Tag Archives: Food

Top Restaurants: Sydney’s “Firedoor” Leads Fiery “Australian BBQ” Trend

From a New York Times online review:

Lennox Hastie Chef of Firedoor Photo by Con Poulos New York Times“Australian barbecue” is not, however, what Lennox Hastie, the chef at Firedoor, would use to describe his own cooking. Nor is it a term that’s been used much by anyone to describe any type of cooking. Here, the word “barbecue” is generally synonymous with the American term “cookout,” and, much like the cookout, it remains an integral part of Australia’s national identity.

Firedoor, which opened in 2015, is a prime example. Wagyu with Onion at Firedoor Photo by Con Poulos New York TimesThe kitchen is powered entirely by wood — there are no electric or gas ovens, burners or microwaves. Mr. Hastie came to this style after working five years at Asador Etxebarri in the Basque Country, where the chef Victor Arguinzoniz cooks local ingredients over fire using multiple types of wood. Mr. Hastie takes a similar approach, but with pointedly Australian ingredients.

One of the restaurant’s most thrilling dishes is a whole marron — a large freshwater crayfish native to Western Australia. The marron is grilled, split open and smothered in sea blite, a coastal plant related to samphire, and sunrise lime, a hybrid citrus created by crossing the native Australian finger lime with a calamondin (itself a cross between a mandarin and a kumquat). There are plenty of smoky, charred meats on the menu as well: pork chops, duck hearts and Wagyu all get their turn on one of the many grills.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/dining/australian-barbecue.html

New Art History Books: “Feast & Fast – The Art Of Food In Europe 1500-1800”

Feast and Fast The Art of Food in Europe 1500-1800Food defines us as individuals, communities, and nations – we are what we eat and, equally, what we don’t eat. When, where, why, how and with whom we eat are crucial to our identity. Feast and Fast presents novel approaches to understanding the history and culture of food and eating in early modern Europe.

This richly illustrated book will showcase hidden and newly-conserved treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum and other collections in and around Cambridge. It will tease out many contemporary and controversial issues – such as the origins of food and food security, overconsumption in times of austerity, and our relationship with animals and nature – through short research-led entries by some of the world’s leading cultural and food historians.

Feast and Fast explores food-related objects, images, and texts from the past in innovative ways and encourages us to rethink our evolving relationship with food.

To read more and purchase:

2020 Beverage Trends: Expect New Omega-3, More Probiotic & Lacrose-Free, & Less Juice-Based Drinks

From an Imbibeinc.com online release:

2020 Beverage Trend Predictions Imbibe Drink TankOmega-3s have a variety of health benefits that consumers want. Consuming omega-3s is suggested to help fight against depression, anxiety, mental decline and heart disease as well as promote brain health during early child development. Expect several omega-3 enhanced beverages in 2020.

Many consumers are reducing their intake of beverages once lauded for having nutrient benefits like orange juice and dairy milk, so there’s a lot of opportunity for brands to fortify products with vitamins and minerals. Expect to see beverages fortified with zinc, calcium, potassium, sodium, and vitamins B-12, C, and D.

Awareness about the advantages of a healthy microbiome for overall health has increased significantly over the last decade. Since prebiotics and probiotics both play an important role in maintaining a healthy gut, expect several launches of synbiotic beverages (i.e. have prebiotics and probiotics).

To read more: https://imbibeinc.com/food-and-beverage-industry-media/blog-postings-from-the-drink-tank/trendspotting-2020-trend-predictions

European Food Review: Italian Restaurant Movement In Paris Has “Exploded” In Last 3 Years

From a New York Times online article:

Bijou Paris restaurant NY Times“There’s really an Italian movement that has exploded over the last three years,” Mr. Imbroisi said.

Thanks to that explosion, Paris might now be the best city outside of Italy for Italian eating and drinking. With a few Metro tickets, you can journey from Venetian aperitivo culture (Hostaria Urbana), then south to Sicilian home cooking (Pane e Olio), disembarking occasionally at cozy wine bars (Tappo), massive indoor food halls (La Felicità) and new Italian restaurants from French celebrity chefs (for example, Piero TT, by Pierre Gagnaire). Racines Paris restaurant Joann Pai NY TimesIn April, the Right Bank welcomed an outlet of Eataly with a glittery gala, and the Left Bank should soon see a luxury hotel from the Italian JK brand. The marquee attraction will be a restaurant by Miky Grendene, the Italian creator of the exclusive Casa Tua members’ club in Miami.

From experimental aperitivo bars to pizza labs to Michelin-starred bistros, cool Italian establishments are filling the French capital, and Parisians are flocking to them.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/travel/Italian-food-in-Paris.html

Trends In Food: Rising Number Of Consumers Eat Salty Snacks For Lunch, Dinner (Even Breakfast)

From an Innova Market Insights online release:

Innova Market InsightsAccording to a report from Innova Market Insights, snacking has already become an all-day habit in the States. While 46% of consumers eat salty snacks between-meals in the afternoon and 37% in the evening, more consumers are also replacing traditional meals with quicker bites. The numbers of consumers who are consuming salty snacks at lunchtime (23%), dinner (17%) and even breakfast (8%) are on the increase.

