It's off to the north coastal-lands this week to tape our Cape Cod episode for the Coastal Cooking series. I've been looking forward to filming this particular episode, as it is a homecoming of sorts for me. I lived on the Cape for a number of years and actually began my cooking career there. I'm expecting many memories, along with an ample supply of outstanding food. I'll be cooking with an old friend, Chef Clem Silva, owner of the ever-popular Provincetown eatery, Clem and Ursie's. http://www.clemandursies.com/ We'll be inside Clem's kitchen on Wednesday afternoon where he will show everyone the secret to making a satisfying pot-full of Portuguese Squid Stew.

Along with the rest of America I've spent this past week watching in horror at the tragic images resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Our Coastal Cooking production crew was recently down in New Orleans where we taped a wonderful episode on the culture and cuisine of that legendary city. We spent an afternoon with well-known and well-loved local chef, Susan Spicer, at her Bayona restaurant in the French Quarter. Susan and her restaurant staff - as well as the rest of the people of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi - have been in our throughts and prayers this week. It's going to take a tremendous amount of energy, resources, and spirit to rebuild. We are planning a benefit for the Gulf Coast area at Gertrude's. Stay tuned for more info on that event.

At the end of this week it's the Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point State Park where I'll be MC-ing the 16th Annual Crab Soup Cook-Off on Saturday, September 10th from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. http://www.mdseafoodfestival.com/cookoff.html This is a great event where crowds of crab soup lovers make their way to this bayside park for some of the best crab soups to be found in the Chesapeake Bay region. Not only will you be well fed - you will be doing a good deed! All the proceeds from the Crab Soup ticket sales go to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's seafood restoration projects. CBF is an amazing organization that has been instrumental in protecting the health of the Chesapeake. For more information on CBF check out their website www.cbf.org - it's well worth the viewing.

Saturday the 10th of September is not only a grand day for crab soup; it's also the long awaited (well...at least for me) national premiere of our new public television series, Coastal Cooking with John Shields. If you live in Maryland, Delaware, or the Washington, DC area you can watch Coastal Cooking on Maryland Public Television, Saturdays at 2:30 pm. www.mpt.org
For other viewers around the country please call your local public television stations to find out when Coastal Cooking will air in your region. This series was an amazingly delicious culinary adventure with stops all around the coastal United States. The entire Coastal Cooking crew and myself hope you enjoy watching the series.

Remember to live local...but cook coastal!