soupnancy

Bits and Bites February 2016

Help! I’m the only foodie in the family, Diana Henry  https://t.co/V1eKVBAhJF  A Good read..

No, it's not all about food, food is dinner. But since dinner happens every day, I need my partner to appreciate food and wine, otherwise it's just passing up on so much easy pleasure. When we have so many other battles in life, I want my dinner table free of squabbles. I have dated guys who weren't so into food, but at least they had good appetites, open minded good eaters who I used as guinea pigs. I ditched a few dates for ordering Pepsi or being picky eaters, I knew there was no way it would work. 

Luckily I found a guy who values food as much as me, if not swish restaurants or the latest trends, he knows who grows the best tomatoes and how to pick out a melon, willing to pay for primo produce (not to mention the foraging!). At the market, people saw us shopping and exchanging wondering what the occasion was, to find out it was just dinner! We are not rich, it is a choice to spend your time and energy on food, which could only work for some people and not others, I can see the conflicts in another life.  With my François des Bois, every meal is a celebration and I can't imagine living life otherwise.  So, I sympathize. I can deal with a Dad or a few (old) friends who aren’t so into food, and kids for a certain time of course because well that’s more complicated, but my partner, no and never..

Top skills in the restaurant biz I agree that these are key, a genuine warmth and aim to please and work ethic more than impressive credentials on a cv. I would just add ‘being quick’ as in on your feet and mentally. The rest can be learned and comes naturally if someone likes the place and believes in what they offer, ie. wants to be there.  http://www.businessinsider.com/skills-danny-meyer-looks-for-in-job-candidates-2016-2

Efforts to reduce slave labour via US imports  A start.. It’s about time we start paying more attention to this reality, from shrimp to cell phone components.  http://firstwefeast.com/eat/slave-labor-products-banned-congress/?

Ten of the world’s most expensive restaurants  Even as a chef obsessed with food, I find it crazy to spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment on a meal, but maybe just one, just once in my life..  Not because it is expensive but tops, like Pic say. http://www.wisebread.com/10-of-the-worlds-most-expensive-restaurants?

Important people in the food world, according to Roman Cho http://food52.com/blog/15760-13-people-to-know-in-the-food-world-right-now

Restaurants and recipes for Valentine's Day http://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/lesley-chestermans-valentines-day-survival-guide-10-delicious-ways-to-woo-your-lover

Cilantro, fresh coriander - Why some people love and others hate it Although a big factor is exposure/culture (I have seen so many acquire the taste), on a chemical level, apparently the haters don’t detect the delicious aldehydes in the bouquet, only the ‘soapy’ ones http://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry

How the brain perceives taste – Neurogastronomy shows how crucial texture and the other senses are in our taste experience, providing tools and applications for changing diets and cancer treatment http://grist.org/science/neuroscience-comes-to-dinner-how-brain-tweaks-could-change-our-diet/

Food Media going soft?! The problems no one wants to talk about Good article on point! http://firstwefeast.com/eat/problems-with-food-media/

Cheap food has hidden costs to society; ‘True Cost Accounting’ reveals the real cost of Industrial food production http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/03/cheap-easy-food-easyjet-stelios-haji-iannou?

The case for organic agriculture strengthens in how to feed the world http://blog.ucsusa.org/science-blogger/organic-agriculture-is-key-to-helping-feed-the-world-sustainably

Natural Home uses for Hydrogen Peroxide – handy! http://wisemindhealthybody.com/tracey-black/hydrogen-peroxide-facts/

Slowfood biodiversity monitor of animal breeds – how industrial methods have impoverished the genetic diversity and the the security of our food supply  (a short French video with English subtitles) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdw3DmDTCfs&feature=youtu.be&a

A new primo coffee using bacteria from the lab as opposed to civet or elephant poop http://grist.org/food/move-over-civet-cats-this-coffee-company-tries-a-fresh-approach-with-bacteria/

Les chefs se suicident toujours http://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Societe/Le-dernier-adieu-a-Benoit-Violier-908677

