Me and Ricky Gervais

That's probably the last headline you ever expected to see on my blog. Seriously, I'd have laughed if you told me that I would ever be writing about Gervais here. But as it turns out, the star of Ghost Town and I have a lot in common -- at least when it comes to food.

When my October issue of Bon Apetit arrived in the mail Saturday, I immediately started flipping through it, especially since it promised apple recipes. The Granny Smith tree is full of apples, but that will have to wait. I was talking about Gervais. So, what do we have in common?

Cheese, for starters! Gervais told Bon Apetit that he is "Never without a nice, mature cheddar" in his refrigerator. I'd love to ask him to define "mature." I prefer one that's aged at least two years, but I can settle for one that's been aged a year. I once had a nine-year-old cheddar that I would eat daily if I could afford it; and cheddar is simply not going to sit in my cheese cave for nine years.

Gervais also said he keeps a good amount of Pinot Grigio on hand. I, too, am a semi-sweet wine lover, although Pinot Grigio is my second or third favorite variety. My favorite is Fetzer's Gewürztraminer (even if I can't spell it without looking at the bottle). In addition to the California winery's Gewürztraminer having the best taste, I also heart their wines because they are committed to sustainability. When we had a winery 45 minutes away (and on the route to grandma's house), I bought their wine by the case like any good locavore. But since they closed, I feel good buying Fetzer's wines. For starters, all of their grapes have been grown organically since the 1980s. Check out their website to see all the great things they do. They have an entire section of their site devoted to sustainability. But I digress.

The most exciting thing about Gervais is that "everything" in his refrigerator is "organic and free-range, from fruits and vegetables to eggs and chicken." When asked if there is anything he won't eat, he says, "I won't eat any animal that's been mistreated, abused, or hasn't had a good life. I do eat fish and chicken, but it's got to be free-range, organic. I've got to sleep at night."

How exciting that a popular comedian like Gervais is saying this in a mainstream publication like Bon Apetit. Made my day! (Yeah, I know, it doesn't take much to get me excited sometimes.) Until I re-read the article just this very moment, I completely forgot that he also loves chocolate. I should invite him over for dinner sometime. We could have some goat cheese and Pinot Grigio on the deck, watching the geese and ducks on the pond. For dinner, I could make chicken satay from my happy, free-range chickens, and then we could have chocolate mousse pie or pudding for dessert. (He likes pudding.)