This is a sneak peek from chapter one of my new book, “The Modern Gentleman: Cooking & Entertaining with Sean Kanan.”
Congratulations. You have just taken a significant step in improving your life. I know that sounds like a bold statement from a guy writing a book about “cooking and entertaining,” but it’s true nonetheless. The Modern Gentleman isn’t just another compilation of recipes, because let’s be honest, you can’t swing a dead cat in a bookstore without hitting scores of them. (By the way, a Modern Gentleman always resists the temptation to swing dead felines in a bookstore.)
Instead, as an actor, I thought it only appropriate to use the analogy of the theater to help me explain as I teach you how to create real connection with others using food and entertaining as the vehicle. We have all heard the old adage “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Well, I believe that the way to a woman’s stomach is through her heart. I am going to show you how to turn recipes for great meals into recipes for great relationships. Simply put, it’s less about the food itself and more about the emotion and effort that goes into creating the meal. Don’t get me wrong, women appreciate a delicious meal just as much as the next guy, however; creativity, effort and sincere attention to detail reveal you as a man who knows how to care. Women differentiate in a nano-second a man who “knows” from one who doesn’t.
When I was in college, I never had enough money to take girls out for fancy dinners. I reasoned that if I could teach myself to cook, not microwave but really cook, then I could offer girls something that they probably missed: a home cooked meal and thereby level the dating field with the other more affluent guys . Only problem, where to turn for help?
For years women have benefited from iconic role models such as Oprah and Martha Stewart who offered sage advice on the subjects of cooking, entertaining and the opposite sex. Men have been less fortunate. Madison Avenue advertising campaigns portray men as overgrown children obsessed with football, pizza and beer. TV sitcoms warp the traditional husband-wife relationship to that of a tolerant mother and her adolescent son. Small wonder women often lament that men in their lives lack romantic consciousness and savoir-faire. Here’s the good news. It’s not your fault. Until now, men haven’t had anyone to show them how to create and present the subtle nuances that woman wish they knew. Nothing is sexier than confidence, which is ignited by the combination of applied knowledge and life experience. Simply put, men need a mentor to show them how to create connection and romance through the art of cooking and entertaining and I have the field tested knowledge. The Modern Gentleman will teach you how to prepare delicious, visually captivating meals, as well as give numerous invaluable tips and secrets that will ensure your becoming an inspired chef and a gifted entertainer.
You may be asking yourself, “who is this guy to teach me anything” Allow me to start by telling you who I am not. I am not a classically trained chef. I am self taught but then again so is Rachael Ray. If I can do it so can you. I have been fortunate enough to travel extensively including living in Italy for almost a year while participating as a contestant on “Ballando con le Stelle” (the Italian version of “Dancing with the Stars”). I have also lived and worked in Hollywood for more than twenty five years. In that time I have made many mistakes, lived many lives and known many women. I bring my experience to the table. I offer my failures and my success’. I offer my sincere desire and dedication to help you become the best you possible which in turn will help me. Follow my advice and you will find yourself on the receiving end of greatly enhanced interest from the lucky woman or women with whom you choose to share your new skills.
The Modern Gentleman aims to help boys venturing off to college, newly single men or even married men looking to return to the days when they first met the woman with whom they fell in love. Men who long to recreate that palpable sense of attraction and attention, that feeling of being the most important person, important “anything” in the life of their significant other. The Modern Gentleman does not, however, speak solely to men. Much in the same way men sneak furtive glances at Cosmopolitan Magazine attempting to garner information about women, The Modern Gentleman offers women a front row seat in the theater of the male psyche throwing back the curtain. The fact of the matter remains that many guys today experience frustration and confusion with how they should behave with women for many reasons we will discuss later. But one of them being the feminization of the male population as embodied by the “nice guy,” who gets slammed in the “friend” box.
Women, rest assured, The Modern Gentleman does not treat romantic partners as a means to an end or as conquests using food as the bait. Nor does it serve as a primer instructing men how to seduce. On the contrary, it is about uncovering your personal best so that you become inherently seductive and no longer actively seek to seduce. The Modern Gentleman forms meaningful connections utilizing his skills as a chef, an entertainer and above all a gentleman. The information I will show you in the pages to come will not only help you with women but also family, friends and business associates.
The Modern Gentleman does not seek to impress others but rather exudes an inner confidence which emanates from knowledge. That is impressive. This is a movement who’s time has come. I call upon you to join me in a return to gentility and masculine civility. Men, the time to rediscover what already lives within you has arrived. I am going to show you how to bring it out and transform from an ordinary man into The Modern Gentleman.
Read more by purchasing The Modern Gentleman: Cooking & Entertaining with Sean Kanan.
Haven’t blogged in a few days. There has simply been too much to do. But, there are a few things on my mind. Forgive me for being sporadic.
All of my friends have at least one thing in common (other than knowing me) – they’re all looking for the best ways to stretch a dollar. It seems everyone is either underemployed or underpaid, and this can lead to people thinking they have limited options for entertainment.
In two days I will finally come face to face with an actual copy of my book. In fact, I will have two hundred copies that I will bring to the Young and the Restless fan event on Friday. It cost a small fortune to have these books shipped in time for the event but I cannot think of any group more deserving. The Y/R fans have been so supportive of me.
Friends and fans of Sean Kanan and The Modern Gentleman, please check out this exclusive interview between Ciao Florentina and Sean.
Jeff Allen is the current controller of the Concert Touring Division of Production Resources Group, has over 25 years of senior level financial experience in the Music Industry and is also a faculty member and "Faculty Expert" at the University of Phoenix teaching Business, Economics, Finance and Personal Financial Planning.