We
started planning the National Speakers Association Workshop that was to be held
in Denver, Colorado, two years prior to the event. One of my responsibilities
as co-chair of the conference was to evaluate the speaker applications for the
concurrent sessions. I also had regular telephone calls with the planning team
and met them at the conference hotel—the Marriott in Denver.
One
of our team’s tasks was to sample all of the food that would be eaten by the
attendees during the three-day conference. This was to be done in just two
hours! The first course was four different types of salads. I didn’t eat too
much of any of the scrumptious salads from which we chose two. Cautiously, I
only took a few bites of each of the breads. We selected five. My food
consumption seemed reasonable, until the main courses arrived.
One
at a time the small plates were set in front of me—salmon, prime rib, shrimp,
three kinds of chicken, pork chop. Each included a starch of mashed potatoes,
boiled red potatoes or pasta. Then the vegetarian dishes were served—Eggplant
Parmesan, Fettuccini Alfredo and pasta marinara.
We
were served small portions, but it was like sniffing too many perfumes—they began
to smell (and taste) alike. Each time we had to vote on the dish to serve, it
became more difficult. When we thought we’d survived without popping buttons on
our clothes, the desserts arrived—a chocolate fountain and every type of
chocolate cake, pie, cookie and ice cream that I could ever imagine. Any other
time I would have been in chocolate heaven, but I can’t remember a time when I
had felt so full. Somehow I managed to taste the goodies but I didn’t eat again
until the next day.
Today’s
gift was to fix a big dinner for a friend. The shrimp artichoke fettuccini was
positively delicious, but unfortunately the fresh green beans were tough and
tasted really earthy. Although this wasn’t the ultimate gastronomical
experience like I had once experienced, it is one we will laugh about when we
think of the inedible green beans that no amount of boiling would soften up.
In
Giving and Eating,
Robin
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