January 2011 Issue

Mark Twain wrote that “work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.”

I’ve always loved axioms that remind us of the reality that we should love what we do – after all, the average person spends 128 months of his or her life working. I have had the benefit for most of my life to truly adore my vocation – whether it was police reporter, daily news journalist, editor or restaurateur.

In the words of Julia Child, “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

So, here I am taking on the role of editor at Gourmet Business, focusing solely on an industry that has fed my passion for more than a decade. I find myself in the midst of a great team – Publisher David Spencer – and some familiar old teammates of mine – Brad Simon and James Mellgren.

This past month I had the opportunity to reconnect with retailers across the country – Mary Moore in Atlanta, Dean Eaton in New Hampshire, Laura Havlek in California and Doug Huemoeller in Minnesota. We talked about the state of the industry this past year and pondered what lies ahead for 2011. Their thoughts are presented in this issue as well as in Gourmet Business’ previous issue.

We look forward to inspiring you, providing insights to new trends, spotlights on cool new products and developing tools and education that will help your business prosper.

Happy New Year!