Right in his beloved Charles Village, The Village Learning Place, at 2521 St. Paul Street, has always held a very warm spot in John’s heart. VLP is an independent non-profit library that houses educational programs, enrichment opportunities, and informational resources for the Charles Village neighborhood and Baltimore’s Inner City. John’s looking forward, as always, to being with friends old and new again this year for their Wednesday evening program in December. He’ll be bringing along some Holiday Treats for everyone, giving an educational presentation on “Bay and Body Healthy Eating,” and signing copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen for the folks on your Christmas lists.

Hey all our Eastern Shore Friends!

John will be in Cambridge for the annual Old Fashioned Christmas celebration this year! Come on over, say “Hi,” and enjoy lots of Holiday Favorites at the Artisan Gourmet, at 412 Race Street - right next to The Wine Bar. John will be on hand for the evening’s festivities and signing copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen - just in time for gifting!

John will be giving a talk on the health of the Chesapeake, greeting folks, and signing copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen at the Barnes & Noble book store at 3330 St. Paul Street in Charles Village, at 3pm.

John and Chef Doug Wetzel will be showing you how to create the very best Thanksgiving side dishes in segments airing all morning on Thanksgiving Day. They’ll be demonstrating a couple recipes from The New Chesapeake Kitchen — “Sauerkraut with Apples” and “Charlottetown Farm Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese Gratin.” Check in throughout the morning!

Don’t miss John on WYPR’s Mid-Day with Tom Hall from noon to 1pm.

How do you know when you've truly succeeded? The answer is when the Baltimore Improv Group invites you to have your life memorialized in a series of made up, totally unprepared comedy scenes celebrating you! Come join a hand picked cast of BIG's best improvisers as they comedically revere what they’ve identified as one of Baltimore's most important movers and shakers.

John will be interviewed by host Richard Gorleck, former Baltimore Sun restaurant critic, and then the cast will act out a scene depicted in John’s responses.

At The BIG Theater 1727 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

All BIG Shows are FREE!

The National Press Club Journalism Institute is once again partnering with landmark local book seller Politics & Prose, at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC, for a night of pols, pundits and prose. John will be joining a host of other authors at the 41st annual National Press Club Book Festival.

The Capitol region’s premiere holiday book event, The Book Fair is a fundraiser for The National Press Club Journalism Institute, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, which advances journalistic practice by equipping professionals with the skills and competence to innovate, leveraging emerging trends, recognizing leaders and innovators, mentoring the next generation of journalism and communications professionals, and advocating for a free press.

Authors will be on hand to talk to their fans and sign books at this most exciting literary event. Patrons can browse for books at the Club’s headquarters from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for NPC and Politics & Prose members; $10 public. Tickets will be sold online and at the door.

John will once again be one of the Cook-Off judges at this annual event at the St. Marys County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown, MD. Home of the National Championship Oyster Shucking Contest and the National Oyster Cook-Off, this is a “don’t miss” event for the whole family—young and old! After the judging at 2pm John will be on hand to sell and autograph copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen.

John will be at the Mountain Road Branch of the Anne Arundel County Library in Pasadena, MD at 2pm to sell and autograph copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen from 2 - 3pm. For library staff only - sorry.

John will appear on WUSA9’s “Great Day Washington.” He’ll be showing folks how to make his “Wide Net Blue Catties,” a new take on the ubiquitous Baltimore “coddie.” John uses house-made salt-catfish to transform this nasty invasive species into a tasty regional fish cake.

John will appear at noon on the Food for Thought stage in front of the Kaufman Pavilion on the Key HIghway side of the Inner Harbor complex. He'll be demonstrating how to make salt catfish and giving out samples of his "Wide Net Blue Catfish Catties," a recipe from his recent book - The New Chesapeake Kitchen. The recipe makes use of a troublesome invasive species, the blue catfish, that plagues the Chesapeake. John will explain the mission of The Wide Net Project - an important effort that helps to lessen the  impact of the blue catfish, while feeding those in need in the Baltimore/Washington Dc region.

Following John on the stage that afternoon will be his guests: Renee Brooks Catacalos, author of The Chesapeake Table - Your Guide to Eating Local, at 1pm; Chef Virginia Willis, author of Secrets of the Southern Table - A Food Lover’s Tour of the Global South, at 2 pm; Cathy Barrow, author of Pie Squared - Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies, at 3 pm; and at 4pm John will join Tom Pelton, host of the public radio program "The Environment in Focus," for a conversation on how our food buying choices affect the environmental health of our region.

You can download a copy of the Festival map here.

John will be joining other writers at a book signing event at the inaugural Chesapeake Food Summit in Washington D.C. during the Whole Foods Market Good Food Reception at Union Market. Hosted by the Washington Regional Food Funders, the Summit is bringing together 250 leaders from across our region’s food system to honor the progress that has been made, highlight the gaps that remain, and articulate a common vision for our food system. WRFF envisions an equitable food system in the Greater Washington region which makes good food available to all, harms none, nourishes bodies, communities, and ecosystems, and provides all involved in the supply chain with a livable wage.

Copies of The New Chesapeake Kitchen will be available for sale.

