The Tastemaker Top 10 with Vanessa of Chefdruck: French Foodie Mom

The Tastemaker Top 10 is a collection of 10 questions asked by me and answered by some of my favorite bloggers. Here they will tell you a little bit about themselves, their blogs, and of course, their favorite foods and restaurants. Today I am featuring Vanessa Druckman (a.k.a. The French Foodie Mom) of the blog ChefDruck. Vanessa features tons of amazing recipes on her website from fun to family friendly to fancy, all with a little French influence. Just wait until you see which recipe she shared below as her favorite...

Name: Vanessa Druckman

Blog: Chefdruck: French Foodie Mom

Location: Chicago, IL

In a few sentences, tell us a little bit about your blog: I'm Vanessa Druckman, home chef, writer, mother, and avid traveler. I have been blogging about my life and my passions at Chefdruck: French Foodie Mom for the last 6 years. I'm hungry for great food and new experiences and travel with my husband and four kids all over the world. New recipes and new adventures are published on the blog regularly.


Now, tell us about your...

1. Favorite meal, food, or cuisine: My favorite meal was a 12 course budget buster at Alinea last spring. Each dish was beautiful, exciting, and delicious. From leaves that tasted like oysters to a Jackson Pollock inspired dessert created all over our table. Worth every penny.

2. Least favorite meal, food, or cuisine: I hate bitter French endives. They make me shiver.

3. Favorite restaurant in your city: Yusho is such a fun place to go with a group of friends. They serve small bites Asian street foods and have great drinks. Love the wood grilled oysters and the deep fried chicken skin chips.

4. Favorite restaurant outside of your city: My favorite restaurant anywhere is Le Bernardin. Fish served at Le Bernardin is like a whole other food category.

5. Favorite food memory. On lazy nights, my mom would make us pan fried hamburger buns and would place it in front of me with a small pat of melting salted butter. The smell made my mouth water in anticipation.

6. Favorite guilty pleasure food: Deep fried buckeyes. We spent a year living in Columbus, Ohio and our trip to the state fair was an incredible food experience. Buckeyes are good, but deep fried they are incredible.

7. Favorite ingredient (something you love to cook with, or something you see on a menu and know you have to order): I love to cook mussels at home. They are so delicious and so inexpensive. I never order them in a restaurant though - not since reading Anthony Bourdain. 

8. Favorite kitchen tool, utensil, product, etc.: I could not live without my kitchen tongs. I use them for everything from taking pasta out to grilling.

9. Favorite recipe: My favorite recipe is this simple French flourless chocolate cake. So easy to make and so rich and decadent.

10. Favorite thing about blogging: I've made friends all over the world that love food like I do. Blogging makes my world bigger yet more intimate and meaningful. 

11. BONUS! Five favorite blogs/blogs that A Squared readers should know about: I love With Amour (http://www.withamour.com), Maskcara (http://www.maskcara.com), the Meaning of Pie (http://www.themeaningofpie.com), and iamafoodblog (http://iamafoodblog.com).


Thanks so much for your thoughts, Vanessa!

Do you have a blogger that you'd recommend to be featured on the Tastemaker Top 10? Or are you a blogger that would like to participate? Email me at aasquaredblog@gmail.com and let me know!