La vie des chefs sans glamour, un rappel  http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2015/02/07/le-visage-obscur-des-chefs-cuisiniers

At the Noma Science Bunker, things are fermenting.. http://eater.com/archives/2014/08/28/noma-copenhagen-science-bunker-photo-tour.php

How meat gets to your plate (or doesn’t) in Quebec  Good article about meat processing and the slaughterhouse situation in Quebec today. Important stuff. Seeing the number of local slaughterhouses diminish due to the Govt cracking down and pressure from the big guys has made me sick over the years. Even harder for small producers of venison, lamb or say lama, with even fewer authorized and one day a week 4hrs away say; Deer, not used to being confined, more skittish and aggressive. Detrimental. I saw it again and again. And for some small farmers, the extra cost was the difference between surviving and closing. No one thinks about how AFU our system is and this article says it well. I’m actually encouraged if some of the ‘B’s can viably become medium sized and better service our local farmers and eaters..http://boucherielawrence.com/blog/les-producteurs/

Rethinking Eating - Great piece!  Not farm to table stuff; but here, scientists and vegans weighing in.on the best way to ingest protein and nutrients. I can’t help but think I could have ended up this way if my appetite hadn’t been greater than my science/analytical bone. Unlike Mr.Soylent, a major highlight of my day has always been feeding myself (and others) real food, no powders or shakes. All due respect, I don’t want the guy who makes blood vessels making my burger either. And I Love this exchange:

‘Instead of centrifuging out plant proteins, “Why not just eat the vegetables?” asked Marion Nestle, author of “Food Politics” and professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.

High-tech food entrepreneurs, mostly white, well-educated young men who have spent much of their lives fueling up on fast food, say they want to provide more convenience and better taste.

“Being forced to take time from my day and having my train of thought interrupted by hunger was really bothersome to me,” said Rob Rhinehart of San Francisco, the inventor of Soylent, a liquid meal replacement now being delivered to some 60,000 customers who preordered it during a yearlong crowdfunding campaign that ended in May and raised $3 million. “Trying to eat a balanced diet looked like I was leaping into a sea of complexity, of biochemistry and cooking, sourcing and cleaning.”

To which Dr. Nestle said, “Sex is messy and a lot of trouble, too.”’ http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/24/sunday-review/rethinking-eating.html?

Gael Greene tells her story, rants and raves  I just love it. Old school food writing, so rare nowadays.. http://www.insatiable-critic.com/Article.aspx?ID=1385&keyword=Out

Why Bitter makes food taste better  http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-bitter-makes-food-better-1408732030?tesla=y I like bitter, but am sensitive to it too making me a tough lover in the wild food world, I have analyzed this quite abit myself. Like with everything, it’s a question of dosage (the difference between pleasant bitter, off-putting and poisonous), and what you’re used to or trained to like on the low end, like with chili heat or anything. The fact is we don’t want to do without it, for taste or health..

Breakfast might not be all that it’s cranked up to be – whatever works for you.. My thoughts exactly. Beyond fruit and cheese, I know that a big breakfast is not a good idea for me, making me sluggish and unproductive which might be ok on a holiday but even then.. I never bought into the idea, like with raw food or not eating late-night – common sense and life experience. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/breakfast-isnt-important/378917/

Feeding the world – no easy answers But let’s just say that big ag is not at the top of the list http://grist.org/food/is-producing-more-food-to-feed-the-world-beside-the-point/

On Raw Food, Paleo, Microbes and our food: No one says it like Michael Pollan - science and common sense with a love for food! I love my salad but I have always thought the raw food diet a croc because cooking allows you to extract more nutrition. Fire and cooking allowed us to evolve beyond chewing for half the day, allowing our jaw to diminish and our brain to grow? And the Paleo diet might be good inspiration, it means nothing if your meat isn’t grass-fed, why rule out good grains/good bread etc. Good read. http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/michael-pollan-paleo-diet-inquiring-minds

MEP, a kitchen tool for EVERYBODY, A way of life Yup, tis true. I keep trying to explain this to my non-kitchen friends who claim to be too busy to cook.. It's all about MEP! And yes, the same approach makes you better in life in general.. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/08/11/338850091/for-a-more-ordered-life-organize-like-a-chef

