Celebrity chefs and real chefs

A little more than 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to meet renowned chef Wolfgang Puck. My family and I were on our final family vacation before the nest emptied as our girls flew away — our one and only vacation to Disney World. As we ate dinner one evening at Wolfgang Puck's Disney World Cafe, the celebrity chef himself thrilled diners with an appearance. He patiently obliged and posed for photos.

 

Wolfgang Puck was the only real chef — one whose career and lifeblood is the culinary arts — I'd ever met. Until BlogHer.

At BlogHer, I had the opportunity via the Lean Cuisine Honestly Good luncheon to meet six chefs — the six real live chefs who come up with tasty entrees and more for Lean Cuisine. These four men and two women are true culinary artists who not only own restaurants of their own, they put their heads and talents together in passionate ways I'd never realized were part of the process in creating the meals we all so often pull from our freezer and pop in the microwave, never thinking twice about what goes into their making.

I now know what goes into their making, thanks to the "Culinary Journey" led by Chef Lucien Vendôme for the 50 or so hungry bloggers invited to attend the private Lean Cuisine luncheon. Though I'm unfortunately unable to share with you the tastes of the day — and they were quite tasty! — I'd like to share my photos of our journey behind the scenes of Lean Cuisine.

Chef Lucien — leader of the culinary team assembled for Lean Cuisine — kicked things off by describing what we would experience and learn:

Then the experiencing and learning — and eating — began.

We sampled the flavors that go into the new Honestly Good line of Lean Cuisine meals, starting with the sweet and fruity flavors...

 

Followed by the sauces...

 

And the grains that go into the Lean Cuisine goods...

 

Then we devoured tasted two complete entrees from Lean Cuisine's Honestly Good line — followed by a luscious chocolate dessert made from, get this, black beans...

 

We also met the chefs who worked behind the scenes to prepare our feast for the day.

 

And throughout the sampling and eating we met the chefs I mentioned above, the masters who work day in and day out to create the Lean Cuisine line. We were treated to their stories as well as photos of what inspires them.

 

The Lean Cuisine culinary journey inspired me to never again take a pre-packaged meal from the freezer without considering those who created the meal, the inspiration and passion they put into making fresh and flavorful easy-to-prepare meals for the rest of us.

It also inspired me to share this journey with you — which was not a requirement of my attendance at the luncheon. Sure, I could have live tweeted the event, but aren't all these photos so much better than a tweet?

Today's question:

What's your favorite frozen meal or microwave food?

10 non-blogging things I learned at BlogHer '13

BlogHer '13 offered multiple and myriad sessions for gleaning new tips and tricks for the business of posting and publishing. I learned much beyond nitty gritty techniques to add to my blogging toolbox, though, things such as the following.

10 NON-BLOGGING THINGS I LEARNED AT BLOGHER '13

1. Don't be afraid to look foolish. BlogHer sponsors offer plenty of opportunities to look like a fool. I say "Do it!" Once you've donned fisherman gear or kicked back on a mattress in the center of a crowded conference hall, there's nothing else to fear others might see you do.

(One caveat: With all the free booze flowing, you don't want to look foolish and passed out in the hotel lobby for all to see. Pacing yourself — or abstaining — is key.)

2. The coolest swag comes from unexpected places. Brands offer more than ways to look foolish. They hand out piles and piles of goodies (so much so that yes, the second suitcase is a necessity for the trip home). While the big brands hand out must-have items, I found my favorite to be from a pest control company. Yes, you read that right. Pest-control company Rescue! gave out mini kaleidoscopes. I love kaleidoscopes. Kaleidoscopes are cool.

3. Brands are becoming more receptive to the baby boomer demographic. Speaking of brands, I was impressed by the number of brands who seemed sincerely excited about partnering with me — a baby boomer, empty-nester, grandma blogger. The most enthusiastic responses came from Manilla.com, FoodSaver, Bernina (at a non-BlogHer event), Serta, Chuck E. Cheese's, Cosmo Camp (also at a non-BlogHer event) and the reps for the National Restaurant Association's Kids Live Well program, to name just a few.

4. Lean Cuisine rocks frozen meals in unexpected ways. Still speaking of brands, I was invited to a luncheon sponsored by Lean Cuisine in celebration and promotion of their new line, Honestly Good. All I can say is Wow! And Yum! I'll say more later in a longer post specifically about Lean Cuisine's incredible chefs (real chefs, restaurant-owning chefs!) and dedication to fresh and healthy ingredients. It was an impressive luncheon accompanied by an informative — and tasty — presentation.

 

5. Next time, arrive the day before the conference begins. I didn't do this, which meant I had no time to experience what Chicago — a city I've never been to before — has to offer. Which meant other than photos taken of the Chicago River from my hotel room, this is my only touristy shot:

6. The best sessions have little to do with blogging and brands. Time with friends provided the most memorable moments.

 

7. Don't be afraid to go it alone. I chose to arrive late to breakfast one day and was a bit anxious about taking the shuttle without my friends and arriving late to the conference hall by myself. Going it alone, though, turned out to be unexpectedly rewarding when my shuttle seat mate turned out to be among the most enjoyable of women I met all weekend. Karen Malone Wright and I talked all the way to the conference hall, and we shared a breakfast table. We then ran into one another again at a party the next night, where Karen proceeded to be forever in my favor thanks to her gushing about how much I looked like Andie McDowell in Groundhog Day. How could I not forever appreciate such flattery?

8. The BlogHer Voice of the Year signs cost more to ship home than it would to make your own. The late-night antics that led to that realization? Priceless and memorable — and unmentionable in a public forum.

9. I want to be Tracy Beckerman. With her syndicated column running in 400 weekly community newspapers and her book, Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir, climbing the charts, what freelance writer and blogger wouldn't want to be Tracy Beckerman? Alas, I settled for her session on syndicating your work — one of my favorite sessions of BlogHer '13, in which Tracy explained how to be just like her. Stayed tuned for my transformation.

10. Conferences — and life! — are so much better when enjoyed with friends. Especially when those friends are (left to right) Jane Gassner, Sandra Sallin, Cathy Chester, Connie McLeod, Ruth Curran, Lois Alter Mark, Helene Cohen Bludman and Janie Emaus, all of whom — along with every other #GenFab member I hugged while there — made my BlogHer '13 experience so much more delightful than I ever hoped it might be.

Today's question:

Which of the points above would you like to hear more about? (I just may write a separate post based on your interest.)