Meeting and "Morsals"

The BCNN Coffee turned out to be very enjoyable.
I sat with two women named Barbara, who discussed their gluten intolerance. That seems to be the allergy du jour And that speaker was terrific. She's a master chef named Amy Tyrell, who owns a catering firm named "Morsals As You Wish," (a clunky, somewhat awkward name, if you ask me, but no one did). Anyway, she has a fascinating personal, as well as work background, having been married three times. First hubby walked out when their daughter was diagnosed with cancer, second died at 46 of a brain stem tumor, third was the keeper and they have a place in the Channel Islands, plus one in San Francisco. Not too shabby.
Amy had worked in the corporate world for years, but finally was able to follow her dream and go to culinary school. She mentioned how much that cost: $87,000. Boggles the tummy.
Incidentally--or not so--she demonized GMOs, which she said are poisons and she cautioned about processed food. She uses only "certified organic," as opposed to just plain organic (I never knew there was a difference) and mentioned with approval Whole Foods.
During her career, Amy worked with many of the well-known T.V. chefs, including Andrew Bourdain, whom she called "a hunk" (well, yeah, I've seen him); Wolfgang Puck, whom she said was very supportive and kind; and the pretty young woman (Italian descent) who weighs about 80 pounds and is the daughter or niece of a famous director (too lazy to look her up), whom she said was wonderfully warm and sweet-natured. She mentioned others I hadn't heard of and had some less-than-complimentary things to say about them.
Let's face it, food means a lot to me and that's probably the reason I was so enthralled--but so was everybody else. Amy is a terrific speaker: good, strong voice without theatrical tricks; lots of fascinating info; and she delivers her pitch with a balance of enthusiasm, solid information, and sly jokes. She wowed the crowd.
I signed up to get her newsletter and will check out her blog, as well as her business. Sent Ellen info about her because I thought Greg, who's a very creative cook himself, might be interested.
I was pleased to hear back from the other of my--I hope--newly-hatched friends, Joyce, and she, Nancy and I are tentatively set to meet for lunch next Wednesday.
My cousin, Sally, called to thank me for her mother's album, and we had a good long talk. She suggested I come visit her in San Diego on the train and I'm definitely planning to do that. Sally is full of zip, although she has her hands full with a rapidly-failing husband (several strokes, heart failure, and other problems) and a son who is also gravely ill.