A REALLY GOODE JOB – Update 1

Greetings Everyone;

By now many of you are aware that I am a contestant/applicant in the Murphy-Goode Winery’s “A REALLY GOODE WINE COUNTRY DREAM JOB” talent search/contest.

As of this writing, I am one of fifty-one contestants who have successfully completed the application process as well as submitted a one-minute (or less) video showing what makes each contestant-hopeful truly qualified for this “DREAM JOB”.

Anyone following the competition at “A REALLY GOODE JOB” website will notice that each applicant has been assigned a specific application number, mine happens to be “A REALLY GOODE JOB APPLICANTION 256” and might ask themselves - how can there be only fifty-one (51) active applicants and yet the application numbers are now as high as 400?

Well, in all the excitement surrounding this competition, it appears that not all applicants have taken the time to read ALL of the requirements associated with the application process. Some “would be” applicants only submitted the application without submitting a video; some submitted pictures instead of video; and still others have submitted videos being over 60-seconds in length. It just goes to show that it pays to read the “fine print”!

There are active applicants from Maine (yours truly) all the way to Hawaii and everywhere in between. Applicants range in age from young “twenty-somethings” all the way up to the “fifty-somethings” gang (I happen to be in the latter age group, although I have yet to acquire my AARP card).

At first, the active applicants could be viewed and followed on Youtube.com but no voting was allowed, but a of a few days ago, the people at “A REALLY GOODE JOB.com” opened the site up to allow visitors to click on, view the applicants and to cast their votes as to who they believe would be the “perfect” Murphy-Goode Winery correspondent (only one vote per email address – to keep it on the “up-and-up”).

On or around the middle of June of this year, the list of candidates will be widdled down to the “Top 50 Candidates” and then there will be another round of voting by the public. The list is then culled further until the “Top 10 Candidates” will be announced around the third week in June.

Once the “Top 10 Candidates” have been selected, those ten hopefuls will travel to Healdsburg, California for a round of personal interviews – and I suspect some interesting and fun challenges. The final candidate selection will be announced on July 9th with work (for the lucky winner) to begin on August 1st and will last for a six-month period.

What this “DREAM JOB” will entail:

• 
  Exploring the Murphy-Goode vineyards as well as discovering the Sonoma County Wine Country in general, visiting both well-known destinations as well as those “off-the-beaten-path” jewels. (Does this sound like The GYPSY KITCHEN’s vision?)
  
• 
  Tasting wines and meeting visitors in the Murphy-Goode tasting room. (Do you think that I am qualified?)
  
• 
  Learning and living the winemaking life and seeing first hand “how-it’s-done”.
  
• 
  Working with David Ready Jr.,Murphy-Goode’s winemaker, develop a new commemorative wine based on this “DREAM JOB”. (I love this idea.)
  
• 
  Writing about the adventure through media outlets including weekly blogs, video and photo diaries, Facebook, Twitter and others as well as serving as the Murphy-Goode spokesperson for media interviews. (Think “The GYPSY KITCHEN Blog”, “The GYPSY KITCHEN Youtube page”, “The GYPSY KITCHEN website”, “The GYPSY KITCHEN Photo Album”, “The GYPSY KITCHEN Facebook page”, “The GYPSY KITCHEN Twitter page” as well as my appearances on local, regional and national TV and radio throughout the years.)
  
• 
  Helping to track the local owl and raptor populations that inhabit the Murphy-Goode vineyards, which are important assets in the practice of sustainable farming. (Did I mention that I served on the board of directors of our local animal welfare shelter for years?)
  
• 
  Find and explore local picnic and camping areas in Sonoma County – did you know that wine tastes wonderful in the wild outdoors, especially around a properly controlled campfire? (Doesn’t this sound very similar to what “The GYPSY KITCHEN” has been doing since early January of this year?)
  
• 
  And last-but-not-least, playing Liar’s Dice (think “Texas Hold’em with the use of dice instead of playing cards) in the Barrel Room while enjoying great wine and even better companionship. (Several of you have experienced my Texas Hold’em and/or Liar’s Dice savvy – or lack thereof.)

