soupnancy

Bits & Bites May 2014

Comparing Alice Waters with Rene Redzepi and Patterson – Different/Evolving expressions of Haute Cuisine while focused on fresh, quality ingredients that are local & sustainable. http://thebreakthrough.org/index.php/journal/issue-4/beyond-food-and-evil

Canada’s top 50 Restaurants according to Vacay.ca  http://vacay.ca/2014/05/2014-top-50-restaurants-in-canada-raymonds-in-newfoundland-is-no-1/ 

Ruth Reichl at Benu in San Francisco  I’m not so into endless tasting menus anymore and rarely read about them, but this is an interesting sounding meal. It reminds me that I do long for a theatrical meal once and a while that surprises, that makes you travel while being extraordinarily delicious above all.. That’s the crapshoot. http://www.ruthreichl.com/2014/05/a-truly-great-meal.html

A reverence for eating meat – historically, something special: A Michael Pollan video for BBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfmCT-Qsegg&feature=youtu.be

Neonics, those pesticides everywhere (Bayer), are bad for bees, compounding evidence..  http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/05/smoking-gun-bee-collapse

Brilliant essay by Dan Barber about how ‘Farm to Table’ went wrong’. It comes down to everyone being disconnected from the land, well intentioned or not, misguided and meanwhile industrial food takes hold even more. People are surprised to hear me say how tough things are for small producers, that I have seen many disappear around me while Walmarts open. There is a movement towards artisanal and local, and those precious few are focused on tomatoes and wild mushrooms, not barley, but the fact is, worse than that, most people still shop at superstores without a thought in the world beyond cost.. mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/what-farm-to-table-got-wrong.html?

Amusing ‘apres terroir-talk’ with David Chang and Joe Beef  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/dim-sum-oysters-and-wings-eating-toronto-with-momofukus-david-chang-and-his-a-list-friends/article18691227/?cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globe

Real food and Cooking, Rich or Poor Can’t be said enough http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/05/15/pollan-healthy-food

Hard to find good cooks these days  I agree with this, ditto and then some because I go back further than T.Keller’s cookbook. Ok maybe not impossible but it’s a different world and not necessarily for the better despite all interest between the tv shows, kids enrolling and foodies. Maybe there are even more good young cooks than before but they are all in a rush, wanting to stage and skip steps up the ladder, entitled to chef title/salary, tv show or their own restaurant in a year. I would love to meet a few more with the devotion and spirit we had; willing to work our asses off, so proud to be a part of something cool without delusions of grandeur. We spent money we didn’t have on dining out, on cookbooks and magazines, because there were no free ideas or instructions on the internet; every victory was hard earned and people were less full of shit.   http://munchies.vice.com/articles/its-impossible-to-find-good-cooks-nowadays/

See the last line of this interview with Ferran Adria http://www.thedailymeal.com/ferran-adria-restaurants/5914

A good article about TASTE – supertasters, non-tasters and how your palette develops I’ve always been fascinated by taste and have observed many palettes over the years, have written about it before.. It is true that it’s all about tasting,

and like any other sense or muscle, can be honed with practice. You have your genetic god-given tastebuds, your upbringing and all your baggage and then it’s what you do with it! Malleable and ever-changing, all to make the most of for a more interesting life! No doubt my old and abused anglo palette serves me well..  http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/food-wine/lesley+chesterman+critic+notebook+search+great+taste/9819569/story.html

Forget about ‘Organic’ and ‘GMO’ until you are buying real food and cooking, avoiding industrial crap; then it’s time for nuance http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/opinion/bittman-leave-organic-out-of-it.html?_r=1

A pretty funny (sometimes hard hitting) take on foodie issues – 20 things everyone thinks about the food world but nobody will say http://firstwefeast.com/eat/20-things-everyone-thinks-about-the-food-world-but-nobody-will-say/