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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

• Pumpkin Recipes

• 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?

After Halloween, looking in the garbage of the average American, one finds empty candy wrappers, but no candy thrown away. After Valentine's Day, you can find the wrappers, the box and the candy all thrown away.

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Saturday, October 31, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“Hark, villains! I will grind your bones to dust
And with your blood and it I'll make a paste,
And of the paste a coffin I will rear
And make two pasties of your shameful heads”

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
'Titus Andronicus' Act V Scene II
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• HALLOWEEN, OR ALL HALLOW'S EVE

• Turn your clock back before going to bed tonight - Daylight Saving Time ends tomorrow,  Nov 1, 2026.

• National Caramel Apple Day

• UK: [UK Sausage Week] (Oct 26 - Nov 1, 2026). Celebrating the great British banger!
  (Tips for Making Sausage at Home)
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1826 Noah Cushing was issued a patent for a threshing and winnowing machine.

1831 Carl von Voit was born. German physiologist whose work on metabolism helped establish modern nutritional science.

1864 Nevada became the 36th State.
(Nevada Food Trivia & Facts)

1888 Scottish inventor John Boyd Dunlop was issued a patent for pneumatic bicycle tires.

1905 Joseph H. Campbell Co. registered 'Campbell's' trademark for baked beans (first used in 1898).
(Campbell’s Trivia)

1917 Patience Gray, British cookery writer, was born. ’Plats Du Jour’ (1957), ‘Honey From A Weed’ (1986)

1920 Justice Oliver Wendell Homes handed down the decision of the Supreme Court, which upheld trademark violations for The ‘Coca-Cola Company’ against 'The Koke Company of America'.
(Coca Cola Trivia & Facts)

1926 Harry Houdini (Erich Weisz) died (born March 24, 1874).  Legendary magician, illusionist and escape artist, he died from peritonitis after a ruptured appendix.

1950 John Candy was born. Canadian comedian and actor, member of 'The Second City' comedy troupe.

1981 Dunkin' Donuts opened its first store in Thailand.

1982 Waverley Root died in Paris at age 79. Cookbook and food author ('The Food of France' (1959, 'The Food of Italy' (1971), 'Paris Dining Guide' (1969), 'Eating in America: A History' (1976), etc.)

2007 David Tallichet, founder of Specialty Restaurants Corp, died (born Dec 20, 1922). A former WW II pilot, many of the restaurants have aviation themes, or are located on prime waterfront or hilltop properties. (I was Executive Chef at one of his restaurants, 'Britanny Hill' in Denver, Colorado in the 1980s - Chef James)

2009 McDonald's closed its 3 locations in Iceland this month due to the 'complex operational environment.'

2011 The United Nations reported that the world population had reached 7 billion. (Population Trivia)

2020 After 96 years on the corner of 45th and Madison Avenue, New York’s Roosevelt Hotel closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing drop in business.  Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, it had 18 stories, more than 1,000 rooms and 22,000 square feet of retail space.
 

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

October 29-November 1, 2026  43rd Annual Spinach Festival - Crystal City, Texas

October 29-Nov 15, 2026  120th Edition of the State Fair of Louisiana - Shreveport, Louisiana

October 30-November 8, 2026  72nd Annual Florida Gateway Fair - Lake City, Florida

November 1-8, 2026 - Annual San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival - San Diego, California

November 5-15, 2026  Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair - Jacksonville, Florida

November 6-7, 2026  69th Annual Urbanna Oyster Festival - Urbanna, Virginia

November 6-14, 2026 - National Peanut Festival
Dothan, Alabama

(SEE ALL FOOD FESTIVALS and OTHER FOOD EVENTS)
 

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FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ    (new DAILY questions)

1) The following events took place in the same year.
What year is it?
· The Clementine is developed in Algeria, a hybrid of the tangerine and the Seville orange (bitter orange).
· Fannie Merrit Farmer opens Miss Farmer's School of Cookery in Boston, Massachusetts.
· Drake Bakeries was founded in New York, which will produce items such as Devil Dogs, Ring Dings and Yodels.
· Barnum's Animal Crackers are introduced in a box with a string so they may be hung from Christmas trees.
· Pepsi-Cola Co. is founded in North Carolina by Caleb Bradham.
· The pastel-colored candy disks called NECCO wafers first appeared, named for the New England Confectionery Company.
· Frank Hardart and Joe Horn opened the first Automat in Philadelphia.

2) What do these foods have in common:
Bread, Marmalade, Vanilla Fudge, Vanilla Ice, Hot Chocolate, Hot Tuna and Humble Pie?

3) In what film do the following events take place?
· A giant 4-legged teakettle pours itself into a walking teacup.
· A Vacuum Flask inhales a 3-scoop ice cream cone.
· A large eggcup holding a soft-boiled egg flies across the hall.
· An apple and a pear are used to compose the '8' in the number 38.
· A bluebird appears holding 2 maraschino cherries.

4) A Belgian cow's milk cheese. It is a semisoft surface ripened cow's milk cheese notable for its strong, pungent aroma, which develops as the cheese ripens, and becomes very strong within a few weeks. The distinctive flavor is not as strong as its odor.  Although originally a Belgium cheese, it has become essentially a German cheese since the 19th century.

5) A moist, cake-like fragrant Swedish rye bread made with molasses (or brown sugar), and flavored with orange zest and fennel, caraway or anise.  Frequently it is made with a combination of several types of rye flour from dark to light.

6) A soft sheep's milk cheese from Hungary. The cheese has very little flavor, so it is commonly seasoned with herbs, garlic, onions and paprika (which turns it red). Other frequently used flavorings include anchovies, capers and mustard.
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

Men (48%) are more likely than women (39%) to give more candy to those with cute or original costumes.

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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?

43% of people say the narrow white end of candy corn should be eaten first.
 

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Website last updated on Saturday, October 31, 2026