The disconnect between Foodies/Chefs and Farmers  What I've been saying for years as I see small producers struggle & disappear while everyone seems to think the local food movement is in full gear and hunky dory.‎ Whatever trend to quality local fresh and artisanal is paralleled increasingly by that of cheap food everywhere thanks to Big AG, free trade & cheap imports and a govt./ system and culture that favours such, and loves BS. There is more bullshit marketing smoke n' mirrors than ever be it at the supermarket, in restaurants - Teroir/Local/Organic/Naturel/Sauvage etc. making it even harder for the real thing to shine. Whatever they say, most chefs still buy the bulk of their food in the big ag industrial system. Consumers flock to Walmart and Costco. Leaving a sliver of a market, choking out the authentic cream of the crop who aren't lucky enough to be subsidized or independently rich hobbyists. No, Urban foodies and hipsters don’t seem to really care about farmers and producers at the bottom of the chain, as long as the menu evokes the idea of them, the décor is hip and their cocktail name sounds cool. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/dont-let-your-children-grow-up-to-be-farmers.html?_r=2&referrer=

Maillard - Worthy of a celebration http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/10/162636059/100-years-ago-maillard-taught-us-why-our-food-tastes-better-cooked

MTL Blog scandal: Wow, I'm obviously not in the loop! Although I knew it existed, hardly on my radar.. Then again, I’m not in their demographic either, of the kind that prefers newspapers and in depth articles, you know the boring stuff.. http://canadalandshow.com/article/inside-mtlblo 

Fall issue of online magazine The Cook’s Cook http://www.thecookscook.com/emagazine/2014-08/issue4/

Fascinating story of our native Apple in NA http://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/the_apple_in_north_america

Crazy how the world works.. I remember being shocked by this when reading ‘Bitter Chocolate’ many years ago, still no change.  Cacao workers tasting chocolate for the first time: http://firstwefeast.com/video/cocoa-farmers-savor-their-first-taste-of-chocolate/

Hurray for quality over quantity! Good article. There is always less mark-up on the good stuff, for some of the reasons described here - so many people don't realize.. http://m.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/rethinking-dining-value-eating-at-restaurants-shouldnt-be-only-about-volume/2014/07/28/84dc6c34-11d4-11e4-8936-26932bcfd6ed_story.html?wprss=rss_lifestyle

15 Hottest Mtl restaurants now according to EATER http://montreal.eater.com/archives/2014/07/03/the-15-hottest-restaurants-in-montreal-right-now.php

The importance of eating together http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-importance-of-eating-together/374256/

Caribou - New Quebec Food Magazine (In French) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/470712816/magazine-caribou

Beginner Pickling Tips  http://food52.com/blog/10826-5-links-to-read-before-pickling

Real changes in restaurants and clientele, a documented glimpse of the new reality  http://news.distractify.com/culture/craigslist-surveillance-restaurant/?v=1

Bits and Bites June 2014

Organic farming is great but not easy – Hipster alert! And same with Foraging..  Lots of hard work while dancing with Mother Nature, super fun, but you cannot drink the coolaid without commitment, blood,sweat and tears. Forget about survival, let a lone making a living if you’re too zen and want to smoke joints while communing with nature.. Especially not in the wild where you need to know your shit in terms of identification and so as not to get lost.  And No you can’t take a one day or week class or rely on one book. You have to really love it and invest time and energy! To start, and then again, forever. Back to the land, be it organic farming, foraging, nose to tail and avoiding waste, it's all the old fashioned way rediscovered, logical yet labour intensive. Like you have to really scrub your pans without harsh chemicals, normal stuff that so many people seem to have forgotten.. Real life is work for all its beauty/rewards.  grist.org/food/organic-farming-is-so-much-harder-than-just-getting-stoned-and-picking-tomatoes/

