actually HAVE fall). As the leaves of the mountains change color and thousands of colorful trees flank the river, fall is the time of the year that the Hudson Valley shines. I was lucky enough to show it off to some pretty special visitors: my brother and his wife.
For their birthdays, we bought them a weekend at Buttermilk Falls Inn, a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Milton hidden among 75 acres of endless tress and ponds. City friends, if you’re looking for a getaway from all the hustle and bustle, this is your place! We ate some very delicious food, walked over the Hudson River and even got to show them some of our fave HV hot spots.
I don’t think we could have asked for a better day, and it was fun to show them around my new home.
But enough about my weekend. Let’s talk about Celebrity Cruises Healthy Living Panel at Rouge Tomate in NYC. As I mentioned on Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to this breakfast panel, moderated by editor-in-chief of Food and Wine magazine, Dana Cowin, where 4 brilliant minds in the culinary industry (including Food Network’s Chopped judge Marc Murphy) discussed healthy food trends.
Celebrity Cruises has partnered with SPE Certified to expand its healthy dining options with scientifically-grounded, third-party validation of their merits. More on this later.
Don’t let the word “panel” fool you into thinking that this event was boring. As we noshed on delectable cuisine prepared by Rouge Tomate, we listened to 30 minutes of lively discussion from everything to sustainable food preparation, to yes, how NOT to kill restaurant patrons.
Here are the top 5 things I learned from these culinary geniuses:
1. Killing Restaurant Patrons is Bad PR:
I hope you gathered from my headline that I was being dramatic, but in all seriousness, this has actually become a real concern for restaurant owners and chefs? Why? Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in food allergies amongst both adults and children. Chefs need only worry about “the Big 8” food allergens: cow’s milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts (for example, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and cashews), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. These foods account for 90% of food allergies and can cause life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Does anyone remember the Sex and the City scene where Carrie claims to be allergic to parsley to make sure it doesn’t end up in her sauce?
