I've been having a lot of conversations lately about the farm-to-fork movement, especially now that it seems to have become the It Girl of the food world. While eating lunch in my backyard earlier today, a friend and I found ourselves discussing the topic once again. "Everybody's jumping on the bandwagon," he laughed. I smiled and replied, "Good." And it is. In my humble opinion, the more people come to appreciate the wonders of farm-fresh food, simply prepared, the better. Which brings me to the subject of this article: Japanese Farm Food, a cookbook written by California-born Nancy Singleton Hachisu, the featured author at next week's Tasty Books event here in Sacramento. The event pair

Sacramento's food renaissance continues with the launching of "Tasty Books," a new series of cookbook events produced by local food writer, cookbook author, and editor Ann Martin Rolke. Rolke was inspired to create the series when she realized there were very few events of this type in the Sacramento area. Says Rolke, “I wanted to organize events like those I love to attend in other cities – author talks, signings, tastings, and dinners.” Tasty Books will host quarterly meet-the-author dinners with Mulvaney's B&L, in addition to smaller talks and tastings throughout the Sacramento area. The inaugural event will be held on Wednesday, February 27. Cookbook author Cheryl Sternman Rule will

Adam Pechal has dreamt of landing a gig on the small screen for years. Not for his stage prowess though, but for his culinary artisanship. Chef Pechal – the head chef and owner of The Tuli Restaurant Group – is in it to win. He’ll make his debut on ABC’s new reality cooking show, “The Taste,” on Tuesday, Jan. 22. “I’ve been trying to get on a show for a few years with not much success,” said Pechal. “I have a casting director who’s always been in my corner and liked what I did. She gave me a call and told me there was a new show. I went and tried out and it stuck this time.” Pechal has been whipping up culinary delights in Sacramento since he started cooking at the age of 17. A graduate

For decades, following her screen debut on public television, culinary pioneer and beloved icon Julia Child opened up new worlds for generations of Americans, showing them that cooking, even French cuisine, was enjoyable and within reach for all. In celebration of what would have been her 100th birthday on August 15, 2012, PBS and KVIE Public Television will honor Child’s legacy through a multi-platform initiative spanning on-air, online, and social media engagement. The special, Julia Child Memories: Bon Appétit!, will air on KVIE (channel 6) at 8 p.m. Wednesday, August 15. The public television celebration begins in the kitchen. KVIE viewers and Julia Child fans are encouraged to cook t

The  annual Sacramento Chef Challenge is set to take place on June 23 and will be equal parts competition, culinary skill and for the first time, audience participation. The highlight of the evening will be two on-site competitions: the three-course Chef Challenge in which attendees can help decide whose cuisine reigns supreme and the Cake War. According to event organizer Jessica Bean, this is the first year in which guests, rather than a panel of judges, will be allowed to eat and vote on the Chef Challenge delicacies.   “I always hated the prom queen popularity contest idea, and I wanted to balance things out with guest votes,” Bean said. “In the past, we’ve had six or seven chefs co

Now that the weather is heating up nicely (other than today of course), it’s time to get the grill cooking, too!  Just in time for the start of the summer grilling season, the next “Live With the Chef” cooking class at Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa is this Wednesday evening (starting at 6 p.m.) and is focused on creating a BBQ blast in your backyard.  The talented Chef Rina will demonstrate grilling tips and techniques and share new ways to cook fresh, flavorful and nutritious meals on the outdoor grill. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed for a healthy and well balanced diet. You're invited to join this ongoing adult cooking series -

Kimberly Morales’ co-workers used to wonder how it was possible. How could she whip up home cooked meals like creamy wild rice and broccoli soup while spending just a $1.05, when their pre-packaged lunches fell flat? The answers started to come in August of 2008 when Morales founded her food blog, Poor Girl Eats Well, which is appropriately subtitled, “How to eat ridiculously well on a miniscule budget.” The site drew a following, accumulating more than 10,000 email newsletter subscribers, 15,000 Facebook likes and 3,500 Twitter followers. Now, after she received funding via Kickstarter on May 12, the popular blog is about to become a book. Morales, 35, will write a three-part book tha

Bursting with flavor and packed with natural goodness, everything is coming up berries at the next “Live With the Chef” cooking class at Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa on Wednesday evening, May 16, beginning at 6 p.m. Talented Chef Rina will demonstrate special cooking techniques and share secrets for incorporating fresh blackberries, raspberries and strawberries into dishes to create low calorie but high impact recipes that maximize the flavor and nutrition of every meal. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed for a healthy and well balanced diet. You're invited to join this ongoing adult cooking series - couples are welcome, too! Due to

Kru Restaurant located in downtown Sacramento is one of the most gossiped about Japanese restaurants. Receiving an astonishing four star on yelp, many customer flocks to this restaurant for their dose of the Japanese cuisine. I visited this restaurant to see what all the hype was about. Working at two Japanese restaurants I have a very high expectation of Japanese food. I work at Nishiki in downtown, and Mikuni in Elk Grove. I grew up eating Japanese food often so I wondered if the food was as delicious as described in reviews. When I saw the place from the outside it looked pretty small. Once I walked in, it was as small as it seemed. To my surprise there weren’t too many customers and

Versatile and delicious, cooking with mushrooms adds flavor and flair to many gourmet dishes and everyday meals, too.  At the next “Live With the Chef” cooking class at Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa on Wednesday, April 18 beginning at 6 p.m., talented Chef Rina will demonstrate special cooking techniques and share secrets for incorporating mushrooms to create low calorie but high impact recipes that maximize the flavor and nutrition of every meal. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed for a healthy and well balanced diet. You're invited to join this ongoing and popular adult cooking series - couples are welcome, too! Space is limited, so

