Gourmets on the road

David Lincoln Ross reports.

Le Bernardin goes to the beach

Dining companion

Making dollars from scents

Desserts pack a punch

New York City—What do noted chefs and vineyard owners such as Chef Harry, Molly Chappellet, and Charlie Palmer have in common? All are members of a 30 million strong convoy of recreational vehicle enthusiasts—better known as RVers—in the United States.

Molly Chappellet and husband Donn, co-owners of acclaimed Napa Valley Chappellet Winery, love nothing more than driving south to Palm Springs, cooking and grilling the entire way. For his part, Chef Harry tours the country, broadcasting his entertaining TV segments for the Shop at Home Network and PBS from his colorful "Rock 'n' Roll" RV. And Palmer fondly recalls family RV trips to New York's Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario.

All told, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, Americans own some eight million RVs, ranging in size and comfort from tiny campers to 40-foot-long veritable palaces on wheels. What's more, the industry's fastest growing segment is the luxury RV, outfitted with professional level kitchens that any chef would envy. But where might amateur cooks turn for something more inspiring than franks, pork and beans, or burgers?

Until now, there was no handy cookbook for the RV gourmet. But the recent publication of Cooking on the Road with Celebrity Chefs, a collection of 125 sophisticated yet easy-to-follow recipes edited by cookbook author Anne de Ravel, fills this gap. Now America's gourmets-on-the-go can cook up everything from Chef Harry's grilled lobster/goat cheese quesadillas to Palmer's pan-roasted cara melized apples. De Ravel's handy paperback cookbook features salad, soup, appetizer, main course, and dessert recipes from over two dozen top chefs around the United States, including Neal Fraser (Grace and BLD, Los Angeles), Zak Pelaccio (5 Ninth and Fatty Crab, NYC), and Patricia Williams (District, NYC). The cookbook also contains useful cooking and grilling tips and on-the-road food shopping advice.

"On backroads and local highways, roadside farm stands across the countryside offer a greater choice of locally grown seasonal produce than ever before," says de Ravel. "Supermarkets too have worked hard to upgrade the quality of their gourmet and organic offerings, so RVers find it easier than ever to create memorable meals on wheels."

Thanks to a fortuitous set of culinary connections, de Ravel was contacted last year by Woodall's Publications in Ventura, California. A source of authoritative information about RVing and camping for more than 70 years, the publishing enterprise was founded in 1935 by Karl Hale Dixon with the launch of Trailer Travel magazine. The company also publishes annual directories of parks and campgrounds as well as a variety of regional monthly and online publications, all aimed at the RV and camping crowd.