Best Friends Day
August 15
Today is a special day for best friends to celebrate their friendship. Research shows that on average in a lifetime, most people make around 390 friends, but only 1 out of 12 friendships lasts. We lose half of the friends in our friend group every seven years. If a friendship lasts over seven years, you will most likely have that friend for life. If you want to live longer, a network of friends is actually more important than a close family group. Older people live 22% longer if they have an extensive friend network.
National Chef Appreciation Day
August 15
If you have a favorite restaurant, chances are you know the chef. Today is the day to tell them they are appreciated. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, all of the French chefs who had jobs cooking for nobility found themselves out of work. The bulk of them started their own restaurants and begun cooking these same fine dining meals for the general public. This dining style quickly spread to England, and to America shortly after. The Union Oyster House opened in Boston in 1826, and it is widely regarded as the oldest restaurant in America. It is housed in a building that has been standing since the pre-revolutionary era and is still open for business today. The Original Boston Cooking School Cookbook by Fannie Merritt Farmer is the oldest cookbook in America, published in 1896. Cooking shows are a highly popular genre today and many popular chefs have their own cooking shows. The first chef to have a cooking show was James Beard, who is often considered the father of American cuisine. His cooking show first aired in 1946. Julie Child’s cooking show 17 years later played an integral part in introducing French cuisine to the American public.
Today’s Birthdays of Note….
Napoleon Bonaparte – French Military Leader – passed at age 51 – born in Corsica, Italy
Ben Affleck – Actor – 47 – born in Berkley, California