So right now there are 51 eager and hopeful applicants praying, asking, pleading and sometimes begging for friends, family, co-workers, people at the grocery store, people they have yet to meet to please, Please, PLEASE cast a vote for them by logging onto “The REALLY GOODE JOB” website and submitting their email address.

Perhaps you’re thinking that I would make the “perfect” Murphy-Goode Winery correspondent and would like to cast your vote for me – which I would GREATLY appreciate! You could do so by simply clicking on this link: “A REALLY GOODE JOB APPLICATION 256”.

Until next time,

Chef John (aka “The GYPSY”)

john@cookwithjohn.com

www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com

John Hughes resides in Kennebunk, Maine with his wife, Cindy, and family when he is not exploring America in “The GYPSY KITCHEN”.

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I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Folks;

I recently entered the Murphy-Goode Winery “A Really Goode Wine Country Dream Job” contest which is for a six-month position – eating, drinking and blogging about Murphy-Goode, Sonoma Wine Country, food, wine, California culture; meeting with and educating visitors to the winery as well as tracking the vineyards eagle and raptor population and playing Liar’s Dice (think Texas Hold’em using dice).

In order to move forward in the application process, I need people to vote my video as their favorite. From all the applications, Murphy-Goode Winery will cull the list down to the “Top 10” and invite those applicants to Healdsburg, CA for a week of interviews.

The video needed to be one-minute or less so there is a lot of information packed into this one.

Please, PLEASE take a moment and follow this link and cast a vote for yours truly.

SEND CHEF JOHN TO HEALDSBURG, CA

To vote, you simply enter your email address and hit the “submit” button. You will then receive an email from “webmaster@areallygoodejob.com” (which might appear in your “junk mail” folder). Simply click on the link in that email and your vote will be cast.

Please help send me to Healdsburg, California this Fall for this Really Cool – Really Goode Job!

Oh, and one more favor to ask (I know that I’m asking a whole lot from All of you – THANKS), please send this off to as many of your friends, family, co-workers, social network friends, etc as possible…

Thanks,

Chef John Hughes

john@cookwithjohn.com

www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com

Technorati Tags: Murphy-Goode Winery,A Really Goode Job,Wine Country Dream Job,Chef John Hughes,John Hughes,The Gypsy Kitchen,http://technorati.com/tags/http%3a%2f%2fwww.areallygoodejob.com%2fvideo-view.aspx%3fvid%3d1bSSruP96dA

The GYPSY KITCHEN – Week # 11

(Cherry Blossoms in bloom – Washington DC)

“I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly.  Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock.”  ~Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

 

The "GYPSY KITCHEN" is the traveling culinary adventure of John and Cindy Hughes who are cruising the backroads and forgotten highways of America in a 36–foot motorcoach searching for wonderful, interesting regional foods and delicious culinary treasures…Please come and join us!

For information and/or directions for any of the places we’ve visited, please visit our interactive “GYPSY KITCHEN Tour ‘09 Map.  Make sure to log onto www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com and subscribe to receive FREE  recipes and chance to win a 3–course dinner for 10 guests performed by the GYPSY KITCHEN in the comfort of your own home.

 

(Historical home – Natchez, MI)

Before Cindy and I headed out onto the Natchez Trace, we simply HAD to have lunch at the infamous “PIG OUT INN”, located on Canal Street in the historic part of Natchez.  This is your classic “hole-in-the-wall” BBQ joint but boy-o-boy – do they know how to BBQ.

(Pig Out Inn – Natchez, MI)

As one approaches this small storefront eatery the smell of smoldering oak, hickory and cedar fill the air – and it smells addictive!!!  The smoker is located out back on the side of the building, but you can smell the goodness all the way down the block.

(Lunch being prepared – Pig Out Inn, Natchez)

Both Cindy and I opted for the “Chopped BBQ Brisket Sandwich” and watched as the chef cut and chopped a heaping mound of smoked beef brisket that was so moist and tender that it practically didn’t need a knife to carve.

The sandwiches were delicious and accompanied by baked beans and a good potato salad.  I washed the meal down with a rather tasty “Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale” which did the trick.

The PIG OUT INN is definitely a “dress-down” joint…wear your old jeans and tee’s and enjoy the feast!  Save the classy threads for another meal.

