Isabel Gilbert Palmer interviews food writer Nancy Singleton Hachisu about food in Japan. Phaidon will be publishing her third book called Japan the Cookbook on 6 April. Nancy says that Japan the Cookbook is not an examination of regional cooking traditions, as much as a curated experience of Japan's culinary framework from a specific moment in time. Using both line and … [Read more...]
Is Sebastien Bras’ decision to give back his Michelin stars a one-off or the start of something bigger?
In France, the Michelin guide is big, bigger than anywhere else in the world. It is the benchmark by which chefs and restaurants are judged. And for the French public its a bit like the bible. So when Sébastien Bras took to Facebook to announce that he wanted Michelin to take back his three Michelin stars and did not want to be listed any longer in the Michelin guide he … [Read more...]
Food writers: Jay Rayner and the Ten Food Commandments
Writers who write about food are writers, no question. How they write about food is as varied as how chefs and cooks make cheese on toast at home (more on that later) or roast a chicken at work and their readers, fans or haters decide each according to their own views if the writing works or not. In New Zealand, where I am having a sabbatical of sorts from life in Gent, … [Read more...]
What impact does social media have on creativity and our restaurant experience?
Social media and the smartphone may be creating havoc not only in how we experience a restaurant but also in how chefs approach food and how they innovate. People are busy looking at their phones wherever I look. I am interested not only in what they are doing but also in how they are using their phones. Some have their earphones on and are listening to music or their latest … [Read more...]
Everyone likes a bad review: the scathing restaurant review that went viral
Jay Rayner's scathing restaurant review of Paris restaurant Le Cinq has been the talk of the internet since the article appeared online on Sunday morning in the Guardian. It went viral pretty instantly confirming that there is nothing that readers like more than a bashing particularly if this has colourful language and has made the writer angry. Jay Rayner's website … [Read more...]
