Part 4: Harmony

I eventually stopped taking lessons and started taking auditions. The problem, however, was that the jobs were incompatible ( both are done at night and the big nights are Friday and Saturday. For a couple years I would play music, but I'd miss the excitement of cooking. But if I was cooking, I'd miss playing music.

I think I've found a way for make both passions happy. I play with the Elgin Symphony by night and write about food by day. I really do cook at home, though cooking on a big scale isn't entirely over. Most years I go back to New Haven to cook for a dance festival over Memorial Day weekend: 200 people, 3 meals a day for 3 days. For the past couple summers I've worked at a Saturday farmer's market in Chicago selling mushrooms, giving out advice with the oyster mushrooms and talking over portobello possibilities. This fall I begin work on a book about Atticus Cafe, a cafe I helped open in 1981. It will be a book of recipes and stories.

John Ryan—Autobiography in 4 Parts

Part 1: You Say Tomato...

Part 2: But What Does It Look Like?...

Part 3: An Idea Simmers...

Part 4: Harmony

Just Good Food Archive

John Ryan

Both chef and musician, John Ryan wrote the Just Good Food blog from 1996 through 2001.

This page created 1996

Top

Return to the
Global Gourmet^®
Main Page

Labor Day Recipes

Global Gourmet^®
Shopping
Gourmet Food, Cookbooks
Kitchen Gadgets & Gifts

Advanced Search
Recent Searches

Departments

Kate's Global Kitchen
Kate's Books
Cookbook Profiles
Global Destinations
Holiday & Party Recipes
I Love Desserts
On Wine
Shopping

 New Green Basics
 Cooking with Kids

Archives
Conversions, Charts
   & Substitutions
Forums/Message Boards
Search

About the
Global Gourmet^®
   Contact Info
   Advertising
   Feedback
   Privacy Statement

IACP Cookbook
Award Winners

Fish Forever
Local Breads
Asian Flavors (Jean-Georges)
Morimoto: Japanese Cooking
Chocolates & Confections
Julia Child
Cook with Jamie
The World Atlas of Wine
Food: The History of Taste
Cook Everything Vegetarian
All Cookbook Winners

JBF Cookbook
Award Winners

River Cottage Meat Book
My Bombay Kitchen
Country Cooking of France
Whole Grain Breads
The EatingWell Diet
Cooking
Geography of Oysters
All Cookbook Winners

Classic Cookbooks

Betty Crocker Why It Works
The Bon Appétit Cookbook
Joy of Cooking
Fifth Taste...Umami
The Professional Chef
New American Cooking
Vegetable Love
Vegetarian Cookbooks

Copyright © 1994-2008,
Forkmedia LLC