The PIG OUT INN rates:

I would greatly recommend to anyone in the Natchez, MI area to give it a try.

 

So, after a great lunch, we started our journey North along the Natchez Trace, a beautiful roadway which extends for almost 450 miles.   The original trace was a nearly  500-mile 
footpath that ran through Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian (Native American) lands connecting Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee.  Today it is managed and maintained by the US Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.  In my humble opinion, this is one of the prettiest roads that I have ever traveled…I would rank it right up there with Ireland’s “Ring of Kerry”; the mountainside roads up to the city of Ronda, in Andalucía, Spain; the “Les Routes du Champagne”near Reims, France or the road trip from Southern Maine up through the Green Mountains to the wineries of Niagara On The Lake.

(Natchez Trace Parkway – Mississippi)

This is not a “go-fast” road but rather a “lazy-days” kind of roadway with the maximum speed limit set at 50MPH but if you are not in a hurry and want to simply take in some lovely, historic countryside – make sure to consider the Natchez Trace. 

After a days worth of comfortable driving, we parked the motorcoach at Davis Lake in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.  A lovely rolling hill camping area rests on the shore of this 200-acres lake – and yes there was plenty of fishing (although non for me).

The next morning we headed back onto the Trace until we picked up Route 20 as we made our way into Chattanooga, TN where we stayed for two days.

While visiting Chattanooga, Cindy and I had the great pleasure of dining at 212 Market Restaurant.  This is Tennessee’s first Certified “Green Restaurants”, and actively work to minimize their carbon footprint by recycling glass, cardboard and metal; compost a large portion of food waste; use low voltage lighting, heating and cooling equipment and will be installing solar panels on the roof sometime this summer.

(212 Market Restaurant – Chattanooga, TN)

As good as all this sounds, it pails in comparison to the food quality and presentation.  Cindy tried the Fried Green Tomatoes with a Creole remoulade and a Cajun slaw which was a delightful dish.  The tomatoes fried to a light golden brown color, the remoulade had just the right amount of heat and the slaw was fresh and tangy.  I set my taste buds on the appetizers special of Pulled Pork Spring Rolls which were also excellent.  The rolls was crisp and light with a nice amount of pulled pork shoulder served with a pleasant Asian inspired BBQ sauce.

For dinner, Cindy had the Roasted Redfish Special but I had to have the Coffee Seared Duck with an Amaretto glaze and nicely roasted sweet potatoes.  Both dishes were wonderful treats and almost all conversation ended as we worked our way through the meal.  We paired these lovely meals with an excellent bottle of Foris Pinot Noir from Oregon which had a nice balance of blackberries and raspberries with a hint of chocolate and spice.

For dessert we sampled the Cheesecake and the Crème Brulee, both made by owner  Maggie Moses – mother of the other two female owners Suzie and Sally who also head up the kitchen.
(212 Market Restaurant – Chattanooga, TN)

212 MARKET RESTAURANT rates:

Would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

 

After our visit to Chattanooga, we packed up and made our way to Roanoke, VI where we stayed at the Riverside Campground only to awake the next morning with fresh falling snow!  Oh boy, that was a rude wake-up call that Spring is not in the air all over America!

As we left the snow covered roads on towards Washington, it was a lovely sight to see the Dogwoods coming into bloom.

We checked into Greenbelt National Park just outside DC and the next morning packed up the dogs and made our way into the Capital to partake in the Cherry Blossom Festival.  In a word – beautiful!!!

(That’s Marine # 1 bringing President Obama back to the White House)

 

Until next week,

Chef John
in the “Gypsy Kitchen”

www.the-gypsy-kitchen.com

john@cookwithjohn.com

 

Ratings Scale:

= Hopeless, Would Definitely Not Return

= Needs Work, Most Likely Would Not Return

 = Good Basic Find, Things Could Be Improved, Would Probably Try Again

 = As Expected, Good Choice, A Few Things Could Be Better, Almost Certainly Visit Again

 = Better Than Expected, Great Choice, Would Definitely Revisit

 = Totally Blown Away, Every Point Exceeded Expectation, Would Drive Out-Of-Way To Revisit

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