By Dame Toria Emos

Who knew that a book about a fictitious New York Times restaurant critic who loses his palate would generate such interesting conversation?

Chicago Dames met at Piccolo Sogno on July 25 to discuss Jessica Tom’s first novel, Food Whore: A Novel Of Dining and Deceit.
The sold-out group of 20 included a potential new member, a scholarship recipient and Stacey Ballis, the author of the last book club selection. Stacey, who is mentioning Les Dames d’Escoffier in her upcoming new book, knows Jessica Tom and brought along a note from her to share with the group, along with a few recipes from Food Whore and even some temporary tattoos. See below for Jessica’s letter and click here for one of one her recipes.

After a divine, family-style Italian meal by Chef Tony Priolo, Patty Erd introduced us to the hBARSCI “SUPERTASTER” Lab.  Each Dame was given five different match size strips to taste.  The first strip tasted like paper and was the control taste.  The next four strips were decidedly different.  The group expected to taste herbs or spices, but that was not the case since the next four were special chemicals.  The last one generated some very surprised looks and responses.

At the end of the event, Judith Hines distributed note cards for the attending Dames to write a two-sentence critique of the dinner. Those with a pink dot were asked to describe the meal as if they could not taste the food. We had to learn how to use words and descriptions to bring our meal to life on the page.

The fall Book Club will meet at the end of September.  Please watch your emails for the invitation.

 

 

 

July 15, 2016

Dear Ladies of Les Dames d’Escoffier,

I wish I could join you for this lovely dinner–you seem like my kind of people!  Thank you for selecting Food Whore as your book club pick. I hope it sparks some interesting conversation. I’ve included some FW-related goodies, temporary tattoos and a booklet of original recipes.  Enjoy!

With gratitude& affection,

Jessica Tom