Michael Chiarello is an Emmy-award winning Food Network television host. But also, as I know all too well, he runs the NapaStyle retail shops here in the Bay Area. This I know because I must tour them—along with Williams-Sonoma and various other distinctly non-Clint destinations—when enjoying a weekend stroll in Los Gatos with Loni, before I can get to the Apple store and the local Lamborghini and Aston Martin showrooms. Oh, yes, woe is me.
I think Chef knew this when he reluctantly included my name in tiny print when signing his book as seen here in this On Location video at Pebble Beach Food and Wine from this morning.
We made the 60 minute drive up to the cooking demo not quite knowing what to expect. When I learned one of Chef’s assistants was nicknamed “brown Jesus” I suspected this Saturday morning might be more interesting than I bargained for.
While I learned less about cooking (you won’t hear me complain), I certainly learned more than my fair share about marketing, branding and subtle non-stop in-show product placement. And story telling. Oh, the stories!
I must admit, Chef Chiarello is a master story teller—or, as we call it in Silicon Valley: Marketer.
It was a very entertaining 90 minutes. More to come from Pebble Beach… stay tuned… and, please, remember it’s “Clint” as in Clint Eastwood.
Noteworthy:
- I like the way Michael Chiarello gives a slight Japanese bow when receiving Loni’s business card…
- Throughout the cooking presentation this morning there were references to: Children’s coffins, Brown Jesus, Stella Artois and Girlfriends (did I mention I enjoyed it?)
- Why, oh why, pray tell, did they pair the food with… water? Terroir and water? Where’s all the wine? Yes, I know, it’s 10am, but after driving under the cloudy skies from San Jose to Pebble Beach I was more than ready for a glass.
- Chiarello’s book: $40. His look when he initially thinks Loni might be a slightly crazy fan: priceless.
- Canon T2i first test in the field: A+
- I’ll never forget watching Tiger Woods T-off here in 2000 at the US Open.
