The marketing of his own cookbook, and beyond

[robirdstx]

I grew up in the St. Louis area and still make it up there once or twice a year to visit family. Looking forward to visiting your new restaurant in the near future. Go Cards!

[gfron1]

1 hour ago, donk79 said:

I assume you are saying that this is already is something already set.  If it is a wish at this moment, I hope it comes true! 

Just a fantasy. Not reality

[gfron1]

1 hour ago, MelissaH said:

How much of your foraging knowledge will transfer? And how, other than a mentor, will you learn about the foraging opportunities available in your new location?

The overall ethic and strategies transfer perfectly, but as for plant identification let me give an example. A few weeks ago I found a plant that looked and smelled extremely familiar. In St Louis I'm posting my unknown plant photos on either Wild Edibles Missouri on Facebook or Missouri Native Plant Society on FB. Immediately someone IDd it as Shiso. I did some more due diligence and wasn't completely in agreement. Another poster then said it was an inedible (toxic) plant which led to more research, which agreed that it was not shiso. Even my beloved stinging nettle doesn't look quite the same here. So to answer the question, I'm having to use the internet as a "suggested pointer" that leads me to my own trusted sources. But because there is so much flora here I have to be really, really careful and not just trust my previous experiences.

[gfron1]

1 hour ago, MelissaH said:

Would you describe your favorite/primary chef's knife?

(having some editing problems)

@Lisa Shock That's easy. I absolutely adore my Fujiwara White #1 Gyuto. She ain't cheap, but the best balanced, sharpest and easiest to sharpen, hand-crafted knife I own. Absolutely nothing that I own or have used compares in quality to that knife. My kitchen focuses on vegetables so it's perfect. If I were a meat kitchen I might have a different answer. I've been trying to fall in love with my Carter, but it's simply not as well balanced in the hand. The Fujiwara just dances in the nook next to my thumb.

[sartoric]

Well, I had to look up cattails, and I'm still not sure I'd eat them !

Congratulations on your book, I hope it does really well for you.

[IowaDee]

At your former place you were able to forage year around and keep fresh food on the menu.  Here your time will be limited by the weather.  How will you adapt for that?  Would you be comfortable serving dried or frozen things you gathered earlier?  Seems like you will almost have to rethink your cooking/serving style. The entire undertaking boggles my mind.

[Spork]

I live in an area with incredible amounts of forage. I am adept at harvesting fauna, flora not so much. I am embarrassed to say that I might, just might, could ward off scurvy if the circumstances dictated. 

 

I need the kick in the pants that I'm sure this book will offer. 

[huiray]

1 hour ago, sartoric said:

Well, I had to look up cattails, and I'm still not sure I'd eat them !

Heh. I didn't know how useful they were too until Rob described them...

And it seems they are one of the most useful things around.

http://www.ediblewildfood.com/cattail.aspx 

http://www.eattheweeds.com/cattails-a-survival-dinner/ 

 

[Mmmpomps]

Thanks for taking us along on your journey! What was your scariest foraging adventure?

[misstenacity]

11 hours ago, IowaDee said:

Of course he will become a Cardinal fan.  I think there may even be a law that you can't own property if you're not a rabid fan

Has it been mentioned when those of us who preordered from Rob will be getting our copies?  I ordered back in December and am so ready to have a copy in my own hands.  

 

12 hours ago, weinoo said:

Since I already own the book, I don't feel the need to enter the contest.

 

But, I do know Rob has moved to St. Louis, so my question is this:

 

Are you going to become a Cardinals' fan, because that may cause a rift?!

No, no.... the better question is will he become a CUSTARD fan. :-) I think I know the answer but the only team I care about in STL is Ted Drewes.

 

[gfron1]

5 hours ago, sartoric said:

Well, I had to look up cattails, and I'm still not sure I'd eat them !

Bulrush (the name of my new restaurant) is the non-USA name for cattails. And they taste just like cucumbers, so if you have a pure water source then there's no reason not to eat them! 

4 hours ago, IowaDee said:

At your former place you were able to forage year around and keep fresh food on the menu.  Here your time will be limited by the weather.  How will you adapt for that?  Would you be comfortable serving dried or frozen things you gathered earlier?  Seems like you will almost have to rethink your cooking/serving style. The entire undertaking boggles my mind.

I mentioned just this issue in the Most Exclusive Restaurant topic. In the desert I had so little to work with. Whenever I found any item, I gathered what I could and used it in so many ways thinking ahead because I would most likely not see that plant again for another year. Cattail pollen is the best example. It shows up for less than two weeks each year. I gather all I can and find multiple ways of using it throughout the year. This strategy is important because when i got to Jan and Feb there was so little that I would have nothing to serve. It is non-stop searching, and non-stop planning, and when you find your bounty you maximize it! So contrary to your question - I will have far more bounty in St. Louis, but I think the strategy is the same.

3 hours ago, Mmmpomps said:

Thanks for taking us along on your journey! What was your scariest foraging adventure?

