soupnancy

Bits & Bites April 2015

Les meilleurs fromages Canadiens 2015 – Laliberté (Fromagerie Presbytère) takes the top Canadian prize http://lynnefaubert.com/fr/2015/04/26/the-best-canadian-cheeses-2015/

The list of 35 Food Trucks on the Montreal circuit this summer http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/regional/montreal/archives/2015/04/20150424-180331.html

Yes! Forget the nutritionists, follow flavour http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-flavor-drives-nutrition-1428596326?KEYWORDS=Flavor+drives+nutrition

Jackfruit, an exotic fruit/veg that is gaining favour (especially with vegans) I only tried it once and was not impressed.. I’d definitely give it another go if I was on spot, preferably not out of a can, but I’m in search of a pulled pork replacement either. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/apr/12/green-jackfruit-vegetable-pulled-pork

Two Farmers’ stories – The big guys control the market, the small farms get the foodie love, here’s why we should care about the mid-sized farm http://grist.org/food/2-farmers-stories-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-mid-size-farm/

Freeze-Fry Steak  If you feel like fiddling with your steak for supposed great results.. http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/clap-steak-ideas-in-food

Rene Redzepi meets a Japanese master https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14cbaaae5353c03c

Thomas Jefferson, a real original NA foodie Inspiring. I remember falling in love with him through a few of his food quotes, reading about his food ventures and musings, my kind of politician. http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/16/thomas-jeffersons-creme-brulee/

A new Montreal delivery service for fine foods http://montrealfrais.com/landing-page/

Montreal food critics discuss what makes the perfect restaurant following up on the article in Caribou magazine http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/medium_large/2014-2015/chronique.asp?idChronique=368979

More reason to consume less plastic http://gizmodo.com/why-the-plastic-recycling-market-just-crashed-1694804237

Classic French food hits the spot  Especially today, the classic French restaurant experience is refreshing amidst the hip scene of creative n’importe quoi and accompanying pretension.  Funny how what seemed fancy and snobby 20+ years ago now feels comforting.  Maybe its just for people my age?  Like L’Express, how we all love it and return for good food, solid classics no flafla, professional service that remains warm and knowledgeable, perfectly satisfying!  when you think it would be staid. Reminding us how it should be.  Love. http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2015-02-13/classic-french-restaurant-paris-food-allard-la-fregate

Fred Morin (of Joe Beef) talks celiac,  and calls for more empathy towards customers   I agree, it seems that many chefs today are in performance mode with their tricks and hip factor, almost forgetting about the customer.  You need to want to please. And if you have lived a little, you know and love several people who would be 'complicated customers', who like their meat well done or the music not too loud, etc and you want them to be happy. I can get annoyed with the anti-gluten/allergy trend, but I take each one seriously out of principle, my mother's face helps, I have a family of celiacs.  http://luckypeach.com/the-art-of-gluten-free-living-according-to-joe-beef/

Normand Laprise’s Toqué cracks a top world restaurant list, a first for Montreal/ Canada   http://ottawacitizen.com/life/food/and-the-only-canadian-restaurant-to-crack-this-list-of-the-worlds-top-100-is

Terra Madre St.Lawrence, a Slowfood Event held April 22-26, 2015 in Montreal,  is the first regional meeting of food communities ever organized in Canada. The event aims to gather powerful organizations that share our mission for a good, clean and fair food system.  For the occasion, Slow Food Montréal will also be host of the Salon du Goût de Montréal – an event showcasing the products of the farmers, fishers and other producers of the communities we support, as well as the 10^th National Meeting of Canadian Convivia. With all these celebrations, we wish to highlight the food communities of Quebec and the rest of Canada and offer the participants and other organizations that share our goals a place to meet and debate. See programming: www.terramadre.ca.

What is Slowfood? A video of some of the people across Canada (including us cameo): https://vimeo.com/110986872

The decline of food journalism True. Driven by social media and the short attention spans of gen Y, it’s a new brutal reality of abundance of clips and n’importe quoi to wade through. I sometimes long for a simpler time of quality over quantity, when credentials and years of experience mattered more than marketing. I however, have pity for the ‘real’ journalists and I find it sad that there are fewer of them. Same goes for chefs and restaurants. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-vetri/how-food-journalism-got-a_b_6551682.html

Ethical foie gras  I have tasted a similar Que product and I loved the natural, less fatty, more meaty aspect of it, but it’s not what the clientele expects/wants when they treat themselves to foie gras.. I don’t even think said artisan survived because it’s great but not foie gras as we know it with less fat and more liver taste, your seared foie gras is more like a deluxe blond liver sauté, the makings for a rich terrine for sure, expensive though for that, so not attractive to most chefs and consumers, anyone who isn’t in it for the principles.. I’m all for this product, even prefer it, but customers aren’t there yet. And anyway in the meantime, traditional foie gras the way it is mostly produced in Quebec is not so bad or ‘unethical’ especially given that it is a treat, a micro blip in the market line of less ethical industrial food people consume without a thought on a daily basis at the cafeteria, supermarket, neighbourhood bistro or fast-food chain.. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/18/the-farmer-who-makes-ethical-foie-gras?

