- This week, the Bureau of Stats released some findings around the impact of the lock-out laws. Quelle surprise, they achieved nothing more than pushing the violence from one place to another, leaving behind “…a new sandpit for millionaire property developers.” I liked this opinion piece by Jonathan Seidler: "Implementing urban planning reform, which promotes the diversification of night time activities like fashion boutiques, book shops, cafes and small galleries is one way to achieve this. Ultimately, a safe, successful night-time economy can and should be about so much more than drinking." He's right, this should be about building our culture, not more apartments. When it comes to drinking culture, I’m on the side of the French.
- Once we have the booze sorted, how will we feed the world? It's a conversation on high rotation in my house and it’s a tough one, but I can’t (or won't) think the solution lies with monocultures and factory farming. Instead, I believe it starts and ends with healthy soil, soil that is fed by diversity: diversity of crops, of stomachs (chicken, pigs, cattle), of plant life, and an understanding of the unique terroir of each place. So does the biodynamic movement.
I have the fondest memories of sitting on a verandah at Sutton Grange with my friend Gilles as he explained some of the thinking behind biodynamics. You don’t have him but you could read this for the simple, but important, explanations: “… while organic certification allows for organic feed imported to the farm from anywhere in the world, biodynamic certification requires 50% of livestock feed be grown on the farm. Biodynamic also requires that a farm set aside 10% of the total farm acreage for biodiversity, and strive for a balanced predator/prey relationship.”
- And thus, I was saddened to read Letho on the Steggles School Meat Bird Pairs Comp, whereby Steggles gave 91 NSW schools half a dozen chooks in a competition to see who could get their chook the fattest in the six week period. Chooks used to take 10 weeks to come to maturity (and only reach half the size). What are we doing?!?
- Incidentally, this month is the chicken issue for Lucky Peach. I love what those guys do and am enjoying the trickling of articles on their site, from what’s in a bouillon cube to a few fun facts on the chook industry(did you know there are three times as many chickens on earth as there are humans?)
- I also loved Ottolenghi talking lemons in the NY Times. I adore the French orangeries - the old glass houses designed to shelter the more exotic fruit from the cold winters - the Orangerie in the Tuileries is my favourite Parisian art gallery. But I did not know about the Italian equivalent, less orange and more lemon, a Limonaias. “The memory of playing in that large empty room with my brother, the smell of citrus still hanging in the air, is as sharp and vivid as a squeeze of lemon itself.” It is a beautiful article.
- As you will all know, it was International Women’s Day yesterday. We all saw a lot of lovely insta pics, and yes, a lot of you have wonderful, strong girlfriends, wives, Mums. So, how disappointing to open the SMH and find their IWD double page spread accompanied by an ad for the World's 50 Best: four international chefs and nary a vagina amongst them. Our industry needs to do better.
- Gemima Cody wrote a great article asking: Isn’t it time we stop asking women chefs about being women chefs?. It is, and her article is definitely worth reading.
- The Parabere Forum was held on the weekend. The topic was redefining sustainability, in all its guises. The Australian contingent was strong, including Joanna Savill, Lauren Eldridge, Julia Campbell, Jo Barrettand Danielle Gjestland. Apparently Joan Roca was a highlight, talking about the importance of sustainability of people. Danielle very kindly sent me these thoughts:
“It's a problem many professionals face as they have pushed to achieve great heights in their career but want to be present parents when the time comes. Also, the restaurant team often serves as a family of sorts and it can be difficult for staff if they have no option but to leave and take a lesser position in the face of parenthood.
For the longevity / sustainability of the ever so skilled professionals that serve to influence the culinary world, it was refreshing to see Joan talk about setting an example within his restaurant. It has to be not just environmentally and financially sustainable but also sustainable for the people who work at achieving the aforementioned. I think we often forget to discuss the human element when we talk sustainability.”
Hear, hear!
- Of course, we should all be feminists. A few random musings for our industry:
(1) If a restaurant is owned by a couple (as many of them are) we should use both names when referencing its owners, not just the (often male) chef?
(2) Likewise, when looking for people to discuss our wonderful industry, let’s look beyond the guy with the pan/penis in his hand: the restaurateur, the maitre d', the somm, the bar tender, the dishwasher.
