Hi Steve,
Thanks for getting this off to a good start.
After I graduated from the CIA, I moved to the Napa Valley and took a job as the chef at St. Supery Winery. I didn’t have a public restaurant there, but I cooked for the trade (wine retailers, distributors, etc) as well as corporate customers who wanted to throw a party at the winery. My kitchen there was smaller than what most home cooks have available, so whenever a big group was coming, I moved outside and grilled on some big Ranch kettles. It was there on the edge of the vineyards, with roaring charcoal fires and an expense account to cover whatever I felt like cooking, that I fell in love with grilling.
A few years later I was hired by a food and wine magazine as an editor (it’s closed now) and I started to write articles for a variety of publications. My college degree was in Economics, but I would have majored in English if I had had the courage. I just didn’t think I would find a job as an English major. Anyway, after the food and wine magazine folded, Weber approached me about helping them with a cookbook. Thank God they did! If not, I’d probably be working for a bank. No offense to anyone who is. It’s just not for me. I feel very fortunate that my first book, Weber’s Art of the Grill, was well received. It launched my career in cookbook publishing.
It’s good to hear from you, Steve.
Jamie
