"Mario y Anthony"

That is Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain. Last night, I was so fortunate to spend an evening with my wife and some of our closest friends at a few sessions of the NY Food and Wine Festival. Both sessions were so inspiring and they felt so up close and personal that made the evening so special.

Bourdain, kept his great storytelling style all the way, It was like if we were attending a live episode of"No Reservations". Couple of things that really hit home for me; first, being thankful for the pleasures of eating and traveling; second, the appreciation for the dishes and recipes of families around the world, and more importantly, the golden rule of never declining an offer to eat something that was prepared "just for you". As he called it, The Grandma Rule "On Thanksgiving You tell Grandma that her turkey was great; that you want more; and that you love the way she cooked it". It's as simple as that.

It reminded me about one time that I went to visit a friend in Andalucia, and the moment we both got to his place, his mother welcomed us with a fresh made Gazpacho. It turns out that although I love tomatoes, I don't enjoy Gazpacho that much. So I had my first bowl in a matter of minutes; chugging sangria intermittently. The result - a second bowl "Oh my God...he really liked it!", she said. - more sangria please!

On being thankful, I couldn't agree with him more. Coincidentally, as we were driving on the West Side Highway en route to the Times Center, I told my son how beautiful the [Hudson] river looked; and to realize that having the opportunity of seeing water or enjoying being close to an ocean are actually a privilege.

Being there that evening, was indeed a pleasure. To see Mario (one of the most passionate chefs, in my opinion) and Anthony Bourdain, what a treat. The fact that they went unscripted was probably one of the reason why I enjoyed the most. Are these guys passionate for what they do or what?

Mario talked about how he started, about his family, his passion for Italy and his next "dreams". One of them, to open a branch of "Lupa" (his roman trattoria in NYC) in Rome. All this with the purpose of being "in the kitchen" for a couple of years while his kids attend high school in Italy. His face got a big smile when he said "Could you imagine going to the market at Campo de Fiori to buy all the ingredients you need to cook for your restaurant guests"

Passion, it is all about passion. These guys are contagious. And luckily it is something you want to get from someone else.