(3) Check the books. If a woman is doing the same work, at the same level, make sure her pay reflects that. I loved those who offered a discount to women yesterday to reflect the gap in pay. It's outrageous that still exists.
And, so, a personal note. Twice in my career I have been bullied by a male chef after he realised I wasn’t going to jump into bed with him. I’m stubborn, so on both occasions I stayed in the role, and worked through the silent treatment, but it’s bullshit. I would hate to think that’s happening to anyone else. Watch for it, on both sides of the fence.
Finally, my favourite quote this week - equal rights for others does not mean less rights for you. It’s not pie.
The week that was (3 March 2017)
- As we continue our march towards the 50 Best (along with the trickle of publicity stunts that precedes the awards each year) it was announced that Heston has won the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I consider the past 20 years my apprenticeship,” he says. “I’m only just getting started.”
- Staying with the list (and those up top) I was interested to read El Celler de Can Roca have their own psychologist. “We all have to move on from a time when the kitchen was about pure discipline and toughness … We’re all obsessed about anything going wrong with our kitchen equipment, but somehow don’t always pay so much attention to the human machinery.” The psych visits weekly. Look after your staff and naturally they will then look after your customers. Simple, really.
- noma closed the doors of its Stradgade 93 restaurant on the weekend. In a further example of the above, Rene used the moment to announce a number of partnerships which will help take the restaurant to its new location in Christiania: “… it gives me incredible joy to let the world know that our restaurant managers Lau and James, and our dishwasher, Ali, have become partners in noma. This is only the beginning, as we plan to surprise several more of our staff with a piece of the walls that they have chosen to work so hard within. This move is one of the happiest moments of my time at noma.”
Ali is the real story here. He's been with the restaurant for 13 years, has 12 children and, according to Rene, " ... is the heart and soul of noma. I don't think people appreciate what it means to have a person like Ali in the house. He is all smiles ... And, by the way, my own father was also named Ali, and he too worked as a dishwasher when he came to Denmark." Makes your heart swell, no?
- Mt Etna is erupting. There is a striking beauty in the sight and sound of an eruption. It’s mesmerizing. There’s also a striking beauty to the soil that is left behind – the reason often dangerous areas bordering volcanoes are populated (and so heavily planted). Another wonder of terroir. Those fearing for their Bini or Barraco, don’t, Etna erupts annually and apparently it's nothing to get worked up about.
- Did you know wood can display terroir? The rings, the stress, the good years and the bad are all marked on the rings that lie within - scars on the soul of the decades gone by. A dinner at Firedoor, and subsequent chat with Lennox, also divulged that due to our distinct terroir Australian wood burns hotter than Euro wood. 400 degrees hotter. Whoah.
- Sticking with terroir, you may enjoy Bonné on Saumur and its place in the Loire. It’s an extension of our chats last week regarding the role of the people and the culture when it comes to defining terroir: “Is that really the task, for Saumur to reclaim a noble past? Or is it meant to continue what Rougeard began, to build a reputation where none existed? Somehow, it’s both. This is, after all, a place where elemental contradictions thrive …”
- Coffee cups are all over the press. They’re terrible. Apparently we fill one tram-full every half hour. Apparently they can’t be recycled either. Time to make like the Euros and drink en place or buy yourself a glass cup.
- Looking for something to keep you company this weekend as you hide from the rain? You could listen to Mags and Morgie on The Pass, or Pasi and Giorgio talking with Lee Tran Lam. It’s also a good opportunity to watch a few of the latest eps of Chef’s Table - by all accounts Nancy Silverton is excellent (and I loved Jeong Kwan). I also love that they have matured. As Eater rightfully points out, this series is more human less hero, it appears we have finally moved on from:
“Chef _(Man’s Name)_ has a vision, a vision that _(Nation)_ cuisine will someday be regarded with the esteem it deserves. His _(Family Relation)_ doubted him at first. The critics scoffed. But through hard work and vision, _(Restaurant)_ has become a legend. Now the restaurant occupies the _(Number 1-50)_ on S. Pellegrino’s 50 Best Restaurants list.”
- If you are heading out, watch for the #cookforSyria dishes gracing our menus. So many great chefs have put a dish up for the cause (with a set donation given to UNICEF from each order). Most are available throughout March. We work in a very lovely industry full of very generous and warm hearted people.
