72
As part of the silent auction held at the Gainesville Heart Ball last spring, Frankie Harvey offered a five-course meal, prepared and served at the home of the highest bidder. “So they picked the menu,” Harvey said. “Five courses from my book and I added a couple of different things.” The meal included a seared ahi tuna with pineapple and ginger salsa appetizer, coconut curry soup, watercress kiwi and radish with peppered goat cheese, chicken saltimbocca and porcini risotto.
After earning her degree from a junior college, she attended culinary school but was unable to finish. She continued to work in restaurants and catering and with her thirst for cooking left unquenched, she channeled her passion into cooking for family and friends. Just a couple years ago, it was her children, husband and friends who encouraged her to start an online blog to document her recipes and experiences in cooking. As the blog grew in popularity and frequent readers began requesting more recipes, her family pushed her to take the next step from the blog, which was to write and publish a cookbook. Since the beginning, her family
72 | Winter 2012
has been her motivation and inspiration to cook. “If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding,’ that will give you some kind of idea as to what our family dynamic is like,” she said with a smile. “We are all very tight-knit and involved in one another’s lives and we make so many memories together.” Having grandparents who came to the United States from Lebanon, Harvey’s cooking is also heavily influenced by her culture and heritage. “The Elegant Gourmet” offers some tastes of Mediterranean inspired recipes. “I love and appreciate every kind of food, but my absolute favorite meal to cook is rack of lamb,”
she said. “I think that’s definitely because I grew up eating it at all our family’s special occasions.” But Harvey’s family does more than just inspire the recipes. From helping to name her blog and cookbook to carefully selecting the recipes to be featured, Harvey’s family played an integral role in the production of the cookbook. “I had a vision but had no idea it would go so far so fast, or that I was even capable of doing this,” she said. “It was a family effort and now it’s a family business.” So in September 2011 with the help of her family, Harvey secluded herself and spent her days cooking and writing. By January, the compilation was sent to publication.