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Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, & Duff Goldman Talk Food

YumSugar — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:30:48 -0700

A week ago, nonconformist food writer Anthony Bourdain, slow food queen Alice Waters, and celebrity pastry chef Duff Goldman took the stage at Food For Thought, a panel discussion that took place in Hartford, CT. There, the three rather different famous food figures discussed, among many other subjects, sustainable food, last meals, celebrity status, and food aphrodisiacs.

Waters made no mention of Bourdain's recent comments about her - in an interview with DCist, he spewed, "Alice Waters annoys the living s**t out of me . . . There's something very Khmer Rouge about Alice Waters that has become unrealistic." While the two got along, they expressed contrasting views on the local and organic food movement. To learn their standpoints and view a clip of the titillating discussion, read more.

The Chez Panisse founder challenged people to find out where their food comes from: "You can have the hot dog, but . . . I want to know that it's a grass-fed beef hot dog. Where did the bun come from?" Bourdain respectfully disagreed. "As a chef, I’m not your dietitian or your ethicist. I’m in the pleasure business . . . My responsibility is to give you the most delicious tomato that I can afford, given the circumstances, and maybe increase the likelihood that you get laid after dinner.”

View the partial footage below and tell me who's right? Alice Waters or Anthony Bourdain? Do they seem to have put their differences behind them?

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Food, Inc. Film Exposes Problems With US Food Consumption

YumSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:00:20 -0700

In addition to being captured in photos by National Geographic, the sustainable food crisis is also the focus of a new documentary. Magnolia Pictures' Food, Inc. is a call to action to change the way America eats. It discusses food consumption today, its heavy dependence on corn, its ties to national policy, and its inevitable impact on our nation's health.

Based on the book Food, Inc. (and similar to The Omnivore's Dilemma), the premise of this film appears to be similar: the country's food system, with its focus on making food bigger, cheaper, and faster, is making America sick. The movie also addresses the contamination issues plaguing the nation and the enormous power wielded by US food corporations, with sustainable food poster boys Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser making appearances in the documentary.

If you haven't seen it yet, below is the trailer for the film, which debuts in select cities June 12. Do you think this documentary will prove to be as influential as proponents are hoping it to be? Will you go see it?

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Yummy Links: From Roast Chicken Lunches to Cinnamon Rolls

partysugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:50:13 -0700

Make five well-balanced bag lunches out of one roasted chicken. - Chow
Watch Stephan Colbert eat New York City's most expensive dishes. - Eat Me Daily
Should adult diners be allowed to wear bibs? - The Feedbag
The war on Alice Waters continues. - Gourmet
Three kitchen techniques that will change your life. - Simply Stated
Would you eat this macaroni-and-cheese-topped hot dog? - Eater
Treat yourself to homemade pain au chocolat cinnamon rolls with creme fraiche icing and walnuts. - Serious Eats

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Have You Jumped on the Gardening Bandwagon?

YumSugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:45:37 -0700

Now that Spring has sprung, there's one thing that can't stop growing - the urban gardening rage. First Alice Waters was all over the news, then the Obamas planted a garden in the White House, with California's first lady following suit shortly thereafter. And a few days ago, we told you this dainty mixed-herb garden was one of our must haves for April. With the promise of warm weather for the next half year, this booming craze is only bound to get bigger. Have you caught the gardening bug yet? Tell us what you grow below.

Yummy Links: From Homemade Baby Food to Alice Waters

partysugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:00:16 -0700

Homemade baby food is easy and cheap. - Chow
Lighter than nachos, chilaquiles rojos are a deliciously authentic Mexican dinner. - Serious Eats
Feeling sick? Make your own bourbon cough syrup. - The Kitchn
Learn what it's like to attend an olive oil tasting. - Cooking With Amy
Choose your own food adventure! - The Epi-Log
Ten white wines under $20.- Bon Appétit
In case you missed it, here's a recap of Alice Waters on 60 Minutes. - Eat Me Daily

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Must Read: Edible Schoolyard - A Universal Idea

partysugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:15:38 -0700

Alice Waters has been making waves in the food industry lately, so many that she's appearing on 60 Minutes this Sunday. Along with other prominent foodies, she's strongly urging President Obama to promote local, sustainable eating by petitioning for a White House garden.

To solve the country's obesity crisis, Waters believes, we should plant more gardens, and not just any garden, but schoolyard gardens. If you can teach a child to grow fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables, you'll awaken their senses and teach new skills. Essentially, it will change the way they think about themselves, food, and the world.

This is the concept that Waters eloquently presents in Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea ($24.95). The book describes the history of the garden Waters created at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, in Berkeley CA. To find out what I thought of it, read more.

Pros:

The story is truly inspiring and empowering. After reading it, I wanted to run out and plant a garden. I especially enjoyed when Waters describes how the garden has changed and affected the children.
It's very easy to read: her tone is encouraging, clear, and concise. Although the text is 43 pages, I finished the book in an hour.
It's a beautifully thought-out book with lots of colorful images.

Cons:

The very few recipes are written in paragraph form without listing ingredients, making them hard to follow.
While I love the idea of putting a garden in every school in America, I don't know how realistic it is. When Waters created the garden in Berkeley, CA, she was joined by tons of volunteers. Local farmers donated crops and the city supported her. To achieve this on a mainstream level, Waters would need the support of every American.

Recipes: The focus of this book is clearly the message and the recipes are an afterthought. Most of them sound delicious and are easy enough that a child could make them. Here are a few that sound appetizing:

Cucumber-lime cooler
Bread salad
Potato smash with kale

Imagery: Without the imagery, this book would be nothing. It's filled with large, colorful pictures of smiling kids working in the garden. There are also pictures that illustrate the process Waters went through when transforming the asphalt schoolyard into an edible one. My favorite is of two boys holding chickens.

