North American Book Tour
If you have been following my blog, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, you name it, you might have noticed I have been on a whirlwind tour of the US and Canada, visiting New York, Boston, Toronto and Chicago over the last two weeks. My North American publishers, Chronicle, organised a great line up of events, kicking off with a podcast for David Leite's Culinaria. Then it was off to Anthropologie in Short Hills, New Jersey. The lovely Anthropologie ladies put on a great show at the store, with nibbles from the book showcased and styled on the store's pretty crockery. The next day kicked off with a shoot with Sous Style in Madison Square Park, where we pulled together a delicious picnic from Eataly over the road and a Marimekko table cloth. We tried to take the shoot onto the grass, but we weren't quite quick enough before the security genteelly removed us from the area, before complementing us on the pretty spread of fruits and cheese. We'll be quicker next time. In the afternoon, Williams Sonoma, the city's perennial kitchen store, had me in for a demo of my cafe gourmand from The Little Paris Kitchen. Aside from one lady fainting in the crowd (low blood pressure), it was a great success with the book selling out in no time at all. Exciting to hear that I was sharing the same stage that both Heston Blumenthal and Rene Redzepi have both cooked on. Next, I jetted off to Boston for another Anthropologie signing on Newbury street, the city's smartest shopping street. The turn out was impressive (there were people queuing from 10 am for the 11 am start) and again, the Anthropologie ladies went all out with the nibbles, featuring the strawberry and creme fraiche tartines from the book, and drinks in Eiffel Tower hand stamped cups with stripy straws. It was then over the border to Toronto, where I had a live interview on Global TV's Morning Show, where we discussed what we should all be eating right now and life in The Little Paris Kitchen. Indigo, Canada's answer to Borders or Waterstones, put on a luncheon at the Indigo head offices for me to meet the staff, sign some books, and shoot a video with them, around 80 people showed up, by the end I was struggling to keep my voice going, and there was still the book signing at the main Indigo Store to come. After a slightly nerve racking talk to the gathered crowd at the Indigo main store, I got to meet all the lovely people who had traveled some impressive distances to come to the signing. I signed a few extra copies which are still in store (call @IndigoBayBloor 416-925-3536 to reserve one!). Last, but not least, I was back on a flight to the US, for the final stage in my 2 week tour. I was back at Williams Sonoma, the brand new store opened this Spring in Lincoln Park, with a swanky demonstration kitchen and plenty of kitchen paraphernalia to swoon over.
