Fresno Chefs want to know, "What is the soul of the gastronomical Fresno experience?"

Chefs cook to satisfy their personal relationship with the earth, food raised on our planet and people connecting in a full body experience second only and maybe to sex.

Food and chefs are also rated among "The world's oldest profession." Community looks to those with the gift to create harmony with people and food.

Food, drink, oxygen, companionship are all the criteria for a satisfied soul. Is your soul satisfied? Is your soul responding to the atmosphere? Is your soul alive?

These questions can be answered when one simply looks at the basic premise of, "You are what you eat."

Is a visit to a chain food restaurant the thing that moves you? If so, do you have any understanding of true nature of that restaurant's soul?

Do you crave an experience with your dining that will heighten your soul? If not, tell us what makes you tick.

Forget North, south, east, west. Forget vegan, carnevour, gourmet, deli. Tell us what you love to eat when you pay for the experience of being nourished.

If you don't think about it, please start and maybe, this is the place to start.

This is not a "gossip column" for egos but a real challenge to Fresno Chefs to dialog about our love and passion and to take the pulse of "The Valley" by asking local gourmands to respond to their needs of their soul.

My personal current favorite places to pay for the art of food include Slates, Kern Street Coffee, Chris's Meat Market, Central Fish, Adrian's, 3 Sisters, the Vineyard, and 100's of others. My past fav's include Upstart-Crow and Co., Our Town, Harland's, Fagan's, Happy Steak, Daily Planet and many others.

So true Chefs and those who enjoy the offerings of true chefs, let us hear your voice and unite and help the Central Valley, our agricultural capital, get centered and calm down so we can eat, live and love.

Cocoboots