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About

 

A GUILD FOR GUYS WHO ENJOY COOKING, DINING, FINE WINES, AND SPIRITS

CONCEPT

The great majority of professional chefs gained their affinity for cooking from an amateur cook—mother, dad, grandmother, etc.  The idea that professionals can learn from amateurs and vice versa, is the primary basis for Skillet & Glass with a secondary basis being to enjoy camaraderie, good food and libations.

The purposes of “Fellows of the Skillet & Glass” are multi-fold as follows:

  1. It is a guild or interest group of men who enjoy cooking for others and/or dining, either as amateurs or as professionals, and they study, taste, discuss and teach others regarding their love for food and their favorite wines and spirits.  
  2. This guild will be the focus of a website wherein the primary writer, initially Dick Odom, will interview and write about featured members of the guild on a frequent basis, and share their history with cooking, wine and spirits; their favorite meals and recipes for small intimate parties at home; their favorite meals and recipes for feeding and entertaining a crowd; their favorite spirits either as aperitifs, for pairing with foods, or as after dinner drinks; their favorite and most used kitchen hacks, skills and implements; and other things of interest about this chef and his activities.
  3. Advanced members, meaning premium members and above, will be encouraged to participate in writing for the website, volunteering and conducting a video or videos for inclusion in the website content, and participate in chapter events.
  4. The guild and website will also encourage other guys to cook and prize their fine wines and spirits and to gain enough experience and interest to also join and participate in the guild and website.
  5. The website will archive all articles, demonstration videos, and events and will have an archive of all of guild related stories, recipes, etc. contributed by the members.  If any of the published recipes are known to have been adapted from any media are submitted, and accepted, by the editor, the original source will be recognized at the outset of the submission.  Submissions of just recipes will be given little favor in acceptance for publication but are expected to have a story or educational bent associated with the submission.  This is in keeping with two of the purposes of the guild—to be entertaining and educational.
  6. Approximately every three months members of the guild will meet and have a “smash down” pitting one member against another, or one team against another, and from time-to-time amateurs against professionals.  The participants will be given a theme and choose what they wish to prepare and what spirits they recommend serving with that dish.  A profile of each will be written up similarly as above and published to the guild before the date of the “smash down”.  A professional photographer/producer will be at each of the events and a presentation of the event will follow within days of the event.  The videos of the events will be presented on the website accompanied by articles summarizing the event.  For each competition a panel of three judges will be selected from a pool of judges to grade each team on a variety of qualities including, but not limited to, originality/creativity, presentation/appearance, aroma, taste, special/secret ingredient, cooking hacks or techniques—and maybe more.  The chef or chefs with the highest grades, or selection by the panel will be recognized as such…bragging rights only…no prizes, except that the names of the team or individuals who are declared the winners will be included on a trophy or plaque that will remain with the guild.  Further, the winner(s) will be recognized as the “Skillet” and the loser(s) as the “Glass”.  The winner(s) will then smash the glass (covered with a towel) with a skillet as the winner’s reward…similar as the groom stomping the glass in a Jewish wedding.  We will call this competitive event a “Smash Down.”  
  7. Every member of the guild will be encouraged to contribute to the website by writing articles of interest on their own and submitting to the editor for publication on the website.
  8. Members will be encouraged to demonstrate their talents by participating in a video that may be used as video vignettes that will be content for the website.
  9. Members will also be encouraged to bring in others to join this initial chapter and/or create other chapters around the country.  Each chapter will all have rules and guidelines on how the website can be used and how the chapter should be organized to perpetuate its existence and to optimize the enjoyment, enlightenment, and camaraderie of its members.
  10. The plan is for there to be no dues cost to the “inaugural members”, other than the cost of each attendee’s portion of meal ingredients, wine, beer, and spirits together with costs of rental for tables, napery, dishes, etc., and venue for a “smash down” and, of course, their time associated with participation in various aspects of the guild’s activities.  The plan is to seek advertisers/sponsors to the website whose funding will perpetuate the guild, its activities, management, and the website.  Later, we will advance levels of membership with increasing levels of benefits and at some point, establish progressive fees for those levels.  It is the intent that the “inaugural members” will be exempt from membership fees for at least a few years and will hold premium membership privileges including all perks as well as the privilege of wearing the Skillet and Glass logo.  Logoed merchandise related to cooking, wines and spirits will be available for purchase either directly from the website or at events.

Further actions up-front will include a Word Mark and Trademark for the guild name and website.  As of this writing, the US Patent Office has approved the Word Mark and is in the process of registering the Trademark.  Additionally, the Word Mark and Trademark for “Fellows of the Skillet & Glass” and “Skillet  & Glass”, will be registered for the guild, website, restaurant, retail sales, catering, merchandise, etc., so that another entity does not  highjack the trade name and logo.  A web domain has already been protected, skilletandglass.com and the website is launched.  A corporate entity has also been registered as Skillet & Glass, LLC.

As the concept, website, marketing/advertising, video productions, legal fees, etc. have evolved into a significant monetary investment, the organization will be for-profit and the most motivated and energetic of the members desiring to do so, may invest as a partner to organize another chapter elsewhere in the country.