Essential oils to replace antibiotics in factory farming? Wow, there's hope. We could start with just feeding them the nutritional plants, but for sure essential oils provide natural medicine, many antibiotics, I'm all for it. At worst your chicken will taste like oregano?! http://grist.org/food/why-essential-oils-could-change-factory-farming/

MSG and the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome a whole lot of fluff that endures.. I thought this was over, with numerous studies and the notion of umami mainstream.. But no, we need Harold McGee to chime in again.. http://luckypeach.com/on-msg-and-chinese-restaurant-syndrome/

A French resume of what the English think will be hot food trends haha - like more kale and bugs, bitter things like grapefruit and brussel sprouts, kolache, and an African fruit baobab, birch sap.. http://m.slate.fr/story/96747/tendance-alimentation-2015

David McMillan talks Montreal food, always interesting and true http://www.afar.com/magazine/montreals-food-scene-is-better-than-your-citys

Broth is hot! No kidding. I kind of like this trend though, if only to see people waking up to the good things in life, not about me feeling trendy as a duck/rabbit/partridge broth fiend.. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/dining/bone-broth-evolves-from-prehistoric-food-to-paleo-drink.html

Foie gras ban is lifted in California http://four-magazine.com/articles/2453/fournews-foie-gras-back-on-the-menu-in-california?

Olive oil shortage will mean higher prices due to poor harvest in 2014 http://www.goodfoodrevolution.com/olive-oil-crisis/

Thieves take off with 300000$ of wine from French Laundry on X-mas day http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-french-stolen-wine-20141230-story.html#page=1

Bravo! Normand Laprise, chef owner of Toque, is named to Order of Canada for his contribution to Quebec  gastronomy http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15922&lan=eng

Bits and Bites November 2014

Montreal restaurant scene booming for bust? Good article. It’s true that however exciting the scene seems, it’s a pretty sad state of affairs, fragile and not sustainable with too many restaurants for the clientele, the fickle crowd moving from one ‘hot’ thing to the next, quality and longevity not counting for much in the end.. Diners are spoiled with choice, but maybe not so longterm if it is so difficult for good ones to hang on without cutting corners or charging more while customers are checking out the others.. Construction aside, it’s a tough business for restaurant owners, yet they keep on coming. Not for the faint of heart, deep pockets help only so far. http://montrealgazette.com/life/food/the-restaurant-scene-in-montreal-is-the-boom-too-much?

Administration charge to replace tip at NY restaurant. Positive initiative. Next best thing to an all inclusive charge; until more restaurants are doing it, so the sticker shock isn’t so hard. This is just logical. So that the restaurant can pay everyone fairly according to their job, waiters guaranteed a living wage, but not exaggerated, redistributed amongst employees and to cover behind the scenes service/administration costs. http://ny.eater.com/2014/11/21/7256693/you-wont-have-to-tip-at-dirt-candy-2-0

So much for wild game on Quebec chef’s menus for now  http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/d9c2bd87-42dd-45a9-987c-d82f12576d7f%7C_0.html

From David Kamp (The United States of Arugula; how we became a gourmet nation) A great excerpt, very interesting if Alice Waters and Jerimiah Towers mean anything to you, and if not, still a fragment of NA food history.. To think of ‘mesclun’ and local sourcing peppering French dishes as revolutionary! And I remember.. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/10/kamp_excerpt200610

Musician brains  I have often seen a parallel with chefs and musicians, but I will accept that they are more talented, maybe even smarter, but not however necessarily better at organising things/getting things done! http://trendinghot.net/what-playing-a-musical-instrument-does-to-your-brain/

Made in Quebec, Julian Armstrong’s new cookbook out, a review by Mayssam: http://willtravelforfood.com/2014/11/05/cookbook-review-made-in-quebec-julian-armstrong-recipe-lamb-shanks/ Lots of good stuff here, I’m featured too, but however much I love Julian, I am sad to see hack foragers featured instead of our François des Bois who is head and shoulders above, the Quebec pioneer..

Le Nez (The Empire of Scents), a film by Kim Nguyen that looks fascinating especially to an olfactory obsessed like me. Inspired by François Chartier’s ‘Papilles et Molecules, but not just food/wine focused from what I understand. Playing in Montreal as of Nov.12^th. http://www.ridm.qc.ca/fr/actualites/nouvelles/1273/le-nez-de-kim-nguyen-en-ouverture-des-ridm

Jeremiah Tower meets Tavern on the Green http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/dining/tavern-on-the-green-hires-jeremiah-tower-as-head-chef.html Who is Jeremiah Tower? (for the youngsters) http://m.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/THE-RISE-FALL-OF-A-STAR-How-the-king-of-2906407.php

Truite au bleu – Good story about a classic dish and a badass Que chef bent on doing it in NY. http://munchies.vice.com/articles/why-trout-is-turning-blue-in-a-old-garage-in-queens

Bad restaurant reviews get more reads and likes  I don't doubt this is true, but as a chef, I don't enjoy reading a bad review. Unless I personally know it's a shitshow, it's a big co., disconnected from their customers and the day to day, or maybe with young ones too fake, hip and arrogant. But Never a 'Mom &Pop', chef owned  life&soul invested resto. Not amusing. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/30/negative-restaurant-review-bad-food-fun-read