Have food, will travel

The food business is really exciting and ever full of surprises. Usually these are not pretty surprises, such as refrigerators "going down" or ovens not working, but in the case of catering, you are guaranteed surprises.

We had such a surprise last Sunday when delivering a "picnic" for a surprise birthday party. I knew that it was out a remote road, but didn't fully comprehend WHERE until we arrived. This was not a fully staffed event, rather one in which we dropped off hot food along with serving platters. Someone else had arranged for plates and silverware, thankfully!

We arrived out the remote road, twisting and turning until we arrived at a huge gate. We made the call to the person "inside" and then met her at the pond. I thought, lovely place for a picnic. NOOOOOOOO...that was just where the folks would first arrive for wine. Hm...I heard her saying something about the ATV...didn't pay much attention until she said that the last truck that tried to go up this road couldn't make it. That should have been a big clue.

Up the hill we climbed in our trusty 1964 Ford pickup...until it would climb no more. Farmer/Chef Jeff had to carry the food up the hill to the tree house. Did I mention that this was all to be delivered to a tree house??? As my honey put the truck in park, and put on the emergency brake, we realized that the old truck's brakes were not up to the task. I got to sit in the truck with my foot jammed on the brake while the food was unloaded and I PRAYED!!!

All the while I was sitting with my foot jammed on the brake, I tried to relax (but not too much!) and take in the view. It really was quite beautiful, but GOOD LORD!!! I took a few pictures, one of which was my foot on the brake...

It really was a beautiful setting, but I was not really able to fully enjoy it. Farmer/Chef Jeff took the camera to the top of the hill and snapped some shots of the view so I could see what was up there.

I didn't mention that while riding in the vintage Ford truck, the inside door handles fell off. Farmer Jeff has been after me to buy a truck for catering and I kept telling him no, up until I had to lean on the brake for dear life. When he got back into the truck and relieved me of my braking duties, I asked him if we could go look at trucks. My faithful little '97 Nissan Maxima has been traded in for a Chevy truck! Now we have a truck that we can rely upon. I can hardly wait to take the dogs for a ride in it!

My Two Movie Stars!

A friend of mine has a phenomenally successful/wealthy brother. When asked the secret of his success, he has stated he is "just LUCKY".

I believe that is the case with my honey, Farmer Jeff. He is lucky and knows it!

Last Wednesday I noticed an announcement in the online local paper. It was calling for movie extras and vintage trucks. I thought Farmer Jeff would enjoy getting the truck into a movie. He was VERY tickled with the idea and so he speedily emailed photos of the truck. As long as the email was going out, he thought of including a photo of himself, just in case they still needed folks to portray vintners in the film.

The film, Bottle Shock, tells the story of the 1976 blind winetasting in Paris where California wines were pitted against French wines - the gold standard of the time. Judges deemed the California wines triumphant, and gave Sonoma and Napa Valley a preeminent place in the world of wine.

After a little phone tag, the casting company contacted my honey and asked him to show up, with our sweet, old Ford truck, at 2 pm at Buena Vista Vineyards in Sonoma. He was to bring several changes of clothing, but wore a shirt that his mom had embroidered for his dad back in the 70's. Luckily his dad had saved the shirt for Farmer Jeff.

I was working at the Windsor Farmer's Market the night of the filming and received a very excited text message that Farmer Jeff was in a scene with Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez, standing no more than 10 feet away!

When Farmer Jeff came home, he was elated. He had so much fun. I think what he was happiest about, besides the fact that he was the ONLY person that didn't have to change their clothes (they loved the embroidered shirt) was that the truck is going to be a STAR!!!

For news on the filming, check out:
http://www.sonomanews.com/articles/
2007/08/04/news/doc46b27d6f1cd32055771802.txt

PS: Farmer Jeff was just contacted by the casting company to see if he was available for 4 more days of work at the end of August. Heavens! Does this mean he will now want his own trailer?