Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Dames of Meat


This is a picture of me (on the right, the one who needs to have her roots done) and Cathy from Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen (the sassy redhead, whose hands smell like pancetta) and we are deliriously happy to tell you that we are in The Washington Post Food section today. Check it out.

We are so blessed and completely blown away that Charcutepalooza has gotten so much attention from people wanting to participate and cure meats at home, sponsors willing to give away products and discounts and trips to France, and the press finding us interesting enough to write about.

A special thanks to Bonnie Benwick, deputy food editor at the Post, who totally looks like Sally Field and when I was terrified and mumbling incoherent responses to all her thoughtful questions, I pretended I was just hanging out with Sally around a kitchen table, eating pasta. I felt better.


Bonnie would probably never say this, but I completely butchered a phone interview with her prior to meeting her at Cathy's house in DC last week. She asked a perfectly insightful question about Twitter and what a powerful medium it was and I said something like, "Blogs posts tend to be very composed. You can hit the delete button, but people are who they are on Twitter. Some people have amazing blogs with great recipes, well-written stories, beautiful photos, but on twitter they grumble and complain and really expose their real selves."

I was just talking. Out of my ass.

Then Bonnie said, "Well, who? Can you give me some examples?"

That's when my tongue swelled up.

"You mean like on the record?. Like naming names?...Um, uh...um..."

It went on like this. Very sad. If this had been a live interview on Good Morning America, I would've been a YouTube sensation by lunch.

But really, Bonnie's article is fantastic because she said something about Charcutepalooza that neither Cathy nor I even considered - that this is "already a prime example of new culinary education where pros don't lead the pack, newbies aren't afraid to join in, and no classroom time is required."

She nailed it. Charcutepalooza is an intimate and immediate way to learn to cook something. Old school techniques in the most cutting edge of classrooms. It's about where we are going, not where we were. How amazing is that? I told you Bonnie is good.

For those of you still not convinced that you should join us, I urge you to learn about our end of the year grand prize, our monthly prizes, our incredible sponsors and the panel of esteemed judges If you want to join us for some titilating chat on Twitter, pull up the hashtag #Charcutepalooza. Something is always happening there.

And at the end of the day, it's not really about the prizes anyway. Whether or not you win the trip to Gascony, if you do the challenges, you'll have at least learned to do some incredible things by the end of the year. Things that will make you feel great, maybe even invincible, and it will not have happened in classroom, but in your own kitchen, with your own hands. That's pretty cool.

Thanks for being here.

xo YM


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16 comments:

merry jennifer said...

Love it! It was so exciting to read the article. I'm so proud of both of you! And Kim, what you said about twitter is TOTALLY true. :)

Mardi Michels said...

So proud of you and proud to call you my (yet to meet in real life) friends :-)

LOL because I was grumbling on Twitter this morning about being away for 6 weeks and not sure what I will have access to over the summer for the Charcutepalooza projects. Cos you know, that prize is pretty amazing... Hope you weren't referring to me ;-)

Paula said...

The little home-grown idea that has taken on a life of its own and with good reason! Congratulations to you and Cathy for *leading the pack* on Charcutepalooza.

Bonnie is right about her observations of this undertaking. In my opinion, had *pros* come up with the idea you and Cathy did, the very essence and objective of the project would have been quickly lost amidst the who's who.

Much continued success to all the Charcutepaloozers!

K said...

Kim, I love how honest you are about this madness. one minute we are lurking at what others are writing thinking "drivel, DRIVEL!" and the next we are driveling away quite happily in good company. The sense of a viable food community committed to a better future can only be enhanced by what you and Cathy are curating with "Cahrcutepalooza". Un Grand Merci from Gascony.

Janis said...

You know my blog is so not polished or glitzy. As a matter of fact my photos suck. Having said that I have to say that joining this group has made me really not care about any of that. For the first time in a long time I am excited to be learning from such an amazing group of people. I love this group. So, I may not get to gascony but by the end of all this I will wow my friends, have a tattoo of a mutton and butcher my own pig. How does it get better than that?

Margie said...

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Perhaps I'll join during some part of the year but, in the meantime, I am enjoying reading the stories of this spectacular movement.

Lynn said...

The thanks go to you and Cathy for making this all happen! Congratulations!
It's going to be a great ride.

Winnie said...

It's a fantastic article and Bonnie did nail it with that line. So perfect. So happy to be a part of it all and to know you two :)
ps what you said about twitter is so right on...and that is why I do love it so

Unknown said...

I open up my WashPo & who do I see? Two cool women who are rockin' the food world!

Natalie Sztern said...

You girls deserve every bit of the attention and praise you are getting. You have created a phenomenon that has opened a whole new world for a lot of people; myself included who would never have ever considered home curing...I hope I continue to have the guts to do more and more.

Natalie Sztern said...

Yum, can u provide a 'comment feed' for answers to questions by yourself or other readers?

Steph said...

I'm so inspired to be participating in Charcutepalooza...so I've sent a Stylish Blogger Award your way via my blog. Congrats and thanks for the inspiration!

christine said...

Awesome! So amazing :)

MrsWheelbarrow said...

You didn't even mention the Laundry Issue. Or the Peas. Or the Greyhound. There are so many stories....

Anne Stesney said...

Ah. Maze. Ing. You are doing it, Kim! I'm so happy that you started such an amazing event. I will jump in! I swear I will!

SteamyKitchen said...

Congrats, my friend!!