Almost Famous

I had just come from judging some of the best up and coming student chefs in the South where I sat on panel that with celebrity chefs, enjoyed some incredible dishes, and watched five chefs with a passion for food, cook from the heart. The  radio was tuned to a talk station to help keep me awake for my ride from Fort Lauderdale to the Treasure Coast. The disc jockeys were quizzing each other when one asked  “How much does the average person spend on fast food?”

 The answer: $20,000.

As soon as I returned home, I researched that figure and learned that it’s incorrect. The reality is that we spend over $100,000 in our lives on fast food.

They say that timing is everything, and learning that we spend THAT MUCH on junk on the same evening that I was immersed in these chef’s signature dishes cooked for eight discerning palates hit me hard. I realized that I’m guilty of grabbing food on the run (just ask my nearby Chipotle), but I make a real effort to sit down to dinner at restaurants like 3030 Ocean, Chima, and others. I’ll easily pass up a larger burger & small fries for perfectly cooked bronzini.

This got me thinking that it’s likely the same people who tell me that they  WISH they could live like I do…the Champagne Living lifestyle, the same people who ask how I get to Paris every year, relax on the beach during the week, eat at wonderful restaurants, and have spa days – who find themselves announcing their order through a speaker from their car window more often than they realize.

The simple reality is that the $100,000 spent on fast food, translates to that dream vacation in Europe, dinner at a 5-star restaurant and sybaritic days at the spa. No, you probably won’t do this every day, or every week…but isn’t it worth giving up that oversized burger and fries a few times a week in order to have a gourmet dinner once a month? Spending on the things that MATTER, that make MEMORIES, that create that life that you dream of is what Champagne Living is all about.  Living life to the fullest on what you already have, is just a matter of prioritizing.

If it’s a fabulous dinner – you can set your sites on dining at Eliakim John Acuna’s restaurant one day. Eliakim won that Almost Famous Chef Competition that I, along with an amazing panel of chef’s and people in the media had the honor of judging. I’ll whet your appetite (and hopefully get rid all thoughts of that drive-thru you were thinking about) with some photos from the evening.

Why waste money on bad food, just because it’s fast and convenient when you could be dining on well prepared dinners, with a rainbow of colors and flavors that will remain with you long after you’ve dined?

Congratulations to Eliakim John Acuna winner of the regional competition. Good luck in Napa, we Floridians are rooting for you!

Thank you to San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna for inviting me to be on the judging panel. It was a night to remember.