Author appearances

- N.C. Literary Festival

-with chefs Bill Smith of Crook's Corner and Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin

12:20 p.m. Sept. 13

- Carroll Hall, UNC Chapel Hill

7 p.m. Sept. 25

-with chefs Shane Ingram of Four Square Restaurant and Jim Anile of Revolution

- The Regulator Bookshop

720 Ninth St., Durham

2 p.m. Sept. 25

-with Colin Bedford of Fearrington House Restaurant

- McIntyre's Fine Books

Fearrington Village, Pittsboro

2 p.m., Sept. 27

"Chefs of the Triangle: Their Lives, Recipes, and Restaurants" by Ann Prospero

(John F. Blair, softcover, $16.95, 224 pages)



BY DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN

dvaughan@heraldsun.com; 419-6563

DURHAM -- The Triangle has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to accomplished chefs of independent restaurants. To writer Ann Prospero, 31 of them have reputations worth heralding. She plates their stories and recipes in her new book "Chefs of the Triangle: Their Lives, Recipes, and Restaurants."

Prospero is one of the 100 writers at this weekend's North Carolina Literary Festival at UNC, where she will talk about her book along with two of the featured chefs -- Bill Smith of Crook's Corner and Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin.

While their paths to culinary success diverge -- many of the chefs are well-trained, a few self-taught -- all are very giving and welcoming, Prospero said.

"They are the kind of people who want to give to others. One of the secrets of being a good chef is wanting to give a good experience to others. They all want to please," she said.

She sought out the Triangle's most well-regarded chefs, she said, and while a few declined, most opened their kitchens to her. None would talk badly about other competing chefs. Most know each other, she said.

"There's a lot of interplay between them. They support each other. They're competitors but also think of each other as comrades," Prospero said. Many of the chefs built their resumes at other local restaurants.

Most are men. "You have to remember the hours of this job. You work late. Like an artist, they are creating something you want these other people to love and enjoy. You don't finish until 10 or 11 o'clock and it takes a while to come down from that. For women, it's hard. And for men, too, who have children," she said.

Prospero has always been interested in food. "I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time and cooked and cooked and cooked," she said. She worked her way through French cookbooks and gathered new recipes, too. Her book started as a blog until she found a publisher, John F. Blair in Winston-Salem.

All the featured recipes were tested and adjusted portion size to make usable for home cooks. Prospero has made several of the dishes herself, too, like the Pecan-Pineapple Pound Cake with Rum from Watts Grocery chef Amy Tornquist, and the Hazelnut Praline and Orange Semifreddo and Shortbread of Colin Bedford, chef at Fearrington House Restaurant.

Prospero said that writing her book has given her a new perspective on dining.

"It certainly made me much more aware of the preparation and care that goes into preparing food. I appreciate dining out much more now," she said. "I love to cook and I'm humbled at what these chefs can do."