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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 OCTOBER

• Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

• Halloween Trivia, Articles & Recipes

• Pumpkin Trivia and Facts

• Grilling & Barbecue Articles & Recipes

• Sports & Tailgating Articles & Recipes

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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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October Food Holidays:

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

OCTOBER is:

• Fair Trade Month
• Grain of the Month: Corn
• National Apple Month
• National Applejack Month
• National Caramel Month
• National Chili Month
• National Cookbook Month
• National Cookie Month
• National Country Ham Month
• National Cranberry Month
• National Dessert Month
• National Eat Better; Eat Together Month
• National Farm to School Month
• National Kitchen and Bath Month
• National Pasta Month
• National Pickled Peppers Month
• National Pizza Month
• National Popcorn Poppin' Month
• National Pork Month
• National Pretzel Month
• National Seafood Month
• National Spinach-Lovers' Month
• National Toilet Tank Repair Month
• New Zealand Cheese Month
• Non-GMO Month
• Squirrel Awareness Month
• Vegetarian Awareness Month

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DID YOU KNOW?

Progresso - In 1905 a young Sicilian, Vincent Taormina, began a small importing business to bring authentic Italian foods to Italian-American families. Driven by the wartime shortage of imported products, Progresso opened its original manufacturing plant in Vineland, N. J., where the company created the first Progresso premium soup in 1949, a minestrone based on an old family recipe. It was the first canned, ready-to-serve soup in America.

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Friday, October 23, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“The qualities of an exceptional cook are akin to those of a successful tightrope walker: an abiding passion for the task, courage to go out on a limb and an impeccable sense of balance.”
Bryan Miller, N.Y. Times 10/23/83
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Boston Cream Pie Day
(Boston Cream Pie is not a pie, it is a cake composed of 2 layers of sponge cake with a layer of custard or cream filling, usually topped with chocolate. Boston Cream Pie is the official state dessert of Massachusetts)

• National Canning Day (See 1752 below)
  (Canned Food Trivia and Facts)

• Global Champagne Day (Oct 23, 2026 - 4th Fri)
  [www.champagneday.fr/]
  (Champagne Trivia  ---  Champagne Quotes)

• Feast of St. John of Capistrano: The swallows of Mission San Juan Capistrano in California leave to winter in Argentina. On March 19 they return to California.  [Mission website]
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1752 Nicolas Appert was born. (The year is listed in various sources as 1749, 1750 and 1752; month and day also varies in October and November). Inventor of the canning process, preserving food by sealing it in sterilized containers. He published the results of 14 years of research in 1810 & received 12,000 franc award from French government.
(History of Canned Foods)

1762 Samuel Morey was born (died Aparil 17, 1843).  American inventor. His first patent, issued on January 26, 1793 (No. X51), was for a steam powered roasting spit, and was signed by George Washington.

1817 Pierre Athanase Larousse was born (died Jan 3, 1875). French educator and publisher. Published many outstanding reference works including the encyclopedic 15 volume Grand Dictionnaire. In 1938 the Larousse publishing house published an encyclopedia of gastronomy, 'Larousse Gastronomique' edited by Prosper Montagne.

1819 The first boat passed through the Erie Canal from Utica to Rome, New York. On board were Governor DeWitt Clinton and various state officials and others.

1874 The winner in an Oyster shucking contest in Montreal, Canada shucked 300 oysters in 30 minutes.
(Oyster Trivia  --  Oyster Recipes  --  Oyster Quotes)

1927 William Barron Hilton was born. A son of Conrad Hilton (founder of Hilton Hotels. Barron Hilton is a former co-chairman and president of the Hilton Hotel chain.

1928 Hoberg Paper & Fibre Co. registered the 'Charmin' trademark for toilet paper, paper towels, etc.

1928 The musical comedy 'Animal Crackers' starring the four Marx Brothers, opened on Broadway.

1943 Barbara Ann Hawkins of the vocal group 'The Dixie Cups' was born.

1947 Greg Ridley of the music group 'Humble Pie' was born.

1947 The Canadian government ends wartime price controls of meat.

1951 The 'Dial' trademark was registered for bar soap.

1986 Edward Adelbert Doisy died (born Nov 13, 1893).  American biochemist who shared (with Henrik Dam) the 1943 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the isolation and synthesis of vitamin K.

2012 80,000 pounds of Walnuts valued at about $300,000 were stolen in two incidents, October 23 & 29, in Tehama County, Northern California.
 

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

October 1-November 1, 2026  Arizona State Fair
Phoenix, Arizona

October 20-25, 2026  Baker County Fair
Macclenny, Florida

October 21-24, 2026  Circleville Pumpkin Show
Circleville, Ohio

October 22-25, 2026  Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest - Fredericksburg, Texas

October 23-24, 2026  Annual Arkansas Bean Fest and Championship Outhouse Races
Mountain View, Arkansas

October 23-24, 2026  Shrimp & Grits Festival
Jekyll Island, Georgia

October 24-25, 2026  The Chocolate Expo
Timonium, 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?
· The U.S. Congress passed the Organic Act creating the Wyoming Territory.
· The first railroad dining car, was introduced by the Pullman Palace Car Company.
· The town site of Reno, Nevada was officially established.

2) A Middle Eastern dip made of pureed chickpeas (garbanzo beans) garlic, and sesame oil or sesame paste (tahini). Sometimes olive oil is used instead of sesame oil, frequently lemon juice is added.

3) What vegetable supposedly got it's name from the fact that California growers started shipped it covered with heaps of crushed ice in the 1920s?

4) What is Ice Wine?

5) This full fat, sheep's milk cheese is made in the Basque region of Spain. It is a light yellow cheese with a hard rind, aged from 2 months to 1 year, and usually smoked. It has an sharp, rich buttery flavor.
Name this cheese.
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

Talk about putting the cart before the horse, can openers were not invented until 48 years after cans were introduced!

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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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IN SEASON FOR AUTUMN (Fall)

VEGETABLES: (Trivia)
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard Greens
Cranberries
Green Beans
Kale
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Plantains
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Radishes
Rutabagas
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes & Yams
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Winter Squash
 

FRUITS (Tips)
(Trivia)
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Mangos
Pears
Pomegranates
Raspberries

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DID YOU KNOW?

Thyme dates back to ancient Greece, where it symbolized courage. Roman soldiers bathed in water infused with thyme to gain vigor, courage and strength. In the Middle Ages, ladies embroidered a sprig of Thyme on the scarves of knights for bravery.

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Website last updated on Thursday, October 22, 2026