Don't you just love serendipitous moments?  I'm sitting at the counter facing the kitchen at Pago in Salt Lake City, and getting ready to enjoy a meal fixed by Phelix Gardner, one of my favorite chefs.  A couple walks in and is seated next to me.  Since I'm such a shy guy, I start talking to them immediately.  If they have in mind a romantic night out, my take is they should have asked to sit at a table for two.  Anyway, we make some small talk.  Phelix comes over with my first plate-two pieces of grilled bread, two cheeses, one jam and one marmalade.  "The jam and marmalade were made by the couple sitting next to you," he says with a grin.

Now, our conversation really begins in earnest, and it gains traction after I taste their creations.  John and Casee Francis are artists.  Interestingly, not just in the kitchen, but as landscape gardeners, and John is a four-time National Old-Time Fiddle Contest Champion.