A couple of months ago, I received a telephone call from a woman who said that she had been referred to me by Chris Styler, my friend and collaborator on my book, Daisy Cooks! Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World. She told me her name was Anna Nurse, and that she was involved with a program for culinary student at New York City College of Technology . I asked her to tell me a bit more about the program, and she enthusiastically shared the history of the program (who can boast such distinguished alumni as the late Chef Patrick Clark, and Chef Michael Lomonaco), and her involvement with it.

Ms. Nurse, for those of you who may not be familiar with the name, is practically one of the founding members of the James Beard Foundation, being involved since its inception with James Beard and Julia Child. As involved as she has been all these years with this organization, her “baby” is the culinary program at New York City College of Technology , and she mentors the students as if they were her own children. Ms. Nurse actively recruits successful chefs, to visit the school and perform demos that may serve to educate as well as inspire the students in this program. This sounded like something right up my alley, so I quickly agreed to pay the school a visit a do a demo for the students.

Demos have gotten to be something that I have become very comfortable with, and so I planned my menu, and set myself for the event, last Thursday, March 8th. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was to experience among these students and the incredibly dedicated staff that I encountered at New York City College of Technology .

Miguelina and I were met by Rosanna Anil, President of The Anna Nurse Club, which is responsible for bringing the chefs to the school. She escorted us to the culinary kitchens, where I was introduced to my assistants for the duration of the morning, Amanda and Vanessa, two brilliant culinary students who really knew their way around the kitchen, and Linda Dias, who runs the culinary program.


Amanda, Daisy, Linda, and Vanessa

The menu was pretty straight forward, Pollo Guisado (Braised Chicken) and Arroz con Maiz (Yellow Rice with Corn), but I was the one who was in for a couple of surprises! First, Anna came to the demo bearing gifts, in the form a giant chorizo which had been donated by her friend Anthony, from Cittero meats. We immediately put that chorizo to good use, and Vanessa diced half of it to add to our rice. As if that wasn’t enough, I find out that my dear friend, Filiberto Estevez, Executive Chef at our own Gracie Mansion, came to show support and attend my demo. It turns out the Fili is another distinguished New York City College of Technology alumn!


Daisy and the ultra-fabulous, Anna Nurse (how gorgeous is she?)



Chef Filiberto Estevez, Executive Chef at Gracie Mansion

The demo was incredibly well attended, and as soon as we had all the audio-visual technical stuff out of the way, I was pumped for a great demo. Rosanna introduced me, the audience was very receptive, and asked intelligent questions, and before very long, I felt like I was hosting this event out of my own kitchen, and it was attended by my family and friends!

The frangrance of the Braised Chicken and the tantalizing aroma of the chorizo-perfumed rice, piqued everyone’s appetite, and in record time, both dished were ready for an honest evaluation by the audience. I held my breath until Ms. Nurse smiled, and gave an avid “thumbs up!”

I was more than happy to sign books and autographs as the demo wound down, and made the great folks at New York City College of Technology promise they’d invite me back real soon.

It will be an enormous privelege to return to Ms. Nurse’s Club and share my food and my stories with such an eager, hospitable, and generous audience. Thank you, Ms. Nurse, and all my new friends at New York City College of Technology !