“Enjoyment is still a very strong driver behind snacks purchase,” says Lu Ann Williams, Head of Innovation at Innova Market Insights. “When asked why they buy salty snacks, 40% of Americans named taste and a further 22% said it was to treat or reward themselves, so innovators need to balance nutrition and taste to ensure that salty snacks remain competitive for all snacking occasions.”

To read more: https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/americans-want-snackable-nutrition/

Travel: “Courmayeur”, An Italian Ski Town That Foodies Love (WSJ)

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

Super G hotel, home to two restaurants overseen by Milan chef Andrea Berton. PHOTO FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Super G hotel, home to two restaurants overseen by Milan chef Andrea Berton. PHOTO: FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Courmayeur, both a town and a ski resort, boasts nearly as many ambitious, full-service restaurants as it does lifts on the slopes. Even on bright sunny days with powdery trails, the big question tends to be, “What’s for lunch?” The village, nestled in a snug valley on the south slope (the Italian side) of Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, is a typically sleepy mountain town for much of the year with around 3,000 full-time residents. But when the ski season kicks into high gear, its restaurants, bars and cafes all come roaring to life. It’s a favorite winter escape for residents of Italy’s fashion capital, Milan, a straight two-hour shot up the highway. 

For the urbane crowds in from the city on winter weekends, Courmayeur is as much an epicurean as snow-sports destination, known for its mountain cheeses, wild game and cured meats, and for its increasingly serious restaurants. Top tables on and off the slopes can book up weeks in advance. The region’s minerally white and earthy red wines come from some of the highest altitude vineyards in Europe. The sparkling Cuvée des Guides is made 7,000 feet above sea level on the slopes of Mont Blanc, with a tasting room atop one of the state-of-the-art Skyway Monte Bianco cable car stations.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-italian-ski-town-where-the-food-rivals-the-views-11574791692

Future Of Eating Out: Chef Eric Rivera’s “Addo: Incubator” Maximizes Tech To Serve Better Food

From a Wired.com online review:

Addo Restaurant Eric RiveraEvery possible step is done online, and for most meals customers must reserve—and often pay—in advance, essentially buying tickets through a service called Tock that’s mostly used only by high-end restaurants. This means no host manning a podium, no reservation or PR teams, no extra staff on a slow night, almost no food waste, and better guest communications. It also allowed them to go from 20 employees to four full-time and three part-time workers.

Within moments of arriving at Seattle’s Addo restaurant, I was handed a Nintendo Switch controller and a can of Georgetown Brewing Company’s Bodhizafa IPA.

While chef Eric Rivera shuttled back and forth to the kitchen to bring out Puerto Rican snacks, Addo’s director of operations Ingrid Lyublinsky took another controller, jumped into a game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on a giant projector screen hanging inside the front window, chose Pink Gold Peach, and shot down the track riding a Bone Rattler while someone shouted Pew! Pew! Pew!

To read more: https://www.wired.com/story/eric-rivera/

Art Of Food: 99-Year Old Painter Wayne Thiebaud Creates Thanksgiving Cover For New Yorker

From New Yorker article:

CoverStory-story_thiebaud_turkeySince all of my paintings—almost every single one except for the figure paintings—are done from memory, I rely specifically on the memory of working in restaurants, or of visiting farms on which I worked as a young person. I try to recall the look and feel and love of what I have experienced.

At ninety-nine, Wayne Thiebaud—one of America’s greatest painters, and certainly its premier painter of food—is still going strong. This is Thiebaud’s ninth cover for the magazine, and it riffs on one of his previous paintings, an image of a turkey that he started in 2009. A sharp viewer might pick out the added details and embellishments, but more striking, perhaps, are the Thiebaud hallmarks that remain the same: soft light, clear color, a blue shadow pooling around a plate. We recently called Thiebaud at his home, in Sacramento, to talk about his work.

To read more: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2019-11-25

Food & Wine Review: Colorado Wine Regions Expand Amidst Challenges For Vineyards At Highest Elevations In The World

Colorado Wine CountryVineyards in Colorado are mostly nestled in the temperate, high elevation river valleys and mesas of Mesa and Delta counties, with some acreage in Montezuma county. Colorado’s grape growing regions range in elevation from 4,000 to 7,000 feet and are thus among the highest vineyards in the world, resulting in hot days accompanied by cool nights.

Grand Valley AVA wines in Colorado

The ‘continental climate’ in these regions create day to night temperature variations topically ranging from 25 to 30 degrees during the grape maturation months of August and September. The long warm daylight hours of intense high-altitude sunlight mature the fruit completely and build the natural sugars. The cool evenings cause the grapes to retain the acids so vital to premium winemaking. However, the high altitude can also present a challenge to grape growers, in that the average frost free growing season ranges from 150 to 182 days.

Website: https://coloradowine.com/the-tradition/

AMERICA THE BOUNTIFUL Regions once considered wine deserts are producing in-demand bottles as a new wave of winemakers boldly redraw the map of American wine regions. ILLUSTRATION BETH HOECKEL
AMERICA THE BOUNTIFUL Regions once considered wine deserts are producing in-demand bottles as a new wave of winemakers boldly redraw the map of American wine regions. ILLUSTRATION: BETH HOECKEL

Read Wall Street Jouranl article on young winemakers: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-wines-to-buy-this-thanksgiving-a-guide-to-americas-up-and-coming-regions-11573836307