gfron1

Here's my go to. Its a bit boozy: 2 oranges 2 limes 2 lemons 2 apples 2 pears 2 cup flavored vodka (Svedka Mandarin is an affordable option) Squeeze oranges into a big bowl, drop spent rinds into juice. Thinly slice other fruits and add to bowl. Add vodka. Let sit 4 hours, overnight if possible. to this mixture, add the following: 1 cup simple syrup (1cup water mixed with 1 cup sugar) 1 cup orange juice (the more tree hugger, the better) 5 btls of wine (either red or white or rose, or any mixture of the aforementioned - i always use a mixture of riesling, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay for whites) Feel free to add any other seasonal fruit or juice (esp. peach for white, pomegranate and cherry for reds) When ready to serve, add 1 liter lemon lime soda, 1 liter soda water, and more simple syrup to taste. garnish with fresh fruit.

I guess I'll find out once the contract comes back to me. I love these questions - gives me specific things to look for that I hadn't considered.

I'll hold off on that answer until I know I can talk about it. I did talk to my agent this morning with a few more questions and asked her to move forward with the contract negotiations. We'll see how long this takes.

If I accept (which I think is going to happen in a few minutes here when I call my agent) then we have those types of discussions. They will be supporting with PR including booking events. I just don't know if there's a budget or how much.

Just me and one other. The other is a Top Chef competitor and you all know the name, but not JBF or other such awards.

I'd have to do most of the work but it would be the headliner of their catalog and they would get it placed into B&N and such.

This is not an easy decision. I've crunched numbers. Financially speaking, selling 1000 books through the publisher equals selling 325 books self-published. 5000 publisher books is 625 self-published books. So it goes back to my goals. Part of this was brand building for myself which I will only get with a publisher. Financially speaking it seems obvious except that you realize that I then carry the financial risk if the book doesn't sell. Revenue & Risk v. Prestige & upfront money

Confirmed, yes, it is an e-book.

BTW, I have a call into my agent for the acronyms and one of you may know - PB is paperback and HC is hardcover, but what's EB? I assume its that cardboard cover that is often used that's heavier than paperback.

I've been posting info for the learning of the group, and I think I'm safe posting these details with specifics blotted out. This is the summary of the deal from my agent:

That is a for sure, not just a possibility, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't confused by technical definitions and marketing claims.

I still can't post details, but I had a meet'n'greet with my agent and the publisher just now. They want the book to headline their Fall 16 lineup, and as such, we would have a much higher design than their average book. So now I'm waiting for my agent to give me the dollars and cents. We know the offer is low, but we have higher level of control and higher royalties than normal. Once I have the details, my team and I will crunch the numbers to see if we'd do better self-publishing or going through this imprint.

So I headed down to my restaurant to crank out a king cake (perfect idea), when I was told, "and oh, by the way, make it gluten free." Its like that cartoon that's been circulating where Jesus is holding up a loaf and fish and the crowd says, "is that gluten free?" "was that fish farm raised?" So I did a daquoise. Not bad, but had a bit of stickiness to it where it touched the plate. I appreciate all the suggestions - they were good, none of us had all the info apparently.

Thanks guys. Just trying to talk a friend out of a grinding wheel which is excessive, but he thinks an EP only hones.

Basic question. I recommended an EP to a friend for a sharpening system and he said, "But that only hones." I'm still learning about sharpening so I don't want to say the wrong thing, but I believe the EP sharpens - grinds metal away, versus hones - knocks the spurs off. Can someone clarify for me please.

So this is how it goes. Literally 5 hours until we pulled the proposal off the table, a known publisher made an offer. That's exciting and fun and all, but dollars and cents - I'm a bit more committed to the finances of self-publishing. But the publisher's husband is a chef and they eat/cook the way I do, so I guess it will depend on how much autonomy they give me and if they're willing to up their offer some. i'll post details, if appropriate, once things are ironed out.

I appreciate all the comments and ideas. I had never heard of crowdfooding so I'll definitely look into it. Going back to day one of this thread, the only reason that I wanted a publisher was that for me the book was about branding. That's not going to happen, but that's not a big issue, I've done well enough for myself in that area. So fine, I'll focus on making a little money - its not the worst thing in the world. For me, its just important to get these essays and recipes out there for people to enjoy.

I do have the good fortune to have over 20 significant articles written about us over the past few years including some big boys (NYT, WSJ, Sunset, Saveur), so I'll be sure to send them all a copy.

That's a really good way of breaking it down. If there is a good initial blip on sales, that weekly number drops to something that seems more realistic to me.

Alright, my 60 day advance is coming up this next which means I can start booking finally. Here's my list unless someone slaps me and says I'm nuts: I only get 6 dinners. Ranked in order of my interest: Empellon chefs table Take Root Cosme Atera Semilla Contra Kang Ho Don Baekjeug Mimi Chang Prune Brunch Sat and Sun Killed based on comments: Tørst, Estele

MattC "it's just food" What I'm suggesting is that these restaurants are about the experience not just food. I go to my local tavern for just food (that gives an experience too but not one that's special and worth paying extra for), but I go to Per Se, TFL, Alinea, etc for the experience, and that is something I'll pay extra for. As for the 700% markup idea - again I go back to Warhol. And specifically let's talk about his prints. WTF?! You want me to pay a million dollars for a friggin print?! Its all a matter of opinion.

It is going to be passed around and broken off by hand.

I don't need to mimic anything with this - its a very non-traditional church. So it can be anything but will need to be finger-able

I really do understand your point, but this is the point of the art analogy. I hate Warhol's art and Pollock's as well - like really, I find it meaningless trivial kindergarten blather. But obviously many do not agree. Yet that is the point of art - to illicit a response, good or bad. And if an artist can capture that moment, then they should charge what they feel they should charge and the public will decide if they've charged too much. Warhol's art hasn't gone down in price, so clearly I'm in the wrong on him, but I still acknowledge it as art.

HERE's a link to the story. A handful of chefs refused to allow reviewers to review them by not allowing them to pay for their meal, going so far as when a reviewer dropped money on the table, they took the money the next morning to the newspaper office and returned it, videoing the whole affair.