Letter of the Month Archive
January 2001
Dear Mr. Aikens: December 2000 Dear Curtis, November 2000
I was at the Denver show and it was fabulous. After
traveling across country from
Jacksonville, Florida, I had the pleasure of joining Curtis and his guests on stage to
taste his very delicious dish Asparagus with Sun Dried Thank you for putting on such a wonderful show and bringing
me new ideas everyday in the kitchen! and BTW! Sincerely, ____________ October 2000 I had the extreme pleasure of watching your live
presentation at the Valley Forge Convention Center in Philadelphia yesterday. While
I thoroughly enjoyed the show, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about your interest in
adult literacy. In my professional life, I am the Executive Assistant to the
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware. Our Lieutenant Governor, Ruth Ann Minner, while not
illiterate, did drop out of school at age 16 to get married and run the family farm.
She and her husband were blessed with 3 boys. Unfortunately, when she was 2 years
old, her husband died of a massive heart attack out in one of their fields, leaving her a
single mother with no education and three young boys to raise. Like you, with sheer
determination, she went back to school and earned her GED while working full time and even
went on to college. Her political career began humbly as a page for the Delaware
General Assembly. From there she moved on to be a receptionist in the Governor's
Office and in 1974 she became the first woman elected to the Delaware House of
Representatives from her Milford district. She then went on to serve as a Senator
for her district and in 1992 she was the first woman ever to be elected Lieutenant
Governor for the State of Delaware! Under a previous Governor, an executive order
was signed ordering that an Interagency Council on Adult Literacy be formed from the
various state agencies that in any way affect adult education. The executive order
stipulates that the Lieutenant Governor's Office provides the leadership and staff for
this group. ICAL, under the direction of Lieutenant Governor Ruth Ann Minner has
flourished because of her own personal devotion to adult education and adult literacy. Ten years ago, ICAL hosted a Delaware literacy
summit, where every organization devoted to working on adult literacy worked together to
set goals for the upcoming decade. This year, we are re-convening the group in
another summit to assess what has been achieved, what still needs to be done My boss, Lieutenant Governor Minner is running
for Governor this year. If elected, she would be the first woman Governor of our
state. However, she feels so very strongly about adult literacy that she
specifically asked the ICAL group to wait until after the election to host the summit.
She did not want the event to focus on politics, but rather on the importance of
the issue. We also felt it would be important to use the summit as a way to brief
all the newly elected officials on Delaware's illiteracy rate and the services that are
available - and to garner their support for these programs early in their tenure as
elected officials. We are confident that Lt. Governor Minner will be attending the
summit as Governor-elect, but win or lose, her devotion to this issue will be unwavering
and she will continue to work for bi-partisan support for literacy training in Delaware. Thanks again for your wonderful demonstration
yesterday and for your inspirational words. Keep on Cookin'! Sincerely, Cindy D.
My name is Jeaneen Burnam. My mother, Annette Burnam, has gone back to
school (I won't say her age, but her oldest daughter is 32). She graduates
from the
Houston Art Institute with a degree in Culinary Arts on March 23, 2001. We
are all so proud of her. My mother always encouraged us to do our best in
school and go to college, and we have, however, she never got past her
sophomore year in high school. She got her GED, and will soon fulfill her
dream of becoming a chef (with a college degree!!). She talks about you all
of the time. She always tells us that there is a shortage of good black
chefs, and you are one that she looks up to. She was so upset when she
couldn’t see you anymore on the Food Network. My mom has been working
hard. Keeping her full-time job while at the same time going to school
full-time. Like I mentioned, we are very proud of her and would like to do
something special for her graduation. My mom, being a typical mom, said that
we shouldn't get her anything as far as a gift goes. But, we really want to
get her something special. I am writing to ask what should we do. My mom is
the oldest and I think the only African-American female in her class. She
can really cook good and (after watching you) healthy soul-food. I want to
know if you can suggest something that we can get her that isn’t too
expensive. Or if there is somewhere that we can send her (a culinary
conference or something similar). I read about a New Orleans Food and Wine
Expo taking place in July 2001, but that might be too expensive. So if you
would, can you please give us some suggestions. Or if there is some item
that all chefs shouldn't be without, we would love to know about it. I
appreciate any help that you can give us.
Thank you.....
Jeaneen Burnam
Click here for Readers Responses
I have been a fan of your show for over three years. When my father was in the final
stages of cancer, I went to live with him in New York. I watched your show as much as I
was able. Your show helped me through some tough times. Your enthusiasm and sunny
disposition were a comfort to me. My cable company in Florida did not carry Food TV until
recently. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing your show on a daily basis for all of say,
three months. Now I can't find your show anymore. I want you to know (if you don't
already) that many people are upset your show was removed, and we are all posting our
feelings on the posting boards. I was able to get a snail mail address off of a posting,
and I plan to send letters to Food TV to let them know there are people out here in TV
land that actually care to eat healthy. I also plan to tell them I don't watch the network
anymore because I am a vegetarian, and your show was the only show catering to vegetarian
cooking. With that said, I do have a question... I live in South Florida and was
wondering if you ever get down here to do live shows or demonstrations? I would be sure to
attend! Thank you so much for always providing quality shows and always promoting your
favorite charities as well as others. Your love of life is an inspiration! I'll keep
looking for your show!
Lisa S.
Click Here for
Curtis's response
Tomatoes over pasta. Curtis's inspiration and dedication to literacy
really touched my
heart as well as his wit and sensitive personality. I am a dedicated viewer and wanted to
know when the Show would be aired on the Food
Network. I don't want to miss it! 
Jacksonville has been awarded the 2005 SUPER BOWL! SO Go Jaguars!
Debbie B.
Jacksonville, Florida
Dear Mr. Aikens,
and how we can most effectively achieve new goals together. The summit will be
Wednesday morning, November 29th and will be held in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Executive Assistant to Lieutenant Governor Ruth Ann Minner, State of Delaware
