soupnancy

On food, cooking and my life as a chef.

Entries in B&B 2006 (3)

Bits and bites (December 2006)

I’ve been wading through my e-mails and tagged articles to read, finally taking it all in and responding. Here, I point you to some of the interesting tidbits I gathered in December.

Some interesting tidbits from the food media...

Carol Off’s book on Chocolate: This book seems like a compelling read about the history of chocolate, and how our favorite sweet is produced today. I was touched by her quote about the underage plantation workers, “I feel the profound irony before me: the children who struggle to produce the small pleasure of life in the world I come from have never known such pleasures. They don’t know what chocolate is.” And as the reviewer in the Gazette pointed out, it’s this confection – produced by uneducated, orphaned, starving, abused children – that we in North America use to say, ‘I love you’.

Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World’s Most Seductive Sweet,

By Carol Off, Random House Canada, $34.95

Trends of 2006: Starchefs sums it up well..

http://www.starchefs.com/features/editors_dish/trends_survey/index.shtml

What to expect in 2007: Frank Bruni and Zagat interview chefs and draw up lists of new food trends and things to look forward to in 2007. The results:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=166

http://www.zagat.com/news/newsCUR.aspx?Art=Art_december_2006_2

Food Politics: A positive trend that is here to stay.. This is a brief overview of the progress we have made in our connection to our food supply thanks to the food scares, activism, books and movies that are eliciting a response on the part of consumers and big business. There is hope yet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/dining/27food.html?ei=5090&en=ab1ba1be34b60106&ex=1324875600&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

Illy takes on Starbucks: Coffee is now big business globally, and the big players are jostling for position.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/26/business/worldbusiness/26eurocoffee.html?ex=5090..

Food science is on every yearly trend list, and the talk probably won’t stop for a while, as molecular gastronomy becomes ultra popular in mainstream haute cuisine. Harold McGee’s article “When Science Sniffs Around the Kitchen”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/dining/06curi.html?ex=1167541200&en=d45588e3135c2096&ei=5070

gives you an idea of what is going on, the trickle down effects of ancient cuisine catching up with modern science... He marvels at it all, but he certainly had something to do with this, by getting people excited about it in his On Food and Cooking 15 years ago (this was the book that accompanied me in my transition from the world of science to that of food).

To see food science applications taken to the extreme, explore Grant Achatz’ crazy inventive menus.... http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/achatz_pr.html

I find all this stimulating (as a mental exercise to understand food), but personally, I have no desire to cook like that. Granted, a chemical is a chemical, whether it occurs in nature or is produced in a lab, but when you break down food and taste so elementally, it seems to me that you take the sensual magic out of it, like simplifying love to pheromones. I’m all for incorporating new knowledge into our methods, but while staying true to the traditional approach. What self-respecting cook wants to mimic big industry by using the same chemicals and machinery that they use in processed food anyway? Unless I was packing a picnic for a space shuttle trip, I would rather use a fresh egg and lemon, than lecithin and citric acid, not that there is anything inherently wrong with that.

With pure chemicals, you can select the desired effect by only using a specific proetin for example, without all the other stuff (other proteins, water, fat, sugars) when that’s all you want. But then, this is an entirely different approach to cooking as we know it. In effect, you’re also neglecting the natural complexity of natural foodstuffs, rather than truly knowing them and honoring them. This all too pervasive syndrome of wanting to control nature as opposed to working with it, is the source of many of our environmental problems today. Anyway.

I have no doubt that all this knowledge and these modern chefs’ experiments will ultimately change the way we cook to some extent, and great. This new field of science is a beautiful thing, we do need to evolve. But I think we have to keep our feet on the ground, and our taste buds alert.

