In today's news from an alternate universe, we present, once again, Georgia Pellegrini, the former chef, blogger, book author and, now, hunter. She made an appearance in Seattle three years ago to promote her collection of essays called Food Heroes (we wrote about it here an admirable celebration of 16 food artisans committed to preserving various aspects of culinary tradition around the world.
Her local subject, in 2010, was the great Jon Rowley, tireless promoter of umami, "the beautiful taste" in salmon, oysters, peaches. From here she went on to create a new persona for herself, as a gun-toting, woodsy Girl Hunter. The book blurb asks:
"What happens when a classically-trained New York chef and fearless omnivore heads out of the city and into the wild to track down the ingredients for her meals? After abandoning Wall Street to embrace her lifelong love of cooking, Georgia Pellegrini comes face to face with her first kill. From honoring that first turkey to realizing that the only way we truly know where our meat comes from is if we hunt it ourselves, Pellegrini embarks on a wild ride into the real world of local, organic, and sustainable food."
Now, ever since Michael Pollan shot a wild boar in The Omnivore's Dilemma, there's been a whole new generation of city-slickers armed with shotguns taking aim at living creatures, facing up to the realization that pulling the trigger is a necessary preamble to dinner.
And here comes the rub. Ms. Pellegrini has become a celebrity herself, a beautiful blonde hunter-goddess, and editors are Beginning To Take Notice. An editor at The New York Times, specifically. And a contributing writer has been sent to the Montana back country with an assignment: to write a profile of this fascinating creature. You'd think she was a combination of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Bigfoot, except that Bigfoot doesn't have a publicist.
But a publicist, indeed, is running interference for Ms. Pellegrini, and the publicist has apparently committed the cardinal sin of double-booking her client. The Times writer, Jeff Gordinier, and a local blogger named Erika Fredrickson are both under the assumption that they have "exclusive" rights to write about Ms. Pellegrini's three-day, $2,300 "Girl Hunter Weekend." An event, as Ms. Fredrickson describes it, "for women looking to learn about living off the land." She notes that attendees have come from Texas, Colorado, New York and California to "shoot guns, ride horses, cook wild game, tool around on ATVs and fly fish, plus indulge in the luxury of high-end accommodations, champagne toasts and gourmet meals."
But the gentleman from the Times wants unfettered (and unshared) access to the star attraction (Ms. Pellegrini), and pushes a bit harder than perhaps he should.
The resulting catfight and subsequent fallout have created quite a commotion in the media world chronicled by media watchdog Jim Romenesko. The whole sad story is here, and worth reading for the Facebook thread alone. Suffice it to say that no one comes off with a shiny halo.
If, by the way, the notion of a Girl Hunter Weekend appeals to you, dear reader, there's more information on upcoming events here. On the other hand, you don't have to spend a fortune. In the best tradition of pistol-packin' Martha Stewart (and fellow faux-rustic blogger Ree Drummond), Ms. Pellegrini's website also offers an array of Girl-Hunter approved indoor fashions, from shoes to portable bars to handkerchiefs embroidered with plucky mottoes ("Work Hard, Play Hard").
If this were a musical, it would be "Georgia, Get Your Gun!" An opera? "Girl of the Golden West," perhaps. A horse opera? Do you prefer "Gunsmoke" or "Rawhide"?
Leave a comment