35 courses of modernist cuisine with a feminine touch, sounded interesting.. And if Ruth Reichl (whom I respect) is enamoured, it must be worth checking out I figured even if I’m no longer into reading menus and viewing food photos so much, but still curious and wanting to stay somewhat in touch.. So very cool, however neat, hot or not, I guess I’m officially no longer that kind of foodie because I could barely read through it, let alone want to book a ticket. I couldn’t help but think I would be craving an actual vegetable and some crunch amidst the purees and froths perfectly executed. And seriously who wants 35 courses? unless you're a young foodie maybe or a journalist in need of material for an article.. http://www.ruthreichl.com/2014/06/my-dinner-with-nathan-and-tk-fabulous-women.html

Sugar in ‘nouveau’ red wines; is labelling in order? Bill thinks so.  Please, we don’t need bogus nutrition labels on everything, but ingredient information and transparency yes. If you’re buying coffee, you know it’s hot and are silly to sue the business for hot coffee, if you’re drinking wine, you know you’re consuming alcohol=sugar. But in this new global world of wine, I guess added sugar and preservatives should be noted, say in the ingredient list. Especially if the SAQ has the breakdown info, make it available! Unlike a small artisan who has no problem revealing what’s in their product but is reluctant to pay for all the analysis and costly labelling (organic/nutritional/etc) given volume/cost, the SAQ has the resources, so all marketing, just avoiding people knowing the truth. Not that most Quebeckers will care, even if they read the fine print, but a #g/L or something more specific than the current system will serve diabetics, dieters and people who dislike residual or hidden sugar in their wine. http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/food-wine/Bill+Zacharkiw+wine+much+sugar+your+wine/9958772/story.html

Montreal terasses – another of Mayssam’s great lists http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/10-great-restaurant-terrasses-in-montreal/

Lessons from The French Laundry Former cooks reminisce about career ‘lightbulb’ moments which I love, only hints of the FL legacy /impact on a generation of cooks.. http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/6/12/15-lessons-from-cooking-at-the-french-laundry

Apparently, Gluten-Free is here to stay.. I’m not so sure, but if a trend to avoid gluten means that people choose less processed foods and a more varied diet, then fine. Any pressure on the food industry to produce less crap and more quality, not take the consumer for granted is positive. Less but better should be the way, like with meat. A good slice of artisanal bread a treat, a Sunday roast of natural meat - less but better, local & natural from small producers and healthy soil/agriculture.. Minus the Round Up and big ag industial practices (and toxic chemicals in house products, furniture, cosmetics etc), I’m sure many food ‘allergies’ and ‘intolerances’ would disappear. www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/dining/gluten-free-eating-appears-to-be-here-to-stay.html?

 Interview with Jody Adams, vet female chef..  ‘Jody Adams remembers her first job as a 25-year-old cook, working directly on the hot line. “I cut myself. I burned myself. I was a mess; I cried,” she said. “But I survived.”’ Yup, ditto. http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/boss/2014/06/12/women-who-belong-in-the-kitchen-jody-adams/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Buying reservations  More of A NYC issue, but anyway. Don’t love the idea at all, but if there’s a market for it, who's to say.. And I sympathize with restaurateurs who just want their tables booked as simply as possible. So if people want to pay a premium and scalp tickets then whatever. I would personally prefer control of my reservation book, but that’s me, small-time.. A priority would be having customers pay for a reservation not honoured. mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/dining/getting-a-good-table-by-flicking-an-app-not-greasing-a-palm.html?

What Chefs stress out about that no one really sees – and there’s much more than that, like staffing issues, say.. http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2014/06/09/55-chef-anxiety/

Chez Bocuse, then and now http://www.montrealgazette.com/touch/story.html?id=9914461

Restaurant life, not sexy, rarely profitable, but great somehow, for anyone cut from the cloth..  http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/what-its-like-to-cook-for-a-living?src=soc_twtr

The 15 worst and best fruit & veg for pesticides, noteworthy for when to extra wash or make a point of buying organic http://nutritionnisteurbain.ca/infographiques/les-15-fruits-legumes-contenant-moins-residus-pesticides/?utm_source=http://chocolateandzucchini.com&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=2014-06-newsletter-vo