My stomach is in knots.
I’m going to dinner tomorrow night with Ruth Reichl and I’m so nervous! I’ve idolized her ever since reading ‘Tender at the Bone’ and ‘Comfort Me with Apples.’ These were the first food books I read and her writing made me fall in love with food memoirs. She changed my life.
Please note: it’s not as if I called Ruth and asked her to go to dinner. She’s graciously speaking at a non-profit arts organization of which I am a member. It won’t be just the two of us laughing over a glass of wine. Nope, there will be about 98 other people there. But still, this is the closest I’ve ever come to a food celebrity and for me, she is the Queen Bee of all food writers. I’m so darn optimistic that I’m even imagining there will be an actual conversation between us. She’ll think I’m so witty and find my food blog ideas so fascinating that she offers to mentor me and I spend the next few weekends hanging out and cooking with her in her fabulous NYC abode. After that, we’ll be fast friends who call or email each other every few weeks (depending on our hectic travel schedules).
What do I say when I meet her? What can I possibly say to such an icon that she hasn’t heard before? Do I say something about the closing of Gourmet? If so, what? ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ seems like someone died. ‘Damn the bastards who shut down your magazine!’ has too much anger. Do I pretend like I don’t know about it and keep the conversation light? Do I compliment her hair (which by the way deserves a whole separate posting about how great it is to see women with curly hair)? Do I ask her about her upcoming cooking videos, ‘Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth’ or the book she’s probably going to write about her time at the magazine?
What do I wear? Do I wear a suit? Do I wear jeans? The invitation didn’t have a dress code suggested. What if I’m in a suit and she’s dressed casually? What if I’m the only one there in a suit?
Do I tell her I’m a food blogger and whip out my business card? Do I try to come up with a quirky question like, ‘if you could be any ingredient, what would you be and why?’ Do I play it cool and act like meeting her is no big deal? If she gets tired of people fawning all over her, perhaps she’ll prefer my calm demeanor. Who am I kidding? I’ll be thrilled and won’t be able to hide it. It’s Ruth Reichl! I get excited by a free piece of cake–just think of how excited I’m going to be to meet her.
