Admission time: I’m a huge foodie.  I love to cook, eat, and invent in the kitchen.  I’m a loyal subscriber to Cooking Light, Food and Wine, and Cuisine at Home.  One day, I’d like to go to culinary school.  While surveying the room during breakfast recently, my son said “Mommy…you really have a lot of cookbooks.” I guess the overflowing shelves were his first clue. 🙂

When I was diagnosed, I wondered if I’d have to give up cooking.  Then I read about Chef Seamus Mullen.  He’s a star chef, focused on Spanish cuisine, who owns Tertulia in NYC.  And he has Rheumatoid Arthritis.  He’s tackling his illness with courage and grace, and his career continues to thrive, despite its physical demands and grueling hours.  What’s more, he works to build awareness for RA.  When he appeared on  The Next Iron Chef: Season 2, he even discussed his illness and the additional demands of competing with it.

This week, Chef Mullen popped up again.  One of my favorite bloggers, Sara Nash, published this article about Seamus on MyRACentral.com.  I devoured it, as usual, and am now anxiously awaiting the release of his book.

I adore expressing my love for friends and family through food.  Seamus Mullen reminds me that I can, even though my body might try to make it more difficult.  Thank you Chef…you’re an inspiration!

UPDATE: When we were on our Mediterranean cruise, literally 4 days after I posted this, I discovered that the celebrity chef on board was…..Seamus Mullen! Talk about a crazy coincidence! We tried to get a chance to chat with him, but he was mobbed like a rock star at every event, and we couldn’t get in to any of the private ones by the time we found out.  We did enjoy watching him in an Iron Chef competition with the ship’s Executive Chef. And yes, he emerged victorious. 🙂