What kind of man the cellarer of the Monastery should be 1) As cellarer of the monastery should be chosen from the community, one who is sound in judgement, mature in character, sober, not a great eater, not self-important, not turbulent, not harshly spoken, not an off-putter, not wasteful. 2) but a God-fearing man, who will be a father to the whole community 3) He is to have charge of all affairs 10) He must regard the chattels of the monastery and its whole property as if they were sacred vessels of the altar (Chapter 31 of the Benedictine Rules, as posted in English inside the Burgundy's Abbey Notre Dame de Citeaux) So starts the book, Shadows in the Vineyard, the true story of the plot to poison the world's greatest wine. The author Maximillian Potter admits at the end of the book that when he came to write this story for a magazine and later turned it into a book, he knew very little about wine. This is all the more amazing because the book reads very well, has … [Read more...]
What is happening to French restaurants?
There is no question, at least at the high end of the restaurant scene that the French are still at the top of the culinary world although the competition has become incredibly fierce with countries like Spain, Italy, the UK (yes you read that correctly) and Japan challenging for the top position. But amid that reputation is a creepy feeling that not all is rosy. While the top chefs can command huge international respect for their creations, you need to sit and wonder at what is happening in the more traditional 'bistros' and 'brasseries'. That feeling is more pertinent when you learn that France is introducing a law that will force restaurants to mark their food as 'fait maison' or home made to save their culinary reputation. When this happens you realise that things are not always as they seem. As you can see from this article in The Guardian, many mid-range restaurants are using industrial companies as a way to cut costs and serve customers food that has been prepared elsewhere. … [Read more...]
Serious or not? The proof of the pudding is in the eating
Alain Passard is one of the most influential chefs in France. Thanks to my friend Eric who pointed me to this video, here you can see what it means to use top quality ingredients. Passard is a chef who is obsessed with working with quality products, he has even created his own kitchen gardens for his restaurant. Here in this video, you cannot but wonder whether he is serious or not about serving such a dish. Just a touch of olive oil at the end, some salt and that is it. No vinegar, no dressing, just prepped vegetables, salad leaves and herbs mixed together to bring about an explosion of freshness. Does the dish work? Who knows. You may need to take a trip to Paris to try it at his 3-Michelin Star restaurant L'Arpege. For sure, you need to be incredibly confident of the quality of the ingredients to let them shine like this. But it is also a lesson in simplicity and creativity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcVWg5Yx6oA … [Read more...]
Beat your fear – how I overcame my phobia of cheese
Phobias are irrational and unexplainable. Cheese until a few years ago was my achilles heel. Few people could understand how someone who could be so obsessed with food and wine had a 'fear of cheese'. This was not an allergy but rather real fear. I recall a day when I was still at school and a friend had placed a piece of cheese in my school bag as a joke. I never used that bag again. I remember protesting with my father to refrain from using the same knife he had used to cut a piece of cheese to cut bread or spread butter. I even would tell him to wash his hands before handling anything else. Such was my fear. Now, with the benefit of hindsight a fear of cheese is not only irrational, it is also ridiculous. This was not an allergy. That would be perfectly understandable. Can you imagine never eating a pizza with mozzarella. Hard to believe but true. So you can just start to imagine what a big deal it was to actually try cheese for the first time. I overcame this phobia thanks to my … [Read more...]