Welcome

This website will involve you in the development of a new book and the book’s companion website. Both are planned for publication and launch in Spring ’09.

35 Years Ago…Frog’s front window - 264 South 16th, Philadelphia

When I was preparing to open my first restaurant, Frog in 1973, I left our big front window uncovered during construction. As a community activist and Jane Jacobs acolyte, I wanted my modest storefront restaurant to be a part of the community and the community to be a part of my restaurant.

We posted regular updates on our progress in the window. We shared menu ideas, aspirations and hopes. As we approached opening, we invited friends and neighbors in to sample our food.

That was 35 years, nine restaurants, 15,000 catered events and 15 million customers ago. Now I am working on a new book and companion website that reflects what I’ve learned over those 35 years.

Under Development: New Book and Companion Website



A Way to Make Home Entertaining Easier

Cooking for others is an act of love – an indication of your care and affection. Home entertaining for family and friends is among the most important expressions of that care and affection.

I believe you would like to entertain at home more frequently if it were easier. I think I can help

Here’s how:

“The Easier Way”

First, I will develop a recipe library of seasonally sensitive recipes you can trust to fill all of your holiday and occasion needs with a do-ahead focus.

Next, I will create useful tools to simplify the process of entertaining from menu planning through cleanup based upon how we have managed our Frog Commissary Catering company for years.

Finally, I will link the recipe library and the tools so they interact on a website.

That’s what’s under development and what this website is about.

A New Publishing Paradigm

In linking a book and companion website, I am attempting a paradigm shift. Right now there are cookbooks and there are food-related websites. They exist in parallel universes.

I am trying to tie the two together so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I believe a companion website can add great functionality to a traditional cookbook without undermining the reasons why someone would want to own the cookbook.

With the book’s contents on the website, why would someone want to own the book?

A book is like a friend. A book is meant to be held, browsed, read slowly, set aside and picked up again. There are countless copies of our original Frog Commissary Cookbook on people’s bookshelves that are worn and withered, taped together – indications of the long and loving relationship people have had with the book over two decades. Our new book will be similarly warm and inviting, fun to flip through, while inspiring readers to stop and linger and read. It will be filled with anecdotes and shared experiences that will tell a personal story.

Our website will be a useful tool. It will enable you to search and sort our complete recipe library – our book’s and our additional web-only recipes, link our recipes to associated tips and notes, explore recipes, and link recipes to planning checklists and worksheets. You are unlikely to bring our website to bed to read.

We’ll see!

This Website’s Purpose and Goals

This website’s purpose is to help us develop the best book and companion website we can.

The book and website will be better with your help!

Our Four Goals

Our four goals include:



1. Preview



2. Test



3. Comments and Ideas



4. Expand community

Through this website, we invite you to actively get involved in the development of our book and website.

This website will have three phases:

Phase 1 through the end of November

Preview and test the development of the book’s contents.

The principal focus in Phase 1 will be to preview content, have people test recipes we have developed and collect ideas to make the book better.

Phase 2 though February ‘09

Preview and test the development of the companion website.

Once the book material is turned over to the publisher in late November this website will change its focus to the book’s companion website.

We will Preview and Test web-only content, including additional recipes. In total, it is our plan to provide you with all the recipes you need for all of your holidays and occasions.

We will also preview and test dynamic planning tools linked to our recipe library.

Phase 3 in Spring ‘09

A new website.

By the time the book is published in the spring, we will have made the transition from this development website to the book’s companion website – and by then we will have probably renamed this website.

The companion website will complement the book and contain a complete home entertaining recipe library and useful interactive tools to make home entertaining easier.

To learn more… What’s Up ?



To get started… Be Involved!

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