Food Photo Take One

So this is a picture of some cannolli's that I made for Norah Jones when she was in town a few months ago for her tour...

Chocolate Orange Pistachio cannolli's to be exact.

It's certainly not the most recent of things that I have done, but more just a test to see if I can actually get pictures on the blog like I want them.

Stay tuned!
Sweets!

Melissa

Sometimes It's Just Not Fair...

My boss at BDP told me about this story this morning at work as I was reading the Food section of Wednesdays Chicago SunTimes.  I nearly lost it, and I don't even know Grant nor have I ever eaten at his restaurant.  However, I'm familiar enough with his career to feel simpathetic and genuinely frustrated for someone who is so obviously talented.  I hope that this is not the first and last that we here of his fight, and there will be more to come from me about his progess. 

Sweets!

Melissa

Renowned local chef has 'advanced' cancer at 33

ALINEA | Plans aggressive treatment soon

July 24, 2007

BY JANET RAUSA FULLER Staff Reporter/jfuller@suntimes.com

Chicago chef Grant Achatz, whose restaurant, Alinea, has been hailed as the best in the United States, has been diagnosed with cancer.

Achatz, 33, released a statement Monday through his publicist saying he was recently diagnosed with an "advanced stage" of squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth -- a type of head and neck cancer.

In the past week, he has been consulting with doctors in New York and Chicago. He "will likely begin aggressive treatment within the next few weeks," the statement read.

Chef Grant Achatz at Alinea on Halsted.
(Jim Frost/Sun-Times)

Since opening in May of 2005, Alinea, at 1723 N. Halsted, has been drawing foodies from around the world curious about Achatz's so-called hypermodern cuisine. Eating your way through an Alinea tasting menu -- 12 courses for $135, or the 24-course, $195 "tour" -- is a several hourslong process.

Last year, Gourmet magazine named Alinea the nation's best restaurant.

Head and neck cancer is rare, accounting for less than 10 percent of all cancers diagnosed annually, said Dr. Mark Agulnik, a Northwestern Memorial Hospital oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer.

More unusual, Agulnik says, is "to see a patient this age with advanced head and neck cancer."

If the cancer does not spread beyond the head and neck region -- and typically with younger patients, it does not -- it's curable, Agulnik said.

Treatment involves chemotherapy and radiation therapy, sometimes combined with surgery.

Achatz's publicist, Jenn Galdes, was unable to say whether the cancer had spread.

"We're waiting on that information now," she said.

In his statement, Achatz said he will be "actively and optimistically engaged in operations at Alinea to the largest extent possible."

Day One

So, here we are - or, rather - here I am.

Venturing into the world of blogging can be an interesting if not terrifying experience.  For someone like me with very limited techie skills it could very well turn out to be a humorous lesson on spending too much time in front of the computer.

But this blog is not about my lame HTML skills.

It's about food.  My food mostly, what's going on in the food world around me, who I'm catering for this week through my awesome company Big Delicious Planet; and basically my general insights into this business that we call food.

If you're looking for catering, the Planet is the one to call and you can find us at www.bigdeliciousplanet.com where there are lots of stories, photos and another blog of our own called Sugarbuzz.

Check it out, and stay tuned here.  There's some crazy stuff going on in the world of food - and I can't wait to talk all about it.

Sweets!
Melissa