And The Winner Is....

Marica Pariante Angelides, for her mortifying tale of unwittingly lecturing a culinary legend:

"When I first moved to the US from Italy in 1992 I worked as a lawyer for the Italian Vinegar Consortium. They sent me to a major Food Expo in California--not for my culinary knowledge, which was minimal, but because I was the only person on the team who spoke English. I was manning the booth when an elderly woman approached. I shared with her my rudimentary cooking skills as they related to balsamic vinegar. As I spoke, she nodded and I noticed a large and hushed crowd gathering around us. I was surprised how interesting they found my talk, and rambled on for several more minutes. I learned hours later that I had given a cooking tutorial to none other than Julia Child and a  swath of her admirers. Now THAT was embarrassing!"  Marica wins a bottle of our homemade chili vinegar (not balsamic).