On June 30, Le Bar Lyonnais at Le Bec-Fin hosted the Bar Academy’s first major culinary event. Fifty-five people escaped the summer heat with cool drinks, great food and the wit and wisdom of Le Bec-Fin’s world-famous and much-honored Chef/Owner, Georges Perrier.

After a tantalizing tour of Le Bec-Fin’s renowned pastry kitchens, including the chocolate room, attendees gathered to nibble on specially created delicacies. Chef Perrier talked to our members about the challenges in continuing to be creative, innovative and successful as a chef/restaurateur for 40 years. In fact, this year Le Bec-Fin truly achieved institutional status in the city, as it is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Never one to rest on his many laurels, Chef Perrier revealed some of his current plans to keep innovating, including the opening of a bakery and of another restaurant. Throughout the event, Chef Perrier demonstrated the warmth and charm that makes him a great host. Of course, the food presented demonstrated that Chef Perrier and his exceptional team, including Executive Chef Nicholas Elmi, and Pastry Chef Cedric Barberet, remain at the absolute top of their game.

For those of you who tried to register for this event but were closed out (registration sold out in less than a day), keep your eye on the Academy’s website; we are planning other events at Le Bec-Fin.

Few of us really understand the complexities of radio broadcasting. In fact, it still seems a bit of a miracle, if you think of it, that you can turn a knob on a small device, and get music or news from almost anywhere in the world. We each get used to the sounds of certain stations, or the voices of certain announcers, and adopt them as being particularly our own.

For Philadelphians, KYW Newsradio is the voice of our daily commute, our reliable old friend, that we turn to for news of weather, traffic alerts, sports, and of course, for snow closings in the winter. We listen to KYW to keep us continually updated as to what is happening in the world. Who among us can’t hum the tune for “KYW 1060?”

On May 5, the Bar Academy offered attendees a look behind the scenes of a major newsradio station. Who knew that the ticker tape sound lives on a flash drive on a server? Attendees were treated to a tour of the broadcasting booths, control rooms, and newsroom, and some even got to read a little bit of the weather report.

Tony Hanson, the station’s courtroom reporter, showed himself to be a master story-teller with a razor-sharp wit. His observations were poignant and thought-provoking.

As we left the station, I could swear that I heard a few people practicing their “radio voice.” Ah well, perhaps a career in voice-overs might not be so realistic a dream after all.