Guest Post: Thank You Charlie Palmer!

The following is a post from local friends John and Theresa Guter, who had the pleasure of visiting with Chef Charlie Palmer in California recently. Charlie is "homegrown," one of the great success stories of our area. Scroll down for photos.

My own delightful experience with Charlie at his restaurant in New York City demonstrates how down-to-earth he remains: I was enjoying a night out with a friend at the wonderful Aureole and Charlie came out of the kitchen to say hello. My friend asked how a guy from such a small town could have achieved so much. Charlie laughed and said "Good question. There was only one red light in Smyrna, and when it broke they didn't bother to fix it because nobody ever stopped anyway." I'm not sure if that's true, but it's a good tale.  kmy

On our recent trip to California, John and I, along with our son Eric and his girlfriend Melissa Fontes, had the opportunity to attend a cooking show instructed by celebrity chef (and hometown boy) Charlie Palmer. Charlie was  pleased that we were at the show, and of course we were excited to be there. Charlie talked about food and wine pairings, and the four-course menu he prepared was served to attendees at the end of the show. Charlie stopped by our table several times to find out how we liked the food, and encouraged us to "just ask"  if we needed anything.

 

After dinner, Charlie -- with his busy schedule -- sat with us for almost an hour. We laughed and reminisced about his life in Smyrna and Sherburne, and he seemed as honored to be in our presence as we were to be in his. It was a great evening. Thank you, Charlie!

John and Theresa Guter