Cooper River Bridge Run

Yes I did it !!!!!
the old man did it in 1 hour and 58 minutes
I am very proud of myself
it was a great experience, lots of people
Actually 31430, the day was perfect, the gentle breeze was soft enought o keep us cool and very comfortable
on the crowded bridge it was a good time to be simply in prayer
being grateful of His presence and having time to reflect on how fortunater we are to live in the Holy City
see my ranking "WOW"
http://www.postandcourier.com/bridgerunresults/?appSession=041159536543925

ava's success research

The dinner was a great success, thanks to the many friends who attended and to those who contributed to fight the disease.

This little girl brought the family and many friends together
Ava is truly a blessing amount us

April 1, 2009

My family and I are grateful for your incredible support you have shown to all of us the weekend of March 22nd, 2009.

Thank you for your prayers, notes of encouragement, your walk on the bridge and your amazing generosity.

It was very nice to hear from you and get a chance to chat with you.
I am very proud of the work my son Marc and his wife Dana are doing to help in the research that is badly needed.

I am grateful to the friendship from the Chefs who have worked with me in the past; Jean Claude Denner, Jeremey Duclut, Nicolas Legret, Julian Alonzo, Martin Howard and Matt Haneline. I must express my special thanks to Sean Brock for his leadership, our sous-chefs, Travis Grimes, Timmy Moody, Chad Carter, Matt Russell, Winburn Carmack and Randolph Stafford.

Clint Sloan, Christy Loftin, Tonya Brock and Kristin Cunningham worked very hard in helping me organizing Ava’s dinner.

The McCrady’s team was amazing, front and back of the house always wiling to give of their time and energy for a good cause.

Continue to keep us in your prayers as you are always in mine.

Below are two links to see the pictures from Ava's Dinner.

http://joanperry.smugmug.com/gallery/7692125_mzj9y/1/497016386_SwH7d

http://joanperry.smugmug.com/gallery/7737952_Nm4dt/1/497177639_SsuDD


Much affection

Merci beaucoup!

ava's day

This a letter I sent to most of my friend on February 25, 2009


The Precious Ava Guillet


Dear Friends:

I am so sorry that I have not been in touch as much as I should recently, there is no excuse! I hope all is well.


It is that time again! I am asking for your help and support for my beautiful grand-daughter, Ava.


The children and the grandkids are doing well. Michel, Natalie, Margaux and Nicholas have come to visit a couple of times. Marc, Dana, Samantha, Andrew and Ava are in California and came to New York last spring. Matt and Lisa are doing well in Sayville with their two dogs and their cat. Martin, Marie, Nicole, Marisa and Marc with their dog Bailey are having a lot of fun. At the end of March the four families are planning to visit Charleston. During that trip we are going to be doing two fundraising events for Ava who suffers from Nemaline Myopathy.


As many of you know our family started A Foundation Building Strength, a 501(c) (3), to raise awareness of this genetic disorder, which causes muscle weakness and early death in its most severe form. NM is such a rare disease that there are very limited resources available for funding treatment related research and supporting affected families. Recently, scientists have discovered mutations in 6 different genes as the primary cause of Nemaline Myopathy allowing efforts to be focused on making a positive impact upon those with the disorder. A Foundation Building Strength is actively supporting research grants targeted at the identification of treatments for NM. With contributions from last year's event, we have already been able to fund our first research grant! We hope to reach such goals this year as well.
-Visit my personal page and the information on the foundation www.buildingstrength.org http://nemalinemyopathy.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=300462&supId=203584231



How you can offer your help and support:

-Make a visit to Charleston, South Carolina

•Join me for a fundraising dinner that I am throwing at McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston on March 22nd, 2009 at 6pm. Many Chef’s that I have worked with over the past 45 years will be cooking an amazing dinner. The dinner is $125 per person (including food, wine & gratuity) and all of its proceeds will go to “A Foundation Building Strength.” If you are able to join me, please call me personally or the restaurant to make your reservation.

