WOW, the Literacy Signing last night was a madhouse. And I have to say, I loved every loud, crazy, hot minute I spent on my feet talking to readers! It's the biggest thrill in the world to meet people who've actually read my books and are not my mother. I don't see how it could ever get old. Thank you to every single person who stopped by--you made my first Lit Signing a fabulous, unforgettable experience!

And speaking of fabulous, unforgettable experiences...yesterday I had one of the best, most fascinating, and funniest lunches of my life. Through a strange series of circumstances, my friends and I met the General Manager of the Disney Swan & Dolphin yesterday morning, and he introduced us to the Executive Chef of the entire property. Chef Robert Ciborowski, a charming, handsome, and shockingly young man to be in charge of the resort's nineteen kitchens, invited us to eat at the chef's table.

If you don't already know, the chef's table is traditionally a table in (or with a good view of) the kitchen of a professional restaurant. Sometimes the chefs and line cooks do the serving; there's usually at least a little interaction with them, which is what makes chef's table dining so fun. I've been lucky enough to eat at the chef's table in some awesome restaurants, but lunch yesterday blew them all away.

First of all, it was a lot more like a family meal situation, because it wasn't just us girls (me, Lara Santiago, Kresley Cole, Kristen Painter, and Roxanne St. Claire--aka The Blonde Mafia) at the table--we sat down and passed plates around with Chef Robert, the GM, an executive steward (adorable), assistant director of food and beverage (adorabler), and several of the high ranking chefs. It was insane.

The food was glorious (there was a pan-seared tripletail with rock shrimp in saffron cream sauce that I'd like to take a bath in) but even better was the conversation. These guys were a font of research for me, obviously, but even beyond that, they were hysterical! They started out very respectful and polite, but as lunch wore on (and they realized what kind of women they'd fallen in with) they uncensored themselves. And holy cow, I thought I had crushes on chefs before...

Thank you again, if any of you guys are reading this blog--we had a truly fabulous time! And Chef Dan, let me know how your mom likes On the Steamy Side!

More from RWA later...

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 1:35 PM  

Labels: chefs, RWA National Conference