The Ultimate Gift Guide for the Foodies in Your Life

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Have we all fully digested our Thanksgiving dinners yet? Good. Because now it’s time to start (or finish) your Christmas shopping. If you’re reading this, you’re How to be the Perfect Party Guestprobably a self proclaimed foodie, which leads me to believe that you know other foodies because us gourmet lovers tend to find each other in this world – it’s like we’re drawn together through a mutual love of butter or something. Anyway, I want to help you with your shopping list for this holiday season and so I give you … the ultimate gift guide for the foodies in your life.Continue Reading

Croatia is a Dream

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

To be totally honest with you all, Matt and I didn’t know a whole lot about Croatia when we booked half our honeymoon there. We both have friends who had nothing but wonderful things to say, the Internet seemed to agree and after looking at some photos and doing some research on the food, we were sold. We stumbled upon an incredible travel company, JayWay, based in Croatia that would help us to plan the most wonderful vacation of our lives (so far) for MUCH less than we had budgeted to spend on the trip. All signs pointed to “yes.” As is the theme of this three blog series, I have endless things to say about our experience in Croatia but for now, I will keep things food related.

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We’ll Always Have Paris

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Ahhh, Paris. I’ve imagined going to Paris since I was six years old. The fashion, the language, the food, the romance – it’s always been this insanely gorgeous image in my head. It did not disappoint. October in Paris is so romantic. It’s cool but not cold, the leaves are changing and while it’s pretty much always packed with tourists, it’s definitely “off season” in that regard. It would be easy to get carried away in this post about everything I loved about Paris (um … everything) but instead, I will focus on the food. Continue Reading

Eat, Drink & Be Married

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

My original plan was to write one post, neatly bundling up our food experience from both the wedding and the honeymoon. I know now, that just isn’t possible. Our wedding was, in the words of our friends, more like a food tour during which two people happened to get married (note: this is actually EXACTLY what we wanted). Our honeymoon was a non-stop decadent meal (this is also exactly what we wanted). That being said, a singular post just won’t do. Instead, I’ve decided on a three post series. One post for the wedding, one for France and one for Croatia. Let’s start at the beginning … our wedding day. Continue Reading