-Walk with us on the 2nd Annual Ravenel Bridge Walk as an awareness of Nemaline Myopathy on March 22nd, 2009 at 12noon. For further details, please call me personally.

-Continue to pray for Ava and our family.

-If you unable to join us, please help me reach my goal by using the donation space above.

Going south is putting me far away from everyone, but Charleston is a beautiful destination. Seventeen months in Charleston and it is becoming more and more my home. It is a lovely city, people are friendly. I think people here talk funny, but they keep telling me that I am the one who does. Charlestonians think traffic is bad and I find that amusing. They also think it is cold in the middle of winter when it is 60 degrees.

I love my apartment and the location. Mount Pleasant is only 20 minutes from downtown Charleston and it is very close to the beach, shopping etc.

McCrady’s restaurant is a great place for me to be at this time in my career.
Sean Brock, the executive Chef, a 30 year old young man teaches me more and more everyday. He is a passionate artist who works so hard. Sean started McCrady’s Farm and not only do we get most of our vegetables from it, but we are also raising our own pigs. Visit his blog at www.seanbrock.com. Sean has also made it to the semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation in two categories, “Rising Star Chef of the Year & Best Chef: Southeast.” The 2009 James Beard Foundation Award nominees will be announced on March 23rd and will be available on www.jbfawards.com. We have a great staff of people interested in their career. The front of the house and the back of the house are dedicated professional men and women who love what they do. You can also visit www.opinionatedaboutdining.com

My own blog, “Out of the Kitchen” has started, please check it out. Also, believe it or not, I am on Face Book!

I am blessed to have been assigned to Christ Our King parish in Mount Pleasant.
It is good place for me with great people around me. I enjoy helping people. The staff is great and the people care about me. Their web site is www.christourking.org.

Hope all is well with all of you, thank you for your patience with me. I hope to see or hear from you soon!

May God bless you in a very special way,

Andre

Having lunch with J.P is fun

Today we had lunch at Hominy Grill. the Eggplant sandwich looked great and my Oxtail and oysters etouffe was great. The day was gorgous, we sat outside and talked about funny stories that happened in restaurant or in hospital.. Some day we need to share some of those with blogers

Saint Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's day is becoming one of the biggest days in the restaurant industry
I am not sure why it is imperative for people to go out strickly on that day
I am sure that many of my colleagues in our industry are grateful and want to say thank you!
It was also the weekend of SC Wildlife and Charleston is happy to greet this fun group of people.

Well in this economy it was great to see that the business was very good. The crowd was different, colorful and interesting! It is never boring to see and talk to a crowd that is ready to enjoy life

Some guests were dressed to the hilt, and others in shorts with large hats - there were young lovers and married couples who took time to flirt like they used to. There were newleyweds and others celebrating up to 63 years of marriage. Once I asked a couple who was celebrating their 60 years of marriage who was the saint in their relationship. They both pointed in the direction of each others, then the husband said "she was always nice but the girlfriend I had on the side for 25 years she was a real ......" We all laughed but who knows how much truth was there.

It was great to see LOVE in Action. There is nothing more romantic than watching a couple in love. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of Amour!

birthday wishes

happy birthday to Joan
she looks younger every day

What Geese Can Teach Us About Teamwork

Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter…flying along in V formation…you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range, than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share common directions and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. Not any different in our restaurant industry, the magic happens when the team works together, from the very essential dishwashers, to the talented Chefs, everyone involved in service.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone…and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.

As soon as you have someone who doesn’t pull his load, the team weakens.

When the head goose gets tired it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs…with people or with geese flying south.

It is admirable to feel so good about your team that you can pull back and allow them to take charge.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. What do we say when we honk from behind?

Finally…and this is important…when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to led help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formations to catch up with their group. That is amazing, it is glorious.

What I love about this passionate industry of ours is that we spend so much time together that we become a family that care about each other. We laugh, we cry, we are critical, we make fun but when we are in need we are there for one another.

If we have the sense of goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Canada Goose