By contrast, even the first edition had 26 dinners over three days. At its height in 1999, 86 authors were on hand for nearly 100 events. For the last several years, the event had drawn about 70 authors.
This year's event will host no food showcase, no preview gala, no beer tasting with a cast of thousands.
A confluence of reasons brought the Book and the Cook to this October passage, not the least of which was the loss of its primary sponsor, KitchenAid, and the closing of the venue set to host the public food expo last spring.
"We wanted to make the event more attractive to authors with fall cookbook releases, timed for the pre-holiday push," said Faye, putting the best face on last March's cancellation and the October rescheduling.
But she readily acknowledges the chief goal in its 23d year is to survive, to preserve its continuity and make it to 2009 and a (hopefully) renewed, restored and respected 25th anniversary with reenergized participation from a restaurant community that has grown uninterested in the event.
Though sharply downsized, the program has taken a high-profile, controversial tack by featuring a hot-button food - foie gras - for its lead dinner at London Grill. Guest author Michael Ginor (Foie Gras: A Passion), co-owner and president of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, one of the world's largest producers of foie gras, will host a dinner featuring the silky rich duck liver that has drawn animal-rights protests over the last several months.
When the Book and the Cook began in the spring of 1985, its mission was to boost local hotel business and jack up the city's image as a tourist destination by promoting its restaurant renaissance.