I came from the land of rattle snakes. And, much to my spouse's chagrin, I tended to forage way off trail, often hours of hiking off trail. Once I was off trail deep in the woods north of my favorite spot with Lexi (my foraging pooch) and I ran across an unknown cliff dwelling (Mimbreño). That made me even more curious so I kept going. A few miles back I found a large patch of wild strawberries and they had fruit - very unusual since bears get to them first. I kept walking exploring the patch to see how much fruit was there, and with one step I heard the scariest sound - a rattle. I looked over and Lexi was one step to my right. Both of us were less then three feet from a large rattler who was already coiled. In that split second I realized that I had to get Lexi away, then myself otherwise we were hours from help in a spot that no one would ever find us. I let out a gutteral yawlp to scare Lexi away and jumped backwards. We were both fine but very shaken and didn't bother with the berries. I tried to be better at letting my spouse know where i was going, but it's not that simple since you have to go where nature and instinct calls.

[Smithy]

9 hours ago, gfron1 said:

Not yet. I am shopping for buildings already but I'm still hoping to sell my building in NM before I open up so I have a stronger operating cash reserve.

 

I thought you already had a buyer.  Did that fall through, or is it just taking more time than expected?

 

Many congratulations on the publication of the book!  It's been a long time in the development.  I can hardly wait to hold the finished product in person!

[gfron1]

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

I thought you already had a buyer.  Did that fall through, or is it just taking more time than expected?

We've had a few serious lookers, but looking is cheap. A check on the table is what I'm waiting for and we haven't had an official offer yet.

[gfron1]

14 hours ago, Spork said:

I live in an area with incredible amounts of forage. I am adept at harvesting fauna, flora not so much. I am embarrassed to say that I might, just might, could ward off scurvy if the circumstances dictated. 

One of the issues we talked about in the original topic was that my recipes cover foraged, farmed and hunted. The publisher thought that a focus on the more trendy foraging was necessary in the title. However, my recipes include elk, javalina, pigeon and other animals. And more importantly, every recipe has substitutions for every foraged or hunted ingredient. I HATE books that have ingredients that I can't find.

[Smithy]

14 hours ago, gfron1 said:

One of the issues we talked about in the original topic was that my recipes cover foraged, farmed and hunted. The publisher thought that a focus on the more trendy foraging was necessary in the title. However, my recipes include elk, javalina, pigeon and other animals. And more importantly, every recipe has substitutions for every foraged or hunted ingredient. I HATE books that have ingredients that I can't find.

 

As someone who got an extensive sneak-peek at the book* I want to confirm that the book is not specific to a given region.  Some of the recipes are specific to items he foraged in his own area, but many focus on foods that can be foraged (or farmed or hunted) in very different parts of the world, and the ethics are universal.  It's also fun to read.

 

*Like Shalmanese, I appreciated the shout out.  

[Wayne]

 

I've been a silent lurker on the original thread and have to say I envy your access to relatively pristine wilderness areas.

 

I live in an area where although there are lots of opportunities to forage the area leaves a lot to be desired. The vast majority of the area is industrially farmed and the runoff (with all the attendant pesticides, fungicides, herbicides ...) for the peninsula's watershed generally passes through areas that would be ideal for foraging. It's easy to determine what is used as it is all published as Application Schedules and Protocols.

 

I'm fortunate in that I have friends on whose land I can forage however it is limited in area and scope.

 

I'm looking forward to your book's release and wishing you success.

 

 

[Smithy]

A lot of cities now have edible plants as ornamentation; fruit trees and herbs line the sidewalks and walkways of places I've visited.  @Wayne, might that be an option for you?  @gfron1, is that a possibility for you in St. Louis, or are you looking for wilder areas? If I recall correctly, you were recently in the Los Angeles area taking a course related to this.

[chefmd]

@gfron1  I know that you were not going to look at the reviews.  And I promise that I will only tell you this one time :).  You have three reviews on Amazon, all 5 stars.  All by verified purchasers.

[Martin Fisher]

Beautiful cover! Wishing you great success wit the book and the new restaurant. 

[Chocolot]

Congratulations on a beautiful book. Thanks for the mention, but not sure I what I contributed:)

[gfron1]

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

A lot of cities now have edible plants as ornamentation; fruit trees and herbs line the sidewalks and walkways of places I've visited.  @Wayne, might that be an option for you?  @gfron1, is that a possibility for you in St. Louis, or are you looking for wilder areas? If I recall correctly, you were recently in the Los Angeles area taking a course related to this.

I'm always up for a long-distance excursion. I think its one thing to eat potentially tainted plants every now and then for yourself, and something very different when you feed strangers night after night. I need to be hyper diligent, but the more you understand how different plants work (ie absorb and filter water), the comfortable you can get foraging. And I'll say again that almost every recipe and ingredient has substitutions for purchase. 

[gfron1]

8 hours ago, chefmd said:

@gfron1  I know that you were not going to look at the reviews.  And I promise that I will only tell you this one time :).  You have three reviews on Amazon, all 5 stars.  All by verified purchasers.

Still not looking  Too scary.

[gfron1]

30 minutes ago, Chocolot said:

Congratulations on a beautiful book. Thanks for the mention, but not sure I what I contributed:)

Years of education on chocolate. There's a number of chocolate recipes in the book.

[Spork]

Is their any other recommended reading, to accompany your book, that you would suggest? 

 

I have long had Audubon books associated with my area. Authors such as Brill pepper the library.

 

Any other explicit recommendations?

 

Your book, as well as Meathead's, have been on my Christmas list for a few months. 

[gfron1]

4 hours ago, Spork said:

Is their any other recommended reading, to accompany your book, that you would suggest? 

Your book, as well as Meathead's, have been on my Christmas list for a few months. 

I think the Thayer books are the best starting point. On the other extreme is Pascal Bauder's book that just came out.