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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 FEBRUARY

Updated: Over 9,000 Food Festivals

Valentine’s Day Recipes

Football Food Articles

Buffalo Chicken Game Day Recipes

Guacamole & Avocado Dips

Meatball Appetizer 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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February Food Holidays:

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

FEBRUARY is:

• Black History Month

• American Heart Month

• Bake for Family Fun Month

• Canned Food Month

• Chocolate Lovers Month

• Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month

 Grain of the Month: Barley

 Great American Pies Month

• National Bird Feeding Month (one of the most difficult months in much of the U.S. for birds to survive in the wild)

• National Cherry Month

• National Children's Dental Health Month

• National Grapefruit Month

• National Hot Breakfast Month

• National Potato Lover's Month

• National Snack Food Month

• Sweet Potato Month

• Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month

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DID YOU KNOW?

Arrack or Arak is strong alcoholic beverage made in the Middle East and Asia from dates or from the sap of the date palm tree.  It is frequently flavored with aniseed.

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Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Daily Trivia Questions are below

TODAY’S FOOD QUOTE

“The best way to lose weight is to close your mouth - something very difficult for a politician. Or watch your food - just watch it, don’t eat it.”
Edward Koch, former  mayor of New York City
 

FOOD HOLIDAYS - TODAY IS:

• Carrot Cake Day (Carrot Cake Recipes)
  (Baking Tips  ---  Carrot Quotes)

• Japan: Setsubun (Bean Throwing Festival) Feb 3 or 4.  Setsubun celebrates the transition from winter to spring.

• The Day the Music Died (see 1959 below)

• Pride in Foodservice Week (Feb 2-6, 2026)
  [Assoc. of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals]

• [African Heritage & Health Week] February 1-7
(commemorates the foods, flavors and healthy cooking techniques that were core to the wellbeing of African ancestors from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the American South.)
 

TODAY IN FOOD HISTORY

1468 Johannes Gutenberg died. He invented the method of printing from moveable type. One of the important innovations in his method was a new press, similar to the screw presses used in winemaking.

1815 The world's first commercial cheese factory was established in Switzerland.
(Cheese Trivia & Facts  ---  Cheese Quotes)

1819 Stephen McCormick received a patent for a cast iron plow with replaceable parts.

1821 Elizabeth Blackwell was born (died May 31, 1910). First woman to receive an M.D. degree from a U.S. medical school (1849).

1823 Spencer Fullerton Baird was born. An American naturalist and zoologist, he was the second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

1906 George Adamson was born (died Aug 20, 1989).  British conservationist who pioneered the movement to preserve African wildlife together with his wife Joy.

1913 The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It gave Congress the power to levy taxes on income.  In 1913 less than 1% of the population paid income tax at the rate of 1%.

1916 The Cafe Voltaire opened in Zurich, Switzerland. It became a meeting place for members of the Dada movement in art and literature.

1946 Chicken Shack guitarist Stan Webb was born today.

1947 In Canada, a new record low temperature of -83°F was recorded at Snag in Yukon Territory.

1959 The day the music died. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) are killed in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa.

1962 'Peppermint Twist - Part I' by Joey Dee and the Starliters is number 1 on the music charts.

1966 The U.S. launched its first weather satellite, ESSA-1.

1968 The Lemon Pipers single 'Green Tambourine' was number 1 on the U.S. singles chart.

1991 U.S. first class postage rates are raised to 29 cents and post cards to 19 cents.

2006 Del Monte announced it was no longer economically feasible to grow pineapple in Hawaii and would cease its Hawaiian pineapple operation in two years. (Hawaii Food Facts & Trivia)

 

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

January 20-Feb 12, 2026  NYC Restaurant Week
New York, New York

February 3, 2026 - Kosher Food and Wine Experience
East Rutherford, New York

February 5-16, 2026 - Florida State Fair
Tampa, Florida

February 6-8, 2026  Bonita Springs Seafood & Music Festival - Bonita Springs, Florida

February 6-15, 2026  79th Annual Holtville Carrot Festival - Holtville, California

(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 American Guernsey Cattle Club was founded
· New York passed a law to tax 'oleomargarine,' to protect dairymen and real butter.
· Rutherford B. Hayes is sworn in as 19th president of the U.S.  His wife Lucy refuses to permit intoxicating beverages to be served at the White House.
· Henry Crowell began using the 'Quaker Man' as a trademark at his mill in Ravenna, Ohio.

2) N. Handwerker supposedly took the advice of Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante (at the time they were a singing waiter and his piano accompanist) and opened a restaurant that became a New York institution.  What is the name of the restaurant?

3) This Mexican dish is actually of Aztec origin. Captain John Smith described them as they were made by Native Americans of Virginia in 1612  "Their corne they rost in the eare greene, and bruising it in a morter of wood with a Polt, lappe it in rowles in the leaves of their corne, and so boyle it for a daintie."  What is this ancient dish?

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

So called seeds derived from plants in the carrot family are not actually seeds at all, but rather complete fruits that are dried. These include anise, caraway, coriander, dill and fennel.

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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?

The term Moonshine for illegally distilled whiskey did not originate in the United States.  The term dates back to 18th century England, where it was used to refer to spirits illegally distilled or smuggled into England. Also known as moonlight in the 19th century.

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IN SEASON FOR WINTER

VEGETABLES
(Recipes  --  Tips)
Avocados
Beets
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Collard Greens
Kale
Leeks
Onions
Parsnips
Plantains
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Sweet Potatoes & Yams
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Winter Squash

FRUITS (Tips)
Apples
Bananas
Grapefruit
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Oranges
Pears
Pomegranates

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DID YOU KNOW?

About 65 percent of American candy brands have been around for more than 50 years.

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Website last updated on Tuesday, February 3, 2026