HOME GROWN Seattle

Inaugural edition

Ronald Holden has been filing stories away in his head and on paper/computer forever, and sharing them with Seattle DINING! readers for several years. Now he's published the inaugural (oh, there will be more) book of these wonderful true tales of Seattle's culinary scene.

As a Seattle-based journalist specializing in food, wine and travel, Ronald has worked for KING TV, Seattle Weekly, and Chateau Ste. Michelle. He has led tours through Europe (eating all the way), and chronicled his love of food through his blog, www.Cornichon.org.

When you're paid by someone to write, there are some, shall we say, guidelines. What you can/can't talk about, how many words you can use for a piece, how detailed you can be about what's happening. After dealing with that all these years, Ronald is ready to share the human context around the stories that he may not have been able to share before. This is why we like this book-it's what we try to do on Seattle DINING!-give you the story behind the place and hope it makes you want to visit, supporting the industry that we so love.

Home Grown tales include people you may not know but have had an indelible mark on the city's food and beverage scene, like Gordon Bowker. No, we're not going to tell you who he is. Buy the book. You'll get the history behind the Canlis brand, and why Walter Clore was so important to Washington wine. What's a book on Seattle food without something about Ivar Haglund? There are stories about chefs, foragers, fishermen, beverage queens, bartenders, owners, designers of amazing restaurant interiors. Each one is a fascinating look at a piece of the puzzle that makes Seattle such a fascinating and delicious place.

HOME GROWN Seattle can be found on Amazon, at www.homegrownseattle.com, and through various other retailers. A Kindle edition is also available.

November 2014