Random Idea

I would suffix this with a number but I'm not sure if the next one will make it to the computer next time. But never worry, I have a million of these that come and go.

Anyways, I wonder if there is a service where people can pay a culinary student/chef/critic to meet them once a week at a grocery store. The two then purchase the food they'll need to cook for that evening's meal. Well, ideally it wouldn't be just one store but a number of organic or ethnic or off-the-beaten-path or farmer's markets where they would not only learn about food they otherwise wouldn't have tried, but also learn how to shop for these things (as well as the foods of which they are all ready aware).

I say this after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal where they talked about 'noodles made with konjac fiber, often called shirataki or yam noodles', that 'are widely available in Asian grocers, usually refrigerated and packed in water.' After my introduction to H-Mart, I would love to learn more about and, possibly, cook with these noodles. But I wouldn't know which brand is the best, what is the difference between brands, nor how to cook them...let alone go to the Asian market at all (much less a general grocery store these days--you should see my refrigerator).

Such a service would allow me to kill several birds with one stone.

Cheers.