There is also no doubt that I would have remained in science if I had known that I could have been studying cheese in the lab for a living back then. However, I would not want to be one of THEM (academics). Reading Harold McGee’s account of the conference, I was reminded of one I attended at McGill, where I sat there wondering if these academics were from Planet Mars where all they ate was KD. Only academics will sit through a 3hr presentation supporting the claim that a third smell sensation can result from two distinct smells! We all know that instinctively, think apple pie or poutine. When food chemistry meets brain chemistry, 1 + 1 does not equal 2, more like 10 or infinity. We can’t even think in terms of 1 and 2 given that your typical identifiable aroma consists of dozens of chemical compounds... Poor scientists, it is so complicated when you dissect it so, but someone has to do it, I suppose. On a visceral level, it is simple. That’s why I’m much better off as a trades person.

No fuss French bread: In the on line food world, there was much buzz in articles and blogs in early December about this apparently ground breaking, simplified bread recipe ever since it appeared in Mark Bittman’s NYTimes article…I haven’t tried it yet, but, if you’re feeling experimental... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/dining/06curi.html?ref=

Sedna IV: This is not about food, but provides food for thought. It is the official website for the unique Antarctica mission to study and document the effect of climate change on the south pole, of which the Québecois scientist, Jean Lemire, was the leader , returning in early December after 9 monthes. The site shows details about the crew, their journals, and the information they gathered. Go visit this website for the stunning pictures if nothing else. http://sedna.tv/spip/sommaire.php3?lang=fr

Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 04:59PM by

Nancy Hinton in B&B 2006 |

Bits and bites November

29-11-06

Global food news:

Foie gras. Please, can we cut the BS and look at the real food issues? Foie gras might turn out to be something we collectively want to phase out one day, but at the moment, there are many more pressing issues, like our whole industrial food mess; not what a few rich people eat once and a while, but what the masses eat on a daily basis. All the crap on the market that everyone gobbles up not knowing how bad it is, all the crap the government subsidizes, all the misinformation. etc. This post by Michael Ruhlman says it well. http://www.megnut.com/ruhlman.html

Speaking of real issues, The Inconvenient Truth. If you haven’t already seen it, I urge you to see Al Gore’s documentary, now available on DVD; it is very well done. Smart and to the point, this is essential viewing for all human beans, and a good motivator to really get serious about our planet and our future.

Oldways : While reading another blog (101 cookbooks), I came across a link to an association that appears to do good work with respect to educating people about better food choices. http://oldwayspt.org/

As the reports come in from the mega Terre Madre Slowfood event in October where food communities including artisans, chefs, academics and activists gathered (www.terramadre2006.org), you can now read about all that went on. I would have LOVED to be there. In the same vein, you can read about the cheffy CIA conference “Spain and the World Table”, honouring the contribution of modern Spanish cuisine, where Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria and Harold McGee were all present. John Sconzo reports on the energy and excitement of the event with the spotlight on Ferran Adria in “Voyage into Creativity”on Egullet: http://forums.egullet.org/dailygullet/. Also, apparently much more from Adria’s extensive and expensive books is now accessible on his website, www.elbulli.com/.

In and about Montreal:

I was very sad to learn that Il Sole (an Italian restaurant on the Main) no longer exists. I had been encouraged to check out this nouveau French restaurant La Porte where the former pastry chef from L’Eau, Vincent now works, only to discover that it has replaced Il Sole. It had been one of my favourite restaurants on that strip, I thought the food was great, and it was classy, without the pretence of most St-Laurent joints. I had much respect for Graziella, the chef owner. Boohoo. I wish her the best.

An original new menu starts at the Bistro du Sommelier (Guy Lelièvre’s new resto on St-Denis) on Dec. 6. Get this: the theme is The Seven Deadly Sins and American trends in wine. The current menu finishing this week focuses on New Zealand and Australia, with possible packages with the Rideau Vert theatre where what’s his name’s 2006 review is playing.

We are deep into oyster season, so if you haven’t indulged yet, now’s the time. There is an Oyster party this Friday night (Dec.2) at 10pm at the Tavern on the Square, I wish I could go.. I think they will be riffing with one kind of oyster, the Malpeque, but on your own time, feel free to explore the wonderful world of oysters: at your fishmonger's, at la Mer, or at restaurants around town like Joe Beef for example. My discovery of the season was the Moonstone from Rhode Island. Here is an oyster primer from Gourmet. http://www.epicurious.com/gourmet/features/oyster_primer