Sometimes there are good times, and sometimes there are better times. The last week has been the latter. This afternoon, I received an invitation to give a keynote presentation at the Oregon Truffle Festival, in Eugene, Oregon at the end of January, and earlier in the week I heard that a proposal put together by Annabel Langbein for a presentation on truffles of the old world and the new had been accepted by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for their conference in Chicago in April.
There's a marvellous synergy about the two events. I've been fascinated by the truffles of Oregon and the US northwest since working on the US chapter of the book, and the chance to hunt them and eat them - and especially to have them prepared by some of America's finest chefs - is irresistible. And that information will carry forward into the IACP presentation - experience lending authority, and all that. I haven't been to Chicago since the late 80s, when in an earlier incarnation I had to attend the summer CES show. Blues clubs (is Kingston Mines still good?) and fantastic restaurants, and I've never forgotten discussing cricket with the Afghani taxi driver who took me from O'Hare to my hotel. I wonder if he's still playing by the lakeside...
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