Overall Rating: If you have children and care passionately about the nation's education system, I highly recommend checking it out.

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Tom Colicchio Performs Heimlich, Saves Fellow Chef's Life

partysugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:00:19 -0800

At an inaugural benefit for D.C. Central Kitchen, Tom Colicchio went from being a top chef to a real-life hero.

According to eye witness Ezra Klein, Joan Nathan, the award-winning cookbook author of Jewish Cooking in America and hostess of the event, began to choke on a piece of chicken. Colicchio happened to be nearby and when Alice Waters shouted, "Does anyone know the Heimlich maneuver?" he was able to perform the life-saving technique on Nathan.

Nathan was lucky to have such a strong, quick-thinking chef nearby. After hearing this news, do you consider Colicchio a hero? Does it make you want to learn the Heimlich maneuver?

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Yummy Links: From Kelly Choi to Chinese New Year

partysugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:45:21 -0800

Meet Kelly Choi, the host of Bravo's upcoming series Top Chef Masters. - Serious Eats
Read Alice Waters's personal letter to Barack Obama. - Gourmet
Learn the difference between cinnamon and nutmeg.- Cookthink
Find out how far your food travels. - The Kitchn
Here's how restaurants are coping with recession. - The Epi-Log
Fight the Winter flu by eating more kale. - Mouthing Off
Ten good-luck foods to enjoy during Chinese New Year. - Chow

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YumSugar Gift Guide: The Farmers Market Mother

partysugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:15:57 -0800

Wondering what to get your mother this year? Encourage her to head to the farmers market with a hook-and-go cart. She can hang her reusable totes packed with fresh produce and products on the side hooks.

If she's too busy to make it to the market bring the farmers to her with a community shared agriculture box. Each week local, in-season fruit and vegetables will be delivered to her door!

For more gift ideas, browse the selection below. Check out all the gift guides on HolidaySugar.

David Chang on Slow Food (and Fast Food)

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:00:08 -0700

On hand at this weekend's Slow Food Nation was Momofuku chef David Chang, whose self-described "vaguely Asian" New York restaurants have catapulted him to celebrity status in the past several years. In a guest appearance at the festival's Green Kitchen, Chang showed the audience Momofuku's twist on caprese salad. As he was prepping for his demonstration, he was kind enough to talk to me about slow food, fast food (Chipotle and In-N-Out are his favorites), future plans, and his latest infatuation. To read what he had to say, read more.

YumSugar: Why did you get involved with Slow Food Nation?
DC: Alice [Waters] asked me to be a part of it. I've gotten to know a lot of work that she does outside of Chez Panisse. I'm not affiliated [with Slow Food] . . . but they're trying to preserve certain traditions. At the very least, it's a really amazing opportunity for people to try new things.

YS: What do you think of those who see Slow Food as an expensive cause for food snobs?
DC: I understand both points. They’re not trying to hurt people. They just want to share. It's a byproduct of American culture - the fact that we don’t have a food culture - to enjoy food is to be elitist. To not eat fast food means that you’re in a different income bracket.

YS: Where will you dine while you're in town?
DC: I'm going to eat at Michael Mina and Quince. I want to check out Daniel Patterson's restaurant [Coi]. My good friend Ed Carew opened up the Cottage Eatery with his wife in Tiburon. Tonight I'm going to go to A16. Tomorrow we're going to Chris Cosentino's restaurant [Incanto], and then we're going to Napa. I always like Bouchon, and I'd love to check out Jeremy [Fox]'s new restaurant Ubuntu.

YS: What do you consider to be your greatest culinary accomplishment?
DC: I don’t know. Honestly, [the fame], it's absurd and comedic. I’m just that dude!

YS: Where do you eat when you're not working?
DC: I love wd-50 and Peasant. I love to go to Per Se, and Hearth is a great restaurant. I love all the Grand Sichuans and Oriental Garden.

YS: What's next for you? There's been lots of speculation.
DC: Maybe trying to unravel all of this? We’re doing lunch for Ko, renovating Ssäm Bar, and redoing the menu at Noodle Bar. We’re doing an expansion of soft-serve, bakery, and dessert at the Ssäm Bar. That's a lot. So while there’s all this talk about future projects, that’s certainly flattering, but we’re just trying to keep it running.

YS: I hear you want to start an Edible Schoolyard in New York, Alice Waters-style.
DC: I would love to. That would be really great.

YS: Noodles or rice?
DC: Rice. Right now I’m infatuated with rice. As much as I love noodles, it’s the year of the rice for me, for all of the [Momofuku] restaurants. Nobody knows anything about rice. Think about Vietnamese cuisine. How the hell do you make rice with no technology? It’s pretty impressive.

YS: Top Chef or Iron Chef?
DC: Neither. I’d like Iron Chef more if Alex Lee never lost. Alex Lee may be the greatest chef America never knew about - maybe the greatest chef America ever produced - and he lost, which is a bunch of bulls**t. Top Chef is great. I used to watch it, but once you start seeing people that you know on TV, the contestants, it's like watching a train wreck. I don’t want to watch it.

YS: Tokyo or Paris?
DC: F**k, that's hard. I'm gonna say Paris.

YS: Truffles or foie gras?
DC: What kind of truffles? We'll go with truffles - no, both. I want to have my cake and eat it too.

YS: Amuse-bouche or dessert?
DC: Amuse.

YS: Chinese takeout or pizza delivery?
DC: I love both! Chinese takeout.

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