North Bay Woman

Left: Joanne Weir at her restaurant Copita Tequileria y Comida in Sausalito. Above: Weir at a fresh produce stand selecting local greens. Below: Menu at Copita Tequileria y Comida. – Photos from the book: "Kitchen Gypsy: Recipes and Stories from a Lifelong Romance with Food" (Oxmoor House/Sunset, 2015), photographer Thomas J. Story F inding a fly in a glass of Chateau Mouton Rouge in the 1970s changed Joanne Weir's life. The vilified vermin set her on the path to becoming an award-winning chef, public television personality, gourmet, oenophile, tequila expert, cooking teacher, restaurateur, world traveler and author of 17 cookbooks and counting. Her latest two projects include a new restaurant at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and a brand-new television cooking series, "Plates and Places," still in production and shot in Morocco, Greece and Italy, that will debut in January. "I wrote about the fly in my last book, 'Kitchen Gypsy,'" she said over cups of herb tea. "It really was a life- changing moment but I had no idea of that at the time." Feisty and pro-active even as a very young woman, the then amateur cook (in college she majored in photography), based in Boston in the late 1970s, wrote an outraged letter to the world famous Chateau Mouton Rothschild, wrapped the insect in aluminum foil and mailed it off, with no idea how prestigious the winery was. As an apology, the Chateau offered her a meal for two on site, on the house, next time she was in France. It was an offer she couldn't refuse. Weir, about to turn 25, and her then-housemate, decided to go to France to Chateau Mouton Rothschild for lunch and built a whole trip around this centerpiece experience. As Weir tells it, the young women were bowled over by the venerable winery's history, magnificent setting, gentility of their hosts and exceptional cuisine at a level Weir had not yet experienced. But she had the palate (she's a bona fide super taster) to understand she was in the presence of something that spoke to her soul: exquisite, flavor-rich food and wine. "When I was studying photography, as an artist I loved it but it was a more intangible relationship I had with my work," Weir recalls. "I discovered it was so much easier when it came to cooking. I could see, taste, smell, feel the results. When I create something, and love it, and I know that I've done it right, the satisfaction is so deep. Some day I will go back and do more visual art work." It's no surprise that Weir, raised in New England, was a natural at the culinary arts. She comes from four generations of culinary professionals. Her great-grandmother owned and ran a restaurant in Boston at the turn of the 20 th century, called Pilgrim's Pantry. Her mother was a professional chef and caterer with a special love for baking, who worked with the renowned cookbook author Charlotte Turgeon. Both sets of grandparents farmed, canned, cooked and baked. "When I was asked to write another book for 'Sunset,' I found myself talking about and getting excited about my memories of growing up with all the wonderful, homemade food in my family," Weir explains. "They suggested I write 'Kitchen Gypsy' as a memoir. Published in 2015, "Kitchen Gypsy" is an upbeat, often humorous anecdotal read about Weir's admittedly fascinating upbringing in Northampton, Massachusetts and her evolution as a chef, teacher and restaurateur, complete with lavish photos and recipes. "My mother, grandfather and great grandmother, all of them, were devoted to cooking, were all passionate about food," she says. "For me it was fantastic. I thought every kid lived like that. I didn't realize that other kids didn't have every single thing homemade. I would go to school with my Meet the Passionate Chef, Author, Cooking Teacher and Traveler for all Seasons

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