A Book Tasting? Am I reading that right? We've done plenty of taste tests, and even did our first ever movie tasting before for Home Alone this past winter. But a book tasting? Theresa and I had talked about it with the kids, trying to think of what books might be good source material. Harry Potter, Ranger's Apprentice (stews, breads, and coffee), or Willy Wonka even. But we'd never gone all the way through to pulling it off.
And before we could do it, someone else did it for us! The Winter Park Library had its first ever Book Tasting event on February 26th, 2026!
Theresa and I love the library system. Having the ability to borrow just about any book you could think of, and for free, sounds almost too good to be true. Theresa recalled being 4 years old and getting her very first library card and being "so rich" that she could take an entire stack of books home from the library.
Even today we're amazed that there's a system where people can come, sit down, grab a book, and read for hours, and still for free! And some libraries go above and beyond that!
The Winter Park Library has many events that take place through the month. As Theresa was looking over the events coming up, she was surprised to see this one: America250 Book Tasting.
Theresa went to reserve us tickets and found that there was only 1 remaining! I told her to book it anyway and I'd see about getting on a waitlist or something. She was reluctant at first, but excitement overwhelmed her and she went ahead and booked herself the very last ticket. We called the library a few days later to leave a message for the librarian organizing the event. Very fortunately for us, a couple days before the book tasting, she called us back and said that she'd be able to accomodate 1 more! I can go! Hoorary!
The evening of the tasting, we dropped the kids off at The Hideout, a library room only for kids 10-18, and headed across the hall to the Community Imagination Room.
Here, we could see volunteers setting up tables, and putting out drinks for all the library patrons who would be attending. And as the time for the event got closer and closer, many more patrons showed up outside waiting to be let in.
Once the doors opened, Theresa and I headed inside and found ourselves a seat at a front table.
Looking around the room a bit, these are the 5 books that inspired our chefs tonight. We'll dig into them a little more as we learn about each chef.
Our placemats also tell us more about each of the chefs and the dishes they've prepared for us tonight.
Our event tonight was organized by Librarian Emily McQuade, helped by Orlando Weekly Restaurant Critic Faiyaz Kara, who helped bring in some of the best local chefs to this tasting.
He said it was a little funny that how in France, if he runs out of croissants, the people there are upset, but here in America they said "it must be really good, I'll get here even earlier tomorrow!"
I love the way all the tables are set up, with fresh flowers, piles of books, and a non-alcoholic negroni, a spiced tea beverage with grapefruit and tonic water for everyone.
Faiyaz reiterated that tonight we are really in for a special treat. The 5 chefs who are here tonight are some of the best in this area, and we start out tonight with Chef Teddy Dumoulin, or Monsieur Teddy as he is French, came to the United States 14 months ago, after running a bakery and pastry shop in a small town of 2000 people in France for the past 27 years. He and his wife run J'Adore the French Bakery in Altamonte Springs, and every morning they get up early and make croissants, baguettes, and all the other amazing creations for their customers.
The book that was his inspiration was "The rediscovery of America: native peoples and the unmasking of U.S. History" by Ned Blackhawk.
He said that it was important for him to bring his culture over from France and not try to replace American culture, but introduce them to his culture. His bakery is not 50% American/50% French. It is 100% French and they will take the time to talk to each customer about his products and his culture.
The book she chose was "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts.
Who founded America? And who founded it behind the scenes? It was the men who signed the documents, but it was the women of the nation who supported them along the way.
She explained that just like the founding mothers of America, it is still very hard to be a woman in the male dominated restaurant industry. How it's harder to negotiate for ingredients, and even how when she closed for renovations, a competitor in the area stole the name of her restaurant to benefit from her good reputation.
Chef Joyce creates authentic Chinese and Cantonese dishes and tonight she's prepared 3 different items for us.
A grilled grouper, a cucumber and black fungi salad, and szechuan noodles.
The cucumber and fungi salad is meant to be a refreshing start to the dish. The szechuan peppercorns in the grilled fish and noodles are then meant to wake up your tastebuds and bring a lot of flavor.
So far these dishes have been great! And T and I were expecting small tasting plates, but these dishes have been huge! I don't think we're going to be leaving hungry tonight.
Our next chef is Chef Sonny Nguyen from Domu. He had won Best Local Chef from the Orlando Weekly 3 times! According to Faiyaz, his ramen bowls have taken the city's ramen craze to new heights. He was even nominated for a James Beard award.
