the dreaded marigold christmas kitchen party

every year during the week before christmas, i traditionally take the whole kitchen staff out for dinner and a night of festive holiday drinking. this year, we decided instead to have a party at my place. what you see above is a picture of some of my absolute favorite people in the whole world and the reason that i believe that i'm the luckiest chef in cleveland. i consider myself so fortunate to be surrounded by so many great cooks who, even more importantly, are great people and my closest friends. as an extra treat this year, i managed to concoct the deadliest holiday punch of all time. recipe available on request. it went especially well with the keg of great lakes christmas ale. yikes! happy holidays, everyone, and our wishes for a truly fantastic new year.