Can you
describe your dream home?
I’ve always had my eye on one particular house on top of
Pritchard Hill in the Napa Valley. I won’t tell you who it belongs to, in order
to protect his privacy, but the setting is magnificent. The house itself is
very nice---not palatial, but designed in a gently sprawling way that blends
into the landscape, provides comfort for the resident and ample space for
guests.
If we were to come to your house for a meal, what would you
give us to eat?
If I really liked you, we’d start with caviar. One of the
courses would be an eggplant mousse that I first had in a wine bar in Provence,
and later recreated the recipe for. I’d probably grill some fish and lobster
tails eventually, and all of it would be accompanied by some killer Chablis.
Tell us
about the absolute BEST fan letter you have received.
I recently heard from a gentleman I profiled in my second
book, Moonshine Nation. A large chunk of the profile consisted of stories told
by his two uncles, who were former moonshiners in Kentucky. In the letter he
informed me that the older of his two uncles had passed on, but that the
portrait of him in the book had the highlight of his final years.
Say your
publisher has offered to fly you anywhere in the world to do research on an
upcoming book, where would you most likely want to go?
I’ve always wanted to go to Asia and have never gotten
around to it, so I’d say probably Japan and definitely Hong Kong. I don’t have
a book idea yet for those locales, but I’d find one if the publisher was
paying.
Who
designed the book cover for the book you are touring?
A very good friend of mine, who owns a marketing and public
relations firm, offered to have one of her designers do the cover. It was a
very gracious offer, and I took her up on it.
BLURB:
In 1990
some critics believe that America’s most celebrated chef, Joseph Soderini di
Avenzano, cut a deal with the Devil to achieve fame and fortune. Whether he is
actually Bocuse or Beelzebub, Avenzano is approaching the 25th anniversary of
his glittering Palm Beach restaurant, Chateau de la Mer, patterned after the
Michelin-starred palaces of Europe.
Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee. He quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, unwittingly transforming himself into a romantic rival of Avenzano. The chef invites Fox to winter in Florida and write his authorized biography. David gradually becomes sucked into the restaurant’s vortex: shipments of cocaine coming up from the Caribbean; the Mafia connections and unexplained murder of the chef’s original partner; the chef’s ravenous ex-wives, swirling in the background like a hidden coven. As his lover plots the demise of the chef, Fox tries to sort out hallucination and reality while Avenzano treats him like a feline’s catnip-stuffed toy.
Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee. He quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, unwittingly transforming himself into a romantic rival of Avenzano. The chef invites Fox to winter in Florida and write his authorized biography. David gradually becomes sucked into the restaurant’s vortex: shipments of cocaine coming up from the Caribbean; the Mafia connections and unexplained murder of the chef’s original partner; the chef’s ravenous ex-wives, swirling in the background like a hidden coven. As his lover plots the demise of the chef, Fox tries to sort out hallucination and reality while Avenzano treats him like a feline’s catnip-stuffed toy.
Amazon author page URL
Barnes and Noble Author URL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mark Spivak is an award-winning
writer specializing in wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. He
was the wine writer for the Palm Beach Post from 1994-1999, and was honored by
the Academy of Wine Communications for excellence in wine coverage “in a
graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 has been the Wine and Spirits
Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group; his running commentary on the world of
food, wine and spirits is available at the Global Gourmet blog on
www.palmbeachillustrated.com. He is the holder of the Certificate and Advanced
diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Mark’s work has appeared in
National Geographic Traveler, Robb Report, Men’s Journal, Art & Antiques,
the Continental and Ritz-Carlton magazines, Arizona Highways and Newsmax. He is
the author of Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History (Lyons Press, 2012) and
Moonshine Nation: The Art of Creating Cornbread in a Bottle (Lyons Press,
2014). His first novel, Friend of the Devil, is published by Black Opal Books.
Website: http://www.markspivakbooks.com
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