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Chef James

“The duty of a good Cuisinier is to transmit to the next generation everything he has learned and experienced.”
 
Fernand Point, 1941

FEATURED FOR APRIL

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Cinco de May Articles and Recipes

Mother’s Day Articles and Recipes

Fiddleheads: A New England Delicacy
 

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FEATURED RECIPES & TIPS

· Original Frank's Redhot Wings

· Ultimate Party Wings

· More Chicken Wing Recipes

· More Appetizer Recipes·

· French Onion Dip

· Jack's Screaming Red Sauce

· Potato Salad Recipes

· Cole Slaw Recipes

· Chicken Salad Recipes

· Kickoff Kabobs

· Banana Bread Recipes

· Mushroom Appetizer Recipes

· Crunchy Snack Mixes

· Mustard and Mustard Sauces

· Salsa Recipes

· Baked and Stuffed Potato Recipes

· Mac & Cheese Recipes
 

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April Food Holidays:

For Details, History and more DAY, WEEK and MONTH Food Holiday designations, including LINKS to Holiday Origins and Additional Information:
SEE Detailed APRIL Food Calendar

APRIL is:

• Alcohol Awareness Month (since 1987)

• Defeat Diabetes Month

• Fresh Florida Tomato Month - fresh tomatoes are harvested from every growing district in Florida in April.

• Global Child Nutrition Month

• Grain of the Month: Sprouted Grains

• National B.L.T. Month

• National Garden Month

• National Garlic Month

• National Grange Month - advocates for rural America and Agriculture

• Grilled Cheese Month

• National Pecan Month

• National Soft Pretzel Month

• National Soyfoods Month (Began in 1996 by the Soyfoods Assn of North America)

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DID YOU KNOW?

Crab Boil or Shrimp Boil is a traditional spice blend, usually consisting of equal parts of black peppercorns, mustard seeds, dill seeds, cloves, allspice, ginger, and bay leaves.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“It is not a matter of indifference whether we like oysters or clams, snails or shrimp, if only we know how to unravel the existential significance of these foods.”
Jean-Paul Satre, French existentialist philosopher. (1905-1980)
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Shrimp Scampi Day
  (Shrimp Scampi Recipes)

• [Stop Food Waste Day]  (April 29, 2026 - last Wed)

• Stewardship Week - April 26-May 3, 2026 (last Sun in April to 1st Sun in May) [Nat’l Assoc. of Conservation Districts] To encourage conserving natural resources for our future.

• UK: National Gardening Week: April 27 - May 3, 2026  [Royal Horticultural Society] Encouraging gardners to share their love of gardening.
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1759 John Adlum was born (died March 14, 1836). American viticulturist, he is sometimes mistakenly credited with developing the Catawba grape. He was a pioneer in cultivation of native grape varieties, and certainly was instrumental in popularizing the Catawba grape. (Grape Trivia)

1768 Georg Brandt died. A Swedish chemist, he discovered the element cobalt in 1730. Cobalt is used in steel making, and is an essential part of vitamin B12

1856 A shipment of 33 camels arrived at the Texas port of Indianola. They had been purchased on the North African Coast, for the U.S. army to use in the deserts of the Southwest. (Camel Trivia & Facts)

1884 Michael Thomas Bass, Jr. died (born July 6, 1799). Grandson of Bass Brewery founder, William Bass. He took control of the company in 1827, and by 1881 Bass was the largest brewery in the world.
(Beer and Brewing Articles)

1913 The zipper was patented by Gideon Sundback. Most checked chefs pants still have buttons.

1950 'If I Knew You Were Comin' (I'd've Baked a Cake)' by Eileen Barton was No. 1 on the music charts.

1988 McDonald's announced it will be opening 20 Moscow restaurants. They will serve Bolshoi Mak instead of Big Macs. (McDonald’s Trivia & Facts)

1989 Donald Deskey died. An industrial designer, he designed the packaging for Tide laundry detergent and Crest toothpaste among others.

1998 Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said his country, in cooperation with the World Bank and the World Wildlife Fund, would set aside up to 62 million acres of threatened Amazon rain forest for conservation.

2020 Coronavirus:  Belgium urges residents to eat more chips (fries) as coronavirus creates massive potato surplus.
 

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A FEW FEATURED FOOD FESTIVALS
(See All 9,000 Food, Wine & Beer Festivals)

April 23-May 3, 2026  New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - New Orleans, Louisiana

April 23-June 21, 2026  Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival - Williamsburg, Virginia

April 24-May 3, 2026  Spring Georgia State Fair
Metro Atlanta, Hampton, Georgia

April 30, 2026  The Joy of Sake - New York, New York

May 1-3, 2026  Annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival - Fernandina Beach, Florida

May 1-9, 2026  131st Sequim Irrigation Festival
Sequim, Washington

May 2-3, 2026  Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival
Bodega Bay, California

May 2-3, 2026 - 53rd Annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival - West Friendship, Maryland

(SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
 

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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ    (new DAILY questions)

1) All of the following events took place in the same year.  What year is it?
· Carnation introduced instant nonfat dry milk.
· The Butterball brand and the self-basting turkey are introduced.
· Trix cereal is introduced by General Mills.
· Burger King was founded.

2) This item was so expensive up until the 1500s that it was used in small amounts in medicines, but not in food.
  [a] saffron;  [b] vanilla;  [c] sugar;  [d] salt.

3) Which of the following are mentioned in the Old testament and are among the earliest cultivated foods?
  [a] almonds and dates.
  [b] dates and wheat.
  [c] almonds and basil.
  [d] saffron and dates.

4) Those with thyroid problems should avoid eating large amount of these foods.
  [a] salt and lemons.
  [b] cabbage and cauliflower.
  [c] asparagus and broccoli.

Click Here for Today’s Quiz Answers
 

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Read an article about Chef James and the FoodReference.com website published in the Winona Daily News, Minneapolis StarTribune, and numerous other newspapers: Click here for the Article
 

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Dedication
This website is dedicated to:
· Gladys Ehler, my mother, who taught me patience and how to make Sauerbraten (it is still my favorite)
· Edward Ehler, my father, who taught me a love of books and history.
· Barbara Saba, my sister, who taught me how to dance.
· Cpl. Thomas E. Saba, my nephew.  Died in action on Feb. 7, 2007 in Iraq.  He was 30 yrs. young.

          Chef James
 

TOP

DID YOU KNOW

Barnacles are actually Crustaceans and are related to lobsters, shrimp and crabs.  There are about 1,000 species of barnacles.

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A FOOD LIFE

"There are those who say that a life devoted to food -- cooking it, eating it, writing about it, even dreaming about it -- is a frivolous life, an indulgent life.  I would disagree.  If we do not care what we eat, we do not care for ourselves, and if we do not care for ourselves, how can we care for others?"
Fictional cookery writer Hilary Small, in episode 6, series 2 of 'Pie In the Sky'

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Click Here for
Food Emergency
Websites, Phone #s, E-mails, etc.

 

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Classic Fish and Seafood Recipes
 

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DID YOU KNOW?

There are over 50 genera of yeast, with 678 species and thousands of different strains.

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IN SEASON FOR SPRING

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Asparagus
Avocados
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Collard Greens
Kale
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions
Peas
Plantains
Radishes
Rhubarb
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips

FRUITS (Tips)
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blackberries
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Pineapples
Strawberries

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DID YOU KNOW?

W.F. Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, patented chewing gum in 1869.

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Website last updated on Wednesday, April 29, 2026