I'm an amateur cook/underpaid food (and more) writer with dreams of national bylines and a handful of cookbook titles. And according to my boss, Chef Matthew Levin, I have no moxy.
I'm a food- & word- obsessed writer/editor/mom-of-five who lucked into a cookbook venture with a crazy Philly chef. Since then I have been elevated to personal ghost writer/assistant/sounding board, a job description I am honored to tout. But fahrenheit825 isn't about me, it's about him: Matthew Levin, Executive chef of Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel. After recently being dissed by Food and Wine editor Dana Cowin, who claimed in the June issue that there are no "maverick" chefs in Philly, Levin decided to get busy proving her and any other doubting foodie, wrong. Hence the cookbook and the blogsite.
Having gotten to know Matthew, I can vouch for his culinary prowess and his magnetism. Not only is he brilliant in the kitchen, he is completely insane (like in the Eagles-loving, tattoo-piercing, Philly born and bred kind of way) outside of it. And, he has a worthy backstory (you have to buy the cookbook for that though, and first we need to score the deal).
Big and brawny, he can wax poetically about flowers and spices and throw obscenities around like a seasoned sailor. His sincere passion for pure ingredients and unfailing ability to transform them into something transcendental, is intoxicating. He's an everyday guy with extraordinary skills and a penchant for molecular gastronomy. But even more importantly, he relishes the connections he makes with other chefs—professional or amateur—who share his lust for Mother Nature's bounty. Spend a little time here, and you will learn plenty of new tricks, new places to eat, shop and well, yeah, drink; and get an insider look at his culinary arsenal. And of course, he hopes to learn a thing or two from YOU.
People, food, kids, cocktails, the ocean, flowers, and Matt Levin, not necessarily in that order.
