In 2004 this site launched as a personal food blog, Gastronomic Meditations™, in search of a smarter, more elegant way to look at food. From there, we became an online magazine, The Gilded Fork®, in 2005. We expanded into multimedia in 2006 when we launched the world’s first all-food podcast channel, which eventually became the Culinary Media Network®. We have now returned to our original name (reason here), as we kinda dig the Gilded thing.
Our mission has always been to celebrate the sensual pleasures of food, and we traveled the planet exploring culture, history and tradition via the plate to learn the passion behind the flavors that excite us. Our audio & video programs, recipes, articles and interviews showcased the best of what we discovered in an unending quest to fulfill our food desires. We were often the only bloggers and podcasters on those trips, so we’re pretty darn proud of the ground we broke in this digital world.
THIS SITE IS NOW AN ARCHIVE OF OUR TIME TOGETHER. IT UNFOLDED LIKE THIS:
Gastronomic Meditations™: The Blog
2004
Jennifer Iannolo launches a personal food blog on the Blogger platform to talk about the philosophical and sensual aspects of food, inspired by her reading of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's tome ``The Physiology of Taste: Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy.``
Gastronomic Meditations™: The Magazine
2005
The blog expands to an online food magazine, incorporating recipes, wine pairings, and voices from other contributors. The site is nominated for a World Food Media Award, competing against very prominent, established media outlets.
Jennifer's GoDaddy Commercial
2005
GoDaddy asked Jennifer to appear in one of their national television commercials, which aired for several years.
ReMARKable Palate
2005
Chef Mark Tafoya begins his ReMARKable Palate podcast, focused on exploring micro-regional cuisines and general food knowledge. He is featured in Bon Appetit Magazine in January 2006.
The Gilded Fork™
2006
After being frustrated that no one really understood the term ``gastronomy,`` Jennifer wants to rename the site, and wakes up in the middle of the night with the idea to call everything ``The Gilded Fork.`` Chef Mark gives it a hell yes.
Culinary Podcast Network™
2006
By joining forces together, Jennifer and Chef Mark launch the world's first food podcast channel in 36 hours, with 8 shows from podcasters around the world. The network is immediately featured in national news media.
Food Philosophy™
2006
Jennifer's show, Food Philosophy, is launched with a national sponsor, and featured on Sirius satellite radio. Culinary Podcast Network becomes part of Adam Curry's PodShow network.
Culinary Media Network™
2007
With the addition of video and blogger columns, the site becomes a full media network, featuring sponsors like Barilla, Hamilton Beach, GoDaddy, and other major brands.
Adventures in Gastronomy™
2007
Jennifer and Chef Mark launch a production studio and produce video series like ``On the Tequila Trail`` for Partida Tequila.
3 million downloads
2010
During its 4-year run, Culinary Media Network showcased global food, wine, spirits, travel and exploration. Its roster of shows were downloaded more than 3 million times.
The Gilded Fork™ Returns
2010
After winning a trademark battle and choosing to return to their gilded roots, Jennifer and Chef Mark decided to bring everything under one umbrella, which is what you see here!
Eat. Cook. Love. Documentary
2012
Jennifer's pursuit of food and sensuality as a dying art were featured in this Canadian documentary, which also featured a ``Sex on a Plate`` dinner cooked by Chef Mark.
Chef Mark, Culinary Ambassador
2013
Chef Mark began touring the world as a culinary ambassador for the U.S. State Department, sharing his knowledge of regional American food with the world. His first tour was in Kazakhstan (where he met his husband!).
CO-FOUNDERS
JENNIFER IANNOLO
CEO/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
As a committed food philosopher, Jennifer started this site as her personal food blog in 2004 to celebrate the sensual pleasures of food. She had spent more than a decade in the food industry working on events like the James Beard Awards, and launched Relais & Chateaux’s Ecole des Chefs program with some of the world’s greatest chefs including Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Guy Savoy. They inspired her to explore the passion that inspires people to choose food and wine as a metier, and along the journey was introduced to one Chef Mark Tafoya, who was doing this newfangled thing called podcasting. In 2012 Jennifer was featured in the international documentary “Eat. Cook. Love.” along with Chef Keller and other prominent food experts.
Jennifer is now on to her second career, focused on developing women entrepreneurs around the globe. She speaks internationally for the U.S. State Department, and at major corporations and institutions like Harvard and the United Nations. In addition to running her global incubator, IMPERIA, Jennifer is also a business development coach to Hollywood and Silicon Valley award winners. You can see more about what she’s up to here: jenniferiannolo.com.
CHEF MARK TAFOYA
EXECUTIVE CHEF / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
There are few people on earth who get as excited about food as Chef Mark. A dedicated culinary explorer, he is always ready (with camera in hand) to discover the next destination. As a personal chef, he is eager to express these discoveries in new flavors for his clients via his ReMARKable Palate Personal Chef Service. A former Broadway actor, Chef Mark began his podcast in 2005 to meld together his love of food and performing. When he met Jennifer, they put all of that together in one big pot and stirred. Chef Mark is a Yale graduate, and in recognition of his work as a chef and podcaster, Mark has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York, Bon Appetit and the New York Times.
Chef Mark is still a personal chef in NYC, and has done several tours for the U.S. State Department as a culinary ambassador. He recently began creating new content that stemmed from our Culinary Academy idea way back when. You can see more of what he’s up to here: remarkablepalate.com.