One of the treasures I have from my week's work is a conversation with an executive chef at a prestigious dining establishment in Washington D.C. Between Chef and I, it was hard to say which of us was more excited. This gentleman was well versed in food systems, sustainable sourcing and how the agricultural production systems differ from one another in the quality of food produced. He was undoubtedly well educated, obliviously had read Pollan, Nabham and clearly followed foodie trends. I would wager he is a member of Slow Foods Network. Chef's food I.Q. was off the charts. He was so well educated and quick with ideas, that it an absolute joy to discuss the ways in which American Pine Nuts might be used in his kitchen. Because, a Chef's specialty is just that, I wouldn't say much about the different ideas he had.

We packaged up these pine nuts, and handed them to the postal clerk, who raised his eyebrows and said, "they are going there?"

Thanks to Dr. Gary Nabhan help, the American Pine Nut (P. Monophylla) was entered into the Ark of Foods. I am optimistic at the power of American Pine Nuts in this particularly culinary artist's hands. The last generation of food writers who wrote about food politics have made their mark in the educating many culinary professionals. These writers have created the "conscious food consumer" and of course, a young, hip chef understands how to blend his art with ideas which ecompase sustainablity, high quality, unique foods and economically supports America's small farms. The power of the plate in the hands of a socially conscious chef is a powerful voice. This fine chef at in a highlighted veneu has the ability to call attention to an the American Pine Nut for the extraordinary specialty ingredient it is. I hope perhaps, we can share a story from this Chef in our Capital City

Other parts of the week were not nearly as nice and I was very regretful not to be able to assist the company which wanted 80,000 lbs of American Pine nuts, or the exporter which needed, 1,500 lbs of American Pine Nuts. They will have to wait. It is a shame not to get to work with these people, right now. The exporter was a jewel. The buyer and I did not have the opportunity to talk at length. An offset, to this week's glitches , was a writer for a major organic publication. She also was very savvy and a pleasure to speak with. Hope the some of the information we shared will be found in a fall issue of her publication. I can state, my week was filled with intelligent people interested and perhaps, invested in a better pine nuts - The American pine nut. NICE!.