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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?

The first straw was constructed by winding strips of paper around a pencil and gluing it together. The first patent for a wax coated paper drinking straw (made by this spiral winding process) was issued to Marvin C. Stone of Washington, D.C. in 1888.  Initially the straws were all hand wound, but in 1906 his Stone Straw Company invented a machine to wind the straws.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“The kitchen, reasonably enough, was the scene of my first gastronomic adventure. I was on all fours. I crawled into the vegetable bin, settled on a giant onion and ate it, skin and all. It must have marked me for life, for I have never ceased to love the hearty flavor of raw onions.”   James Beard (1903-1985)
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• National Noodle Day
  (Noodle Trivia  --  Pasta Trivia  --  Noodle Recipes)

• National Orange Wine Day (Wine made with white grapes, fermented with the grape skins, similar to how red wine grapes are treated).

• National Taco Day (Oct 6, 2026 - first Tuesday)

• Health Care Food Service Workers Week (October 4-10, 2026) [Assoc. for Healthcare Foodservice]

• National 4-H Week (Oct 4-10, 2026) [4-h.org]

• UK: [National Curry Week] (Oct 5-11, 2026) Celebrate over 200 years of Indian restaurants in the UK.

• UK: National Vegetarian Week (Oct 1-7, 2026)
  [The Vegetarian Society]  (Vegetarian Trivia)
  (Vegetarian Quotes  ---  Vegetarian Recipes)

• UK: Seed Gathering Season (Sept 21-Oct 21, 2026)
[The Tree Council]  Gather seeds, fruits and nuts which can be nurtured to grow the trees of the future.
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1790 Jacob Schweppe demonstrated his process for making artificial mineral water.

1863 The first Turkish Bath in the U.S. was opened in Brooklyn Heights, New York by Dr. Charles H. Shepard

1889 The famous cabaret, Moulin Rouge, opened in Paris, France. [ www.moulinrouge.fr/?lang=en ]

1893 Cream of Wheat (a porridge product using farina) was developed by wheat millers of Diamond Milling Co. in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Named 'Cream of Wheat' because it was so white.
(Farina Trivia)

1945 William 'Billy Goat' Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, took his pet goat 'Murphy' to game 4 of the Baseball World Series (Chicago Cubs vs Detroit Tigers).  Denied entry to Wrigley Field because "the goat stinks," Billy Goat Sianis supposedly places a curse on the Cubs that they will never win another World Series. It would be 71 years before the Cubs won a World Series, in 2016.
[more on Billy Goat Tavern website]

1951 Will Keith Kellogg died. He founded Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co. (W.K. Kellogg Company) to manufacture cereals (cornflakes were the first) developed by his brother John Harvey Kellogg.
(Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Trivia)

2008 Mars Inc., makers of M&Ms completed its acquisition of chewing gum company Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $23 billion. (Chewing Gum Trivia)

2013 The musical 'Big Fish' opened at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York.

2023 Michael Chiarello died (born Jan 26, 1962).  American celebrity chef, author, winery owner and cooking show host.
[Website: http://michaelchiarello.com/]

 

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

October 1-11, 2026 - Tulsa State Fair
Tulsa, Oklahoma

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

October 6-10, 2026  82nd Annual Floresville Peanut Festival - Floresville, Texas

October 8-11, 2026  53rd Annual National Shrimp Festival - Gulf Shores, Alabama

October 8-18, 2026  Mississippi State Fair
Jackson, Mississippi

October 9-11, 2026  54th Annual Cuero Turkeyfest
Cuero, Texas

October 10-11, 2026  36th World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off - New Iberia, Louisiana

(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?
· California ordered mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history. Cities and towns must cut water usage by 25%, due to a drought emergency.
· Burger King opened its first restaurant in Mongolia
· The SpaceX supply ship brought groceries, supplies and an ISSpresso espresso machine to the International Space Station.
· California’s ban on the sale of foie gras was ruled illegal because it encroaches on the regulatory domain of the federal government.
· The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported that the amount of fish in the oceans has declined by 50% since 1970.

2) A classic British food has one of its earliest mentions in Charles Dickens' 'Tale of Two Cities (1859),' Can you name this food?
  a) Christmas pudding.  b) 'chips'.  c) trifle.
  d) Yorkshire pudding.  c) Worcestershire sauce.

3) What plant root contains a compound that is 50 times sweeter than sugar?

4) How many eggs does the average hen lay in one year?

5) This variety of coarse grained wheat is believed to be the ancestor of all modern wheat varieties. It originated in southeastern Turkey possibly as early as 12,000 BC.  At present, it is still grown in harsh environments and poor soil in France, Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

6) This plant is closely related to the leek, and thought by some to be the wild ancestor of the leek. The bulbs are very large, and can weigh more than 1 pound.
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

The first commercial pasta plant in the U.S. was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1848 by a Frenchman!

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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?

Japanese chopsticks are usually tapered or pointed at the eating end, and Chinese chopsticks tend to be longer with a blunt or square end.

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Website last updated on Tuesday, October 6, 2026