This week's theme is about healthy eating and the importance of teaching people how to cook. We have come across many different interesting articles about this theme and in particular the problems related to fast food and processed food. Most of the readers of Food and Wine Gazette may be familiar with many of these issues but we always find some interesting points which we might have missed elsewhere or which help to raise awareness. Our first read of the week is a Tedx Talk on Why the farm is not getting to the table. It is an interesting article by Leah on what is considered to be the food movement's last mile problem - cooking. It is a skill that we are losing and it is the skill that actually connects the farm to our tables. If you look at the numbers it is pretty scary. In 1900, 2 per cent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 per cent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonald's. 20 per cent of all American meals are eaten in the car. … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #11
Yesterday there was a very interesting conversation between Elizabeth Auerbach of the blog Elizabeth on Food and the World's 50 best list which I intended to write about given it touched many interesting points about lists, bloggers, guides and the importance. Elizabeth asked whether those who vote on the list are allowed to accept invitations from chefs and restaurants for free meals. The answer was yes and the World's Best 50 tried to defend its method. But when the conversation started to get heated up, Elizabeth on Food said "she had just got an email from the World's 50 saying that they don't want to continue the conversation on Twitter #sore subject." There is a good report of the discussion on Eater. While we are on the subject of lists, here is an article about the world's most expensive restaurants. I am sure they may have missed a few. Also from the Daily Meal is a report about a four year old who reviewed a meal at The French Laundry, one of the best restaurants in … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #10
From the wines of Mount Etna in Sicily, to wine writer ethics, how to boil an egg, food as a political issue, restaurant trends for 2015, a guide to Brussels or how one of the most renowned chefs claimed a rival sabotaged his new restaurant's opening night, this is my weekly roundup. Many thanks to my readers who send articles or links from time to time. These are always welcome. The wines of Mount Etna in Sicily have been exciting interest of wine lovers over the past few years like no other wine region in Italy. Jancis Robinson writes about the wines from this active volcano and picks 5 of her favourites. But while there were only 5 wineries producing Etna wines 15 years ago, most Sicilian notable wine companies have all invested in land on the mountain and some have even built wineries. But the locals claim only they know how to work in these really special vineyards Max Allen writes on www.jancisrobinson.com about wine writer ethics. He speaks about conflicts of interest and … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #9
This week I have come across two great stories on two of the most creative chefs in the world. One is about el Bulli and Ferran Adria. The other is about Rene Redzepi of Noma. In the first you can read about whether el Bulli can be considered as a work of art. Adria has often said that "Being the first in not what's important. What's important is conceptualising". In fact that is what happened with elBulli. The restaurant is gone but the concept remains. And it has left behind a trail which could be compared to many artistic movements. If you are interested in creativity, this is a must read. The second article from The Wall Street Journal is about Noma's Redzepi who is another chef that never stops experimenting. It is a fabulous read about a chef who was on top of the world but had a bad year in 2013. He termed last year an 'avalanche of disaster' to the extent that he was thinking of writing a book about how to deal with a bad year. He says "we work as intensely and as … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #8
While it might seem obvious that the average passenger on a cruise ship gains weight, it was indeed surprising to find out that the actual gain on average is nearly 1 kilo a day. Can you even start to imagine what this means? This week, I have found some very interesting articles which I hope you enjoy. Some are long reads so particularly good for a lazy weekend read. There is a very interesting article about champagne in The Guardian. The author argues that for many years no one cared about how champagne tasted. He argues that when it comes to celebrating a joyous occasion, many will opt for a champagne rather than any other sparkling wine just because it is a champagne. But he says that champagnes are becoming more complex and therefore the glass to be used should be revisited. While for a normal champagne a flute would be best, if a sparkling wine or champagne has complexity and depth it would be better to use a normal wine glass to let the aromas express themselves … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #7
This weekend is great for those who love food and wine events. Choices have to be made as to what you can follow though we find Twitter great to get a taste of what is going on in the main events which we find interesting. Just this weekend there is Megavino in Brussels, Chef Sache in Cologne, Salone del Gusto e Terra Madre in Torino all tackle different aspects of the food and wine scene. Yesterday we wrote about the panel discussion that took place between Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters and the founder of the Slow Movement Carlo Petrini. So it is appropriate that we start this weekly roundup with a link to a transcript of a Ted speech given by Jamie Oliver on "Teach every Child about Food". It is really an interesting read and one which makes you reflect on what has gone wrong in the food world. On the same theme, you might want to check out some fast food facts which may make you reflect about how our children are being 'brainwashed' into craving for fast food. It is indeed … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #6
Food waste was one of the main subjects of the recent dispatches from the Mad Feed site. This week, Mad Feed released an evocative take on the subject. Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef of Osteria Francescana writes about the relationship between food waste and traditions and memories. It is the ninth essay in the series which was published for the Mad Symposium, Bottura touches upon the issue of food waste, speaking about a recipe he has created called Bread is Gold which evokes memories of his childhood. In the essay he also touches upon a project that he is working on together with some of the world's best chefs in May to turn the food waste that will be generated at the Milan Universal Expo into meals for poor people. He writes about the most valuable lesson of an Italian kitchen which is to make the most of nothing and to never throw anything away. "A ragu is nothing other than a sauce made with scraps of meet or fish or vegetables," he writes. It is a great essay and … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #5
This weekend I am busy reading a fabulous book that arrived in the post, Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef. I hope to review as soon as I finish it, probably tomorrow. It is a splendid book written by the most avant-garde Italian chef and one of the leading chefs in the world. It is not a cookbook but rather a journey into the philosophy of this incredible chef. More about this when I review the book. In the meantime, there has been lots to read during the week. From a Hong Kong auction setting a record price for the highest price ever paid for a lot of wine (Romanee Conti) which sold for more than $1.6 million to a very interesting article by Jancis Robinson on winemakers which are making a u-turn as they become disaffected with the wines they made in the past and move to start using less oak and instead go for more traditional approaches such as clay jars, fewer new barrels and in larger sizes. I have read a lot of books about neuroscience and how our brains … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #4
This was the week that MadFood, a symposium held last month in Denmark released a talk by American cook Chris Costentino in which he emotionally describes the pain of becoming a 'television celebrity'. If you haven't watched the video or read an extract of his talk, I would urge you to read it. While speaking to young chefs, his lessons are valid for anyone thinking of going on TV and particularly reality TV. There is a lot of food for thought in his words. Given we are on the subject of Copenhagen, the New York Times this week had in interesting feature about what to do for a weekend in this Danish city. Copenhagen is famous for what is currently considered to be one of the greatest chefs in the world Rene Redzepi of Noma. But it is also the standard-bearer for New Nordic cuisine, a movement sustained by a society that encourages homegrown talent using local ingredients. This is one of the cities we really want to visit and this article clearly explains why with a lot going for the … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #3
Creativity was the theme of our post yesterday and if you have missed it, we recommend that you read it. For this week's round-up we would like to start with another chef that epitomises the word creativity. No one has had an impact on today's cuisine as much as el Bulli, the iconic Spanish restaurant which closed its doors a few years ago. His brother Albert Adria, who was also heavily involved in el Bulli is interviewed here about creativity. This is a really interesting interview. He says what really motivates people is fear. And he has a very interesting perspective about meetings, which seem to be the greatest problem of the corporate world today. "At el Bulli we only had the winter to create the menu for next season. That’s why we were very pragmatic and efficient when it came to deciding on new crockery, products… We never had long meetings. Whatever you say after half an hour or 40 minutes is unnecessary." Bruges is one of the most picturesque Belgian cities and sometimes … [Read more...]