Cookbook author wants Michelle Obama’s family recipes--if only she knew that

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Now we’ve heard everything: a cookbook author has offered Michelle Obama a million dollars for her favorite family recipes. Why? Either she’s an incredibly good cook or, more likely, anything to do with Obama makes for incredibly good publicity.

Here’s a clue: It turns out that the author, Ron Douglas, sent out an e-mailed news release blast announcing his offer without any word on whether or not Obama intends to accept.

Here’s another clue: He also apparently had no solid connections with Obama’s representatives because, according to his PR spokesperson, he made the offer through her press office. When I asked the spokesperson if Douglas heard back from Obama, she said, ‘He has not gotten any responses yet.’ The mind reels at the thought of the number of requests made for Michelle Obama’s time, energy, thoughts and words. Still, by making his plea public, Douglas is either incredibly earnest in his desire to share Obama’s cooking secrets with the world or else a not particularly crafty publicity chaser. My guess is the latter, but I promise to keep you posted if he receives a miracle.

Douglas, who has penned cookbooks re-creating recipes from gigantic chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, isn’t exactly a known quantity in the world of cookbooks and cooking, so it isn’t readily apparent why Obama would choose him as her ambassador. Also, he promises to donate 100% of the proceeds from the book to the charity of Obama’s choice, leaving me to wonder about his real angle.

For now, consider this your daily dose of food news of the weird.

--Jessica Gelt