Caccicci Wants In

-Marina del Rey, CA
-The requests for chefship at Feast Fest 2012 just keep pouring in.

"If all these requests get filled, we could easily add more chefs in the 2011-2012 offseason than in any other offseason," commented Head Scouter Jim Dall.

The newest "I-want-in" has come from Florencian master Armando Caccicci, who has "always been fascinated with the American customs of Thanksgiving" and who feels "that the magnifico cuisine of Italia is underrepresented at Feast Fest."

Caccicci hopes to have talks with Feast Fest in the winter.

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Arrivals Begin at Edelyn

-Punta Gorda, FL
-Floridian Feast Fest fans have been fluttering fluffily up to the airport to watch the flights of the Feast Fest frontrunners freeze on the runway in fear of wrecking and to gaze in fascination at their Feast Fest favorites... too many "F"s?

Yeah, I suppose. But it is true. Feast Fest chefs are arriving today in Punta Gorda in preparation for the final exhibition for the real thing on Thanksgiving, tomorrow at Edelyn Cooking Arena.

It marks the first time an exhibition will be held on Halloween.

The exhibition was originally scheduled to take place Tues., Nov. 8, but a nearby construction project rendered Edelyn Cooking Arena unusable on that day and forced the event's rescheduling.

The only potential drawback to the rescheduling is that some fear low attendance at the 2,434-seat Edelyn due to it being Halloween. "That is something we have taken under consideration," says Feast Fest scheduler Bry Michaels, "but October 31st is the only workable date, we're afraid."

There are six scratches among the 61 chefs, meaning that 55 will participate at Edelyn Monday.

Most chefs are optimistic. "I've got a good feeling about this exhibition," said Jim McAllister. "This one'll set the tone for Thanksgiving Day and the momentum we have then and there. I'm excited."

One slight blow to be dealt is the absence of the Mason duo due to, of course, the scheduling. They claimed they would be present on November 8th, but had to scratch their names when the date was changed.

"We know they'll be with us in spirit and we know that they'll be honing their skills at home so that they'll be just as prepared on Thanksgiving as we are."

After a disappointing score of 87.4 at the last exhibition in Morro Bay, CA, FF chefs will look for a drastic improvement in the NCA rating for the Edelyn exhibition.

The exhibition will be streamed live online.




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Hischenging Comments Stir Rebuke

-Marina del Rey, CA
-If there's gonna be a little back-n'-forth, it'll be good back-n'-forth.

It took mere minutes early Sunday for Feast Fest chef Lynn Avi to rattle off a heated response to the interview of Simon Hischenging, Berlin gastronomic paragon, wherein he heavily bashed Feast Fest.

Avi answered each of the charges Hischenging hurled at Feast Fest in her response. "Not artsy?" she wrote. "I beg to differ. Our chef body has a great balance of sporty males and artsy females, and our chefs have been recognized as having only the most premier forms of and experience in the visual and aesthetical flourishes of a meal."

She also added, "And who ever was one to say the common man does not get a good impression of fine cuisine? The foods may be All-American and relatively common, but fanciful cuisine does not necessarily have to be synonymous with rare or foreign cuisine, nor should it be. Excluding America from the list of countries whose styles contribute to fine dining would be blasphemous. From a culinary standpoint, Mr. Hischenging, your comments are near tantamount to insulting the United States of America."

"And, while a concrete meal is being prepared here, our foreign and exotic-cuisine-based chefs all have unique touches that are evident in every bite of a Feast Fest guest's meal. Additionally, the ever-growing appetizers menu includes a great variety of Global noshes, such as the Chinese and Southeast Asian delicacies introduced to it in recent years."

Avi concluded her response by writing, "For a chef so globally experienced, your knowledge of the culinary workings of the U.S. seems appallingly slight. Come to Feast Fest next month, why don't you Mr. Hischenging, and experience why FF is so successful: it makes the culinary arts fun, interesting, and suddenly co-ed. It takes all global cuisines and blends them into a meal so familiar to we Americans: Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving dinner is comfort food, meaning that no fear will be had in taking the bold step to eating it, when in fact each corner of this world will be represented in every bite of this all-American meal."

Though Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt advised chefs not to add fuel to the fire, Avi said she "felt personally moved" to rattle off a response in defense of FF.

Her peers have called the response "masterful."

Hischenging has yet to respond to the response, and it is not known if he is even yet aware that one has been issued.

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Culinary Master Hischenging Takes Stab At Feast Fest

-Berlin
-Simon Hischenging, master Berlin chef, was interviewed last week and, it has now been found out, heavily bashed Feast Fest.

Experts say Hischenging may feel a desire for vengeance after an attempt to get the masterful Hischenging, 49, involved in Feast Fest in 2006 failed miserably.

Hischenging called Feast Fest "a disgrace to the culinary world," attempting to back up this claim by saying that FF "falsely connects the common man to Americanische cuisine, claiming it has 'global' styles when it actually has near to none." He also bashed its extensive roster of foreign chefs, saying that "those chefs are magnificent but are restrained from showing off their true culinary prowess." Another Feast Fest facet Hischenging disliked was "the way it compares itself to sport. Sport it is not. Cooking is an art form, and yet this is not exposed to the common man that way at Feast Fest. Most culinary events have the guests witnessing art in the making. Feast Fest is a hockey game with turkeys."

FF Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt called the words "of no consequence. We would not want chefs like Hischenging at FF anyway. Our chefs should shake off these comments and forget them."



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