As a Vietnamese American, raised by Vietnamese immigrant parents, this book "American Dreamer" by Tim Tran, mirrored his experience. His parents immigrated to America and sacrificed for him, allowing him to pursue his American dream and open two very successful restaurants in the area.
The dish he's brought for us tonight is a Viet-Cajun chicken po-boy.
Viet-Cajun is something that was brought to the gulf coast by Vietnamese immigrants near Houston where they blended Vietnamese flavors with New Orleans flavors. Sriracha was also created by a Vietnamese immigrant in the 1980s, and became very popular, so the dish he's brought us tonight is inspired by those ideas.
The chicken in tonight's sandwich was marinated in a sriracha sauce to tenderize it and flavor it, and sriracha was also used as a finishing sauce along with cajun spices, and garlic herb Vietnamese butter spread on the Vietnamese baguette.
It was very flavorful and just a little bit spicy. Delicious!
Our next dish tonight is provided by Chef Tyler Brunache of Smokemade Meats + Eats. Started as a pop-up in 2021, it soon became a full restaurant that has since won rave reviews. Chef Tyler is the pit-maestro and makes some of the best BBQ in Orlando.
The book, "Black Cake" by Charmaine Wilkerson, is a fictional account of a family in the 1960s, coming from the Caribbean and sharings their relationships, struggles, and loss. It explores how a family explores their history through stories of their elder generations. He told us how he connected with the book in that his mother was diagnosed with dementia, and that you think you have forever to learn about your parents and their history, but time passes more quickly than you think.
A great big hunk of meat! Yes please!
Chef Tyler's parents immigrated to the US from Jamaica and Haiti. In his dish, he's tried to bring in flavors from there, as well as from the American South.
For our meal, he's brought us a Smoked Oxtail, Collard Greens, and Carolina Gold Rice. The Oxtail is a homage to both Jamaica and Haiti who both feature it in many of their dishes. The collard greens are something Chef Tyler grew up with, being a second generation boy growing up in the American South. The Carolina Gold Rice was a tribute to the slaves who were brought to the Carolinas, who brought the grain from the Ivory Coast. 
Chef Tyler's restaurant, Smokemade Meats + Eats is based on Texas style BBQ though, and Tyler's dad has asked him many times why he didn't do Jamaican style BBQ instead. He must be doing something right though because Texas Monthly named Smokemade Meats + Eats the best BBQ in the state of Florida!
Our final chef of the night is Chef Mario Pagan of Chayote Barrio Kitchen. Chef Mario has won many awards, including Best New Restaurant and Best Latin Restaurant, and has appeared on Food Network's The Next Iron Chef! The book he chose is "Talking Manhattan" by Russel Shorto.
First, the English inspiration. If they were in England, it would have been made with duck or venison, but using ingredients inspired by New York and his Latin heritage, he's making an oyster empanada, made from puff pastry like they would have made in England. On top is a mojo aioli made with garlic, cilantro, and other herbs and vinegar. The oyster paste inside also includes yucca
From the Dutch, we have a Dutch Brown Butter Cake, but back in the 1600s though, the Dutch started distilling molasses from Puerto Rico into rum! And so, for dessert we have a Dutch inspired Sugarloaf Rum Cake.
Theresa and I both thought the cake was so good! We also randomly received an extra plate of the cake, and brought it to the kids afterwards. They loved it too!
Theresa has been telling everyone earlier this week about the fun Book Tasting event she was going to in the week. It totally blew away all her expectations. The chefs tonight were all interesting to listen to and to hear their stories and what inspired their dishes.
On top of that, it was fun talking to the other patrons at the table. I sat across from an 85 year old man named Gino from Brazil who was telling us some of his adventures. He'd started 5 different restaurants across the country, married his wife in the middle of a jungle where everyone was naked, drove a car from Alaska to San Francisco with his wife, then hitchhiked together from San Francisco through Mexico, Central America, and all the way to Brazil!
I also talked with other guests about food, books, and other adventures. It was a really fun night.
Chef Teddy even brought extra baguette loaves and sliced bread for anyone who wanted to take something home. T and I grabbed a couple slices for the kids.
And a big Thank You to all the chefs who came tonight to share their stories and their talents to all of us! We had a great time!
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