One good thing about my job is that I get to attend the International Housewares Show. This has to be the behemoth of all home shows, kinda like the Detroit Auto Show (from my automotive days – miss, miss:( ) – maybe a little less sexy but who can resist the latest and greatest home stuff that promises to take your cooking, eating, and entertaining experience to the next level?
Spanning through three separate halls at the McCormick Place in Chicago – it’s anything and everything to do with all-things-home, which naturally fits my love of kitchen gadgets and doo-dads NY Times quotes that it’s 13 miles of aisles. Good thing I had my convention shoes on (as I snickered away at those convention first-timers who’s struttin’ down in heels only to realize that it’s hell by hour 3).
Little did I realize that in addition to all the cool new products ( I think I need that mortar & pestle, that pressure cooker, that dehydrator, ooooh, the new microplanes…) – I would be shoulder to shoulder with my fav celebrity chefs including sassy Chef Cat Cora, Chef Morimoto, Chef Michael Symon and even Guy Fieri~ Emeril looked too stuffy and business-like as he stood talking business with the Viking appliances folks, Rick Bayless just seemed too geeky/creepy that I lost interest watching his cooking demo after the first few minutes, and in squeezing in work, I missed some others like Chef Ming Tsai who I was told is very very nice – next time, Ming!
Guy Fieri & Michael Symon Reunion – – Guy jumped out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of Michael Symon and then it was the nicest reunion that I had to snap a video.
But the best part was Morimoto’s impromptu singing of a traditional Japanese song – how appropriate~ He’s such a happy guy – I’ve never seen an adult so silly and kid-like before. And his knife skills (as he’s cutting thru the huge slab of tuna) – AMAZING!
Chef Morimoto singing a traditional Japanese song
I’m still star-struck by how real they all are, how in real life, they truly seem just like you and me. And talent coupled with hard work and luck – they’ve become huge. And to stay at a place that reminded me to create myself, not find myself…Thanks, W.