With spring in the air, it’s time to explore and delight in all the bountiful early season has to offer with tasty vegetables like asparagus, spring onion, carrots and potatoes, too! Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa can help you create healthy, delicious and nutritious recipes during the next "Live With the Chef - Spring Has Sprung" cooking class on Wednesday, March 21, beginning at 6 p.m. Talented Chef Rina will demonstrate special cooking techniques and share secrets to low calorie but high impact recipes that maximize the flavor and nutrition of every meal. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed to maximize the nutrients for a healthy and

With the winter chill still in the air, hot soups packed with antioxidants hit the spot to heat up our bodies and immune systems, too.  And, Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa can help you create healthy, delicious and nutritious recipes during the next "Live With the Chef" cooking class tonight at 6 p.m. The talented chef will demonstrate special cooking techniques and share secrets to low calorie but high impact recipes that maximize the flavor and nutrition of every meal. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed to maximize the nutrients for a healthy and well balanced diet. You're invited to join this ongoing and popular adult cooking serie

Paula Deen – best known for her traditional southern cooking on the Food Network – is coming to Sacramento for a live show on Feb. 3. While Deen will cook at the Community Center Theater that evening, she’ll focus on what she said she cherishes most about fame – meeting people she never would have met in her life as a bank teller. “I’ll just visit with people,” Deen said. “It’s kinda like coming into my living room, us getting to know each other. People come in and forget everything that irks them.” Deen will appear on stage with her husband, Michael Groover, whom she describes as shy, funny and a great cook. “He has got the keenest sense of humor,” Deen said. “He’s one of the funnies

With the start of the New Year, it's likely you're trying to find ways to keep that resolution to eat better and lose weight, right? Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa can help you pave the way to a delicious and nutritious approach to cooking during the next "Live With the Chef" cooking class on Wednesday evening, January 18, at 6 p.m. The talented chef will demonstrate special cooking techniques and share secrets to low calorie but high impact recipes that maximize the flavor and nutrition of every meal. This special monthly cooking class is focused on incorporating fresh ingredients designed to maximize the nutrients for a healthy and well balanced diet. You're invited to join this ongoing

The new vegetarian food blog, “Eat Well, Live Free,” launched earlier this month in Sacramento. Since it went online, the site has garnered more than 400 unique visitors, said co-creator Marcos Hernández. Jillena and Marcos Hernández, the married duo that created the blog, said the idea behind the blog is to provide local vegetarians with information about recipes and restaurants that cater to vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. “We’re just trying to spread awareness and make it easier for vegetarians,” Marcos Hernández said. Jillena Hernández is a vegetarian, while Marcos Hernández is a meat-eater. While the two differ in that respect, they work well together in combining their skills for

Join us for an afternoon with Placer County Real Food Cookbook authors Joanne Neft and Laura Kenny August 13, 2001 from 10:00 am – 12 Noon at Bushnell Gardens Nursery in Granite Bay. Come fall madly in love with the exquisite richness of eating fresh local in-season food and the rich local farms producing in Placer County.   Learn from Laura and Joanne how to shop local farmers markets and purchase all the meat, fruit, vegetables and nuts necessary to prepare meals from scratch. A number of their dishes from the cookbook will be offered for tasting Saturday, Aug 13, 2011. Cookbooks will also be available to purchase so you can have Joanne & Laura sign them.   We’re paring Hawks Restauran

Sunday afternoon, a small group of local foodies gathered at Tap and Table headquarters to enjoy a four course meal, each course paired with an American craft beer. As Tap and Table's motto hails, it was a culinary event for "beer bellies with a cooking problem." Darin Michaels and Emily Baime, who run Community Tap and Table out of their home, offer four to eight cooking classes a month, and are even available for private parties. July's gourmet food and beer pairing focused on "Makin' Bacon and summer flavors." Michaels and Baime started these classes due to their mutual passion for good food and great beer. Michaels has a background in brewing and works in beer and wine distribution.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Celebrity Chef Challenge will be rolling into Sacramento for its 9th annual edition in April of next year. The culinary event that pits local professional chefs in a whisk to whisk battle to determine “whose cuisine reigns supreme” will be held on Friday, April 29, 2011 at the California Automobile Museum from 5:30pm-9:30pm and you won’t want to miss a minute of the action! Six challengers will have 45 minutes to turn five secret ingredients into three power-packed dishes, all under the watchful eye of one live audience! Guests will have a front row seat for the culinary extravaganza, but that’s not all; ticket prices include a tour of the 72,000 sq

One big fat Greek festival offers all you need for Hellenistic acculturation. Fortunately for Sacramentans, the Sacramento Convention Center will host the 47th annual Sacramento Greek Festival this weekend to make this possible. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s Mike Dariotis has been involved in the event for 15 years and said his favorite part of the weekend is, first, the food; second, the folk dancing and then of course working together with the church community and fellow parishioners. In recent years, the event has served around 10,000 people over the course of the three-day festival. So what is it about this event that brings both Greek and non-Greeks out? The answer is simple

Chef Ryan Rose, the 28-year-old chef at the Zócalo restaurant in Sacramento, is one of the top 15 finalists in the “Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge.” His in-it-to-win-it dish: paella. Originally on a search to apply for the Food Network’s casting call for the “Next Food Network Star,” Rose came across the YouTube challenge. Viewers can vote daily on their favorite video of national chefs demonstrating their favorite dishes in three minutes or less. The winner will fly out to New York for an audition with executive producers of the show. But Rose didn’t always want to be a chef. It wasn’t till a two-year visit to Spain where he watched his Italian roommate cook every day, that he