At both 7:45 in the morning, and at 5:45 in the evening, John will be on "The Environment in Focus" program with NPR radio host Tom Pelton, author of The Chesapeake in Focus, Transforming the Natural World.

Listen at:

WYPR 88.1 FM in Baltimore

WYPO 106.9 FM on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in Delaware

WYPF 88.1 FM in Frederick

WMUC 88.1 FM in College Park

Celebrating John's newest book, The New Chesapeake Kitchen, Gertrude's is hosting bimonthly cooking classes at the restaurant on select Saturday mornings with John and Executive Chef Doug Wetzel. Each class features several cooking demonstrations followed by a lavish sit down luncheon of the dishes created. John always invites one of his favorite local food purveyors and highlights their products. This month their guest will be Pam Miller of Baltimore County's Charlottetown Farm. Charlottetown is a family-owned farm specializing in fresh artisan goat milk products and Pam is bringing along a couple adorable baby goats for extra entertainment!

SOLD OUT!

John Shields and Gertrude's host the largest fundraiser for The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland. John will speak  along with special guests including emcee WJZ-TV Anchor Jessica Kartalija, Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore Pride Parade Grand Marshall and “The Voice” finalist Davon Fleming, and Miss Gay Maryland USofA Summer Knight.

Now in its twelfth year, Twilight on the Terrace is a Baltimore Pride tradition: a spectacular night of food, fun, and community in anticipation of another great year of Baltimore Pride. Twilight on the Terrace helps support more than 40 community programs that reach more than 800 people monthly.

"Reaping What We Sow"

John will be joined by McKay Jenkins, whose most recent book is Food Fight: GMOs and the Future of the American Diet; Rona Kobell, moderator, science writer and editor at Maryland Sea Grant and a reporter for the Chesapeake Bay Journal; Charlotte Proctor, Program Manager at Civic Works Real Food Farm; and J.J. Reidy, an entrepreneur, global food activist, and urban developer, who has helped guide social enterprises in Baltimore, Milan, Ethiopia, and Peru.

At the The Church of the Redeemer
5603 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21210 View Map    
410-435-7333

Reserve to sign-up for supper at 6:00 p.m. for $10 per person. 
There is no cost and no sign-up to attend the lecture only.

With a new book heading to press soon, John's taking a time out on public appearances. Look for The New Chesapeake Kitchen in bookstores 2018!

John will be showing folks how to make the quintessential Maryland Crab Soup at the annual Gaithersburg Book Festival. He'll be demonstrating his "Ms. Jean's Crab Soup" at 1 pm on the Rachel Carson stage.  Afterwards he'll be signing copies of The 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking in the Authors' Signing Tent.

Look for John at the River Hill Farmers' Market on Saturday, May 14. John will be on hand for the Grand Opening of this new Farmers' Market at the River Hill Garden Center in Clarksville. He'll be meeting & greeting, and doing a live recipe demonstration of Back Creek Inn's Crab Quiche at 11 that morning.

John will be joining Chef Aaron Norris and author Jeffrey Greene in a panel discussion and demonstration at this year's Annapolis Book Fest at the Key School. John will be offering samples of his Watercress & Ricotta Spring Salad.

John will be at the Perry Hall Library on April 12 at 7 in the evening. He'll be signing copies of his latest book, The 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking. He'll also be introducing the topics of his upcoming book, The New Chesapeake Kitchen - Eating and Cooking that is Healthy for Both Bay & Body.

Join John at the Calvert Marine Museum for A Taste of Solomons - and sample a taste of John's own Seafood Gumbo!  John will be demonstrating live on stage at 2pm.

Join John at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum for their spring Eastern Shore Folklife Festival.

Immerse yourself in activities and presentations celebrating the culture of Maryland’s Eastern Shore region. Join us for a talk and food tasting on Chesapeake regional cooking with John Shields, chef and owner of Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art and food writer; a film screening of Voices of Indiantown followed by adiscussion with the descendants of the families of sharecroppers growing up in rural Dorchester County; a musical presentation by the Singing and Praying Bands of Maryland and Delaware; and a story reading of Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom with children’s author Carol Boston Weatherford. In conjunction with the exhibition Ruth Starr Rose: Revelations of African American Life in Maryland and the World.

Join John for the signature event of the winter, The Black-Eyed Susan Ball, at the Miller Branch of the Howard County Library. He'll treat the audience to a live cooking demonstration featuring Pauleen’s Seafood Gumbo, just one of the recipes found in his 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking.  Books will be available for purchase and signing. Black tie is optional.

At Charles Village's Village Learning Place, John will demonstrate a couple great recipes from his newest book, The 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking with John Shields. He'll bring delicious samples for everyone to consider for their Holiday Party menus:

Thelma's Crab & Art Dip

Paca House Punch

Snickerdoodles

The Pikesville Library is hosting John for a talk and book signing. Everyone is welcome!

John will speak, and be autographing copies of his newest book, at this private social club founded in 1898 for the historic suburban planned community of Roland Park.

John joins the folks at the Three Arts Club of Homeland at 1pm for a talk on Chesapeake regional cooking. John will be signing copies of his newest book, The 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking.

John will be signing copies of his newest book, The 25th Anniversary Edition of Chesapeake Bay Cooking at The Black-Eyed Susan, a charming Maryland-Themed gift shop in Glydon.