When I think of a simple occasion, yet one that can often become a most memorable one, good friends sharing an excellent meal is at the top of the list. Many years ago, visiting the West coast on business, my long-time friend, Dave, invited me over to dinner to meet his wife, Melissa.
After working a full day in an executive position, Melissa served up a meal that was a culinary piece of art — both in appearance and flavor. I was quietly in awe. After that evening, I don’t believe I ever mentioned it to them again, but it was as casual as it was uniquely special, becoming a simply unforgettable (as well as an unforgettably simple) occasion that still elicits a warm smile.
Success in the culinary arts requires passion, just as any art form does.
The Culinary School Guide
Recently, I discovered that the online Culinary School Guide published their list of the Top 100 Useful Search Engines for Chefs, Cooks and Food Lovers. When you read down the list and begin to visit their selected sites, I suggest you begin at a comfortable time after eating a meal … don’t do it when you’re hungry. It is eye-opening. The sites they chose offer an incredible variety of sources to find virtually anything one could drool over — well, almost anything.
I am very impressed with the caliber of their selections. One particular site, though, had a very different effect on me, as it is one of my oldest sites. It is very difficult to put something like this into meaningful words, but being recognized for something without attempting to draw any attention to it, is not only a huge surprise, but quite humbling … for lack of a better description.
FarmersMarket.com and Matre.com were my first two sites to go online, back in 1995. This is the first time I am discussing FarmersMarket here. Very few know of my other sites, except for this one which bares my name (even fully: Lar.Matre.com). And many who have contacted FarmersMarket think there’s a company behind it — well, I guess there is, but just a company of one.
FarmersMarket.com
FarmersMarket.com was never meant to bring wealth or fame, as I always intended to remain somewhat invisible while providing a simple, but worthwhile service to others. Considering the life-span of the Web, these two sites of mine are ancient, but each will always be a work-in-progress. Hopefully they will age gracefully.
Although FarmersMarket.com has never been submitted for recognition of any kind, I was just as humbled by the Culinary School Guide as I was the first time the site was formally recognized in 1998.
On October 19, 1998, FarmersMarket.com was awarded Cool Site of the Day (the day after Fight Back! with David Horowitz made the list). As I look back at the other sites recognized during that same month, I see TicketMaster.com, MP3.com, REI.com, and my personal favorite, CRRH.org (Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp), because you just never know when you may need a good rope.
Some sites which recognized FarmersMarket.com have since disappeared themselves, such as the Digital Hors d’oeuvers Site of the Day (I thought they disappeared, but apparently they changed their business focus), as well as the Starting Point Hot Site which may still be around, too.
The real surprise came when I received a long email from someone stating to be representing the Science and Technology Museum in London. I really didn’t bother to read much of it since it was long and detailed, and seemed like so many other emails, that I just filed it. A few days later, when I received the frantic second email from the same individual, I pulled out the original and read all of the email as I should have done to begin with. After a few quick checks, I realized it was very legitimate.
That email asked me to confirm that I received the first one, along with the attached photos. I hadn’t even noticed the photos. But as soon as I saw the photos, they further supported the legitimacy of their proposal. Those photos included images of back-lit display kiosks and free-standing, back-lit informational kiosks and displays. 
One of those large, back-lit free-standing display elements was filled with a reproduction of my FarmersMarket.com home page. FarmersMarket was one of just five Web sites selected to represent the different sections of the museum. The contract I signed stated that the exhibit would run for five years. I remember thinking at that time that five years in Web time, was like a life-time in real time. I have no idea how long it actually ran.
Another recognition bestowed upon FarmersMarket was a real surprise of knock-out proportions. The actress Daryl Hannah recommended FarmersMarket.com, and it alone, in her video on buying organic foods and her love of shopping and experiencing farmers markets. I still have an open invitation to Daryl for lunch next time she’s in the Atlanta-area. Come on Daryl, don’t be shy.
Cool Site of the Day, Oct 19, 1998
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