Chef Dieter Schorner

My friend Di Aquino was going to be in town and I was supposed to take him and his wife Mary whom I never met, out to dinner. Things don't always go as planned. The restaurant was going to be closed on that day.  I am was not supposed to drive because of my swollen ankle which is due to a fall when I was in Seattle. I have been hobbling along in an orthopedic boot. So, to make the long story short, I invited them along with Mary's sister Sylvia and her husband, the famous Dieter Schorner.  I had not met any of them before. I could not be on my feet for long so cooking was out of the question. I had them over for hors d'oeuvres and I still had some left over La Montina Rose Wine from my birthday.

The main go to quickie hors d'oeuvres was chicken wings from Wing Stop. My friend/chauffeur, Sandi was nice enough to pick up the wings from there and some potato salad from Island Hut. Some chips and salsa, Delice cheese from Trader Joe's contributed to the menu. I had some Burrata cheese which I prepared with truffle oil and truffle salt. Everyone got a tablespoon of that. I did have some Weisswurst which I fried and served with a nice mustard.

It was a beautiful warm afternoon as we reminisced about old times. What I was not prepared for was meeting Dieter. Sandi and I were so impressed with the background of this very humble and charming German man. Dieter was the owner of the renowned Cafe Didier in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC until he sold it in 1998. Condé Nast Traveler named Cafe Didier the third best restaurant in America in 1992. He prepared desserts for Presidents Nixon, Carter and Reagan and has cooked for the Queen of England. Chef Schorner has been pastry chef at the distinguished restaurants as Tavern on the Green, La Cote Basque in N.Y. and Le Cirque in N.Y. He was the one that brought Cremè Brlûée to the U.S.! He also was a teacher at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). I even read that he once had lunch with Salvatore Dali.

While we drank our champagne and munched on the food, Dieter kept telling us how my friend Di was such a good cook and Di couldn't stop telling us stories about how Dieter made special desserts. Yes, it was like the mutual admiration society. I told them both that they would have to prove to me how good they really are by cooking and baking for us next time. They both graciously agreed. They probably also agreed not to come visit me for a long time.

I envied Sylvia for being married to wonderful pastry chef and also envied Mary for being married to Di who loves to cook. I guess I really have to thank God I am not married to a chef or I would definitely be obese or probably be already dead.