(continued)

donna:
What is the secret of your successful partnership?

Mary Sue Milliken:
Our partnership? Let's see. I think the reason we've been able to maintain a successful partnership for all these years is that we're really adaptable and flexible, and each of us is able to allow the other to change -- and we're not threatened by that.

PaulMc:
When working in the restaurant, do you concentrate on the front or the back of the house?

PaulMc:
I would assume the back.

Mary Sue Milliken:
I think over the years our roles have changed a bit. We originally could barely make it out from behind the stove for even a minute; now, we've learned better how to train and inspire people to do some of the work in the kitchen and we can float, pretty much 50-50, between the front and the back of the house, monitoring the quality and enhancing the experience for the front-of-the-house staff and customers.

hotsauce:
What factors do you think are important to having a successful show on the TV Food Network?

Mary Sue Milliken:
I really have no idea. I think I know what makes our show successful -- I don't know what makes a show successful, or why a show is chosen or not chosen, or picked or not picked. It's a new arena for me, so I have no idea.

I think with our show, people like to watch us interact, and they also like to see the interesting good prepared in a way that's not intimidating.

emma:
Your books are so accessible. Are you planning another one soon?

Mary Sue Milliken:
Thank you so much! We don't have another book in the works yet. But since we develop and write recipes on an ongoing basis for the TV show, it's possible that we'll have another book before the end of the decade. (laugh) It hasn't even been twelve months since the last one. How about you cook all of those, and then get back to me! (laugh)

Mary Sue Milliken:
Thank you, and goodbye, and be sure to ask Susan all the really juicy questions!

Frederick:
There will be a one minute pause now while we switch from Mary Sue to Susan.

Mary Sue Milliken:
Automatic Message: Mary Sue Milliken Logged Off

Susan Feniger:
Automatic Message: Susan Feniger Joined Chat Room

Frederick:
Welcome, Susan!

Staff:
Welcome to the chat, Susan!

Susan Feniger:
Thank you, and hello!

PaulMc:
One thing I enjoy about your show is you take dishes that seem so difficult to prepare and make it seem so simple.

Susan Feniger:
Well, it's, you know, I think that's true. I think one of the things that Mary Sue and I decided was important when we were teaching, is to take the mystery out of dishes. A perfect example is in the new segment, which is the Tamales World Tour, we did these Japanese dishes. A lot of what seems difficult about, for example, that food, is that people aren't familiar with the products. So something could be very simple, but seems difficult -- What we try to do is make people more familiar with more products, so they see that a dish that might appear to be more complicated in reality is quite simple.

Oscar:
A friend just gave me a large quantity of Scotch Bonnet peppers. Any suggestions for (safe) usage?

Susan Feniger:
Well, it depends. If you're particularly sensitive to heat, when working with those extremely hot Scotch peppers, I'd say to wear gloves. If you're looking for something to do with them, you might try pickling them, since one Scotch Bonnet is enough to make a large amount of salsa pretty hot. You might also try drying them -- hanging them in a bundle, not too close together but in a long string, and letting them just dry in the kitchen.

Staff:
What trends in food prepping and styling do you see on the horizon?

Susan Feniger:
We're big believers in very basic styling. We sort of went through our French phase about fifteen years ago, and now we're very basic in terms of looks. A plain plate with possibly great color and texture combinations -- but we're not into high, tall food, which is sort of trendy right now.

I think we're going to see a lot more vegetarian restaurants -- I'd like to see it go that way. And I'd like to see it go less and less pesticides, and more and more organic products.

Michael in Miami:
How do you keep things new?

Susan Feniger:
Well, you know there's usually a few items that people just really love, and every night at the end of the night you know which dishes are your biggest dishes. You phase out dishes that are less popular. The main thing we do is continually run specials. That keeps it new. It depends on what's in the market -- We're seasonal, as much as we can be. Especially for the specials.

Asher:
I saw your Mexico show, and it looked like Mary Sue got a little overzealous with the mescal -- What's the story there?

Susan Feniger:
Well, in reality, you know, neither one of us drinks very much. It's all totally playful. It is. We sort of do it and play with it, but neither one of us barely ever drinks. Well, not much. We sure have people convinced of it, though.

hotsauce:
Are you thinking of launching a line of packaged foods? I've heard that you're preparing a line of sauces? Can you tell us about them?

Susan Feniger:
We are in the process of trying to launch some prepared foods -- You know, there's a good chance we'll do some salsas, but since there are already so many salsas on the market, I don't even know if that's where we'll concentrate. It may range from chefs' jackets, to knifes, to various different food products.

donna:
hi Susan, its me, Donna. We met in Philadelphia. Thanks again for all of your encouragement. With some luck, Sunset Grill will open in January. If I don't go crazy first. Can't wait to steal your public relations person! Ha, ha! Continued success to you and Mary Sue. Thanks again.

Susan Feniger:
Donna, keep in touch, let us know what's happening!