Tyler Florence is Walkin' in Memphis

There's no profound way to lead into this post, other than to say: I MET TYLER FLORENCE! My day, my weekend, and my month of May are complete. I’d like to thank Twitter, Nicole, and Kim for a terrific team effort in making this moment happen.

I’m so happy for the city of Memphis. This weekend we are hosting Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race as they film the upcoming season – which airs this August. And you know yours truly was on the case to find out exactly where to get in on the action.

Around 11:30 this morning, Tyler Florence tweeted “Charcoal Smoked Ribs at Rendezvous in #Memphis #AmericanTreasure”. Done. Within two minutes I was out the door and on my way to Rendezvous for lunch. Good thing it’s just down the alley from work. Once our group was seated and ordered drinks, our waiter informed us that Tyler was there but already left. He just picked up large orders of ribs as part of the show’s competition. I was defeated and my bank account was now short $12.

But we weren’t throwing in the towel just yet. After lunch, the ladies and I walked up the street to Court Square where the food trucks were stationed and Food Network was filming. The trucks were not serving food until Saturday. Friday was for filming only, so there was a glimmer of hope that Chef Florence would appear.

And appear he did within fifteen minutes of patiently waiting. My co-worker, quite arguably the biggest Tyler Florence fan aside from my mother, was determined to meet him. She ever so boldly called out his name and waved for him to come over; and he did! The nicest (and only) celebrity chef I have met to date, Tyler Florence was most gracious in shaking our hands, having a little sideline conversation, and posing for photos with us.

To Tyler Florence: thank you for making our day! And to the competitors on this season’s The Great Food Truck Race: GOOD LUCK! I leave you with a musical tribute to this city and my memorable day of walkin' in Memphis.

I’m off to Florida for a family wedding! Have a great weekend everyone!

Julia