Ain’t Named Passion For Nothing
Once again, the men of Passion Food’s restaurants (TenPenh, Ceiba, D.C. Coast, and Acadiana) get out of their kitchen kits for a nude romp through 2007. Mr. Kliman over at the Washingtonian lets us in on what’s underneath the aprons of some of Passion Food’s cookmen, like Acadiana sous chef Anthony Piscioneri and TenPenh chef de cuisine Cliff Wharton. Though most aren’t totally naked (though I hear Mr. October, Ceiba’s Manuel Flores, wears nothing except a strategically placed beer bottle), the featured men disrobe for the calendar, which Passion uses for publicity and, according to the Examiner, as gifts to their best customers. I’m guessing only about half are really appreciative.

I wonder if it’s like pulling teeth to get these guys to shuck off their jeans for the sexy poses. It’s probably quite a change to go from taking an order from Jeff Tunks to fire the rockfish, to getting yelled at by a photographer to do something else to obscure your junk. For some reason, I doubt Passion lets new recruits in on this yearly ritual.

At any rate, we hope the nude calendar movement spreads around D.C. We’d love to see things like “Men of the Office of Thrift Supervision,” “XM Radio Uncovered,” or “Beef of the Council: Marion’s Berries.”

Seaver Trades Mandoline for Keyboard
Barton Seaver, chef at Café Saint Ex and Bar Pilar, has joined the blogosphere—kind-of—with a monthly column on StarChefs.com titled Sustainable Kitchen. Seaver, who is a regular at both area farmers’ markets and in the line-up of Washington’s hottest chefs, will publish a new article on the 15th of each month on the topic of cooking locally and within the means of our regional environment.

Picture from Miss Barbara, used under a creative commons license.