The week that was (23 February 2017)
- Asia’s 50 Best were announced this week: Gaggan retained top spot; Narisawa, previously number two, fell to six (that hurts); while Restaurant André moved up to take its place. As for the Aussie contingent: David Thompson’s Nahm came in at five, Burnt Ends was number 10 (with all round nice guy Dave Pynt awarded chefs’ chef) and Waku Ghin was 20.
- The Tasting Australia line up was also announced this week. It’s an interesting one, I mean what is the taste of Australia? (If you don't know, go back to last week and read Huck on that.) There are some great names in the mix, a mélange that happily includes a decent number of women representing both food and wine (including international star Ana Ros). The gaggle of special guests is also a pretty fair reflection of the melting pot that is Australia. There are also some cracking events: collaborative dinners in the city centre, masterclasses with East End Cellars, a “fresh wine disco” with the juice from the 2017 harvest to be syphoned straight from the barrel, and a bunch of DJs to accompany the imbibing.
Of course, the collaboration between soil and plate is an easy one in Adelaide, with the ocean 20 minutes in one direction and Adelaide Hills only 20 minutes in the other. And it appears the spirit of conversation and shared interest that characterised the ’80s is back (maybe it never left). This line up is indicative, with wine makers, chefs, restaurateurs, musicians and artists working shoulder to shoulder. You all know I’m mad for Adelaide and, with the impending vintage, what a wonderful time of year to be there.
- I loved India Knight in The Times talking food fetishism. “I struggle deeply with the idea of food being “ironic”. It seems a bit bleak to need to find excuses for still liking food that has fallen foul of culinary fashion. And the concept of culinary fashion is itself so silly: the cycle goes ironic, ironic, ironic, having a moment, passé, over, ironic, ironic, repeat.” Food fads? Trends? Yawn.
Pat made a similar point in his Cirrus review, praising Nick for “… unerring instincts and the palate to back them, always ahead of the curve, but never chasing novelty for novelty's sake, and never afraid to list the classics. If it's good, his rationale goes, it's good. Fashion doesn't enter into it.”
This all comes full circle to the natural wine chat inadvertently started last week, when Giorgio noted he seeks out wine that is as much a reflection of the person who bottled as it is about where the grapes grew. That led to a discussion of the word "natural", interestingly an idea that is still polarising. Perhaps that's down to the terminology? Should we use the word "natural"? If we do, does it make the other “unnatural”? And all this labeling talk, is it simply about fashion too? People jumping on bandwagons? Do we even need a label for it? A serendipitous conversation with Stu Knox led to his thoughts on “raw” as alternative terminology; James Hird suggested the lack of labeling (well, the lack of ingredients listed on wine bottles) is also a big part of the problem; Mike B is unsurprisingly insightful on the topic too. This is tip of the iceberg stuff - I am gathering thoughts - your ideas would be warmly welcomed in the mix.
- I really loved Observer Food Monthly’s 50 favourite things for 2017. It's a great example of a list that isn't about bending to fashions. Read about legend Michel Guérard and what it meant to our industry when we started plating at the pass; the people who repair Italian cult espresso machine Pavoni; those delightful curly haired Mangalitsa pigs; the importance of herding (we’ve talked about this); the joys of pasta; Elizabeth Luard’s excellent book European Peasant Cookery – a longtime favourite and a lovely inclusion 30 years after publication. And, blow me down with a penis, there are a whole bunch of women on the list, like, actually, half the list. Who knew …
- Finally, a little breaking news (!!) … The Fair Work Commission have handed down a ruling on penalty rates for retail, hospo and fast food. Hospo reduction in Sunday pay from 175 per cent to 150 per cent, while casuals remain unchanged. These changes will be taking effect from July. What say you?
The week that was (17 February 2017)
- Huck wrote an excellent piece about the influences that shaped Australia’s culinary history, particularly focusing his attention on the waves of immigration, for Taste Cooking.
“From political and social standpoints, our society is certainly still shuffling its cultural cards. But from a culinary perspective, we’ve found our footing—off the backs of generations that came before. They’ve gifted today’s Australian chefs the license to simply cook the food they love to eat. A manifestation of a myriad of cultures has contributed to the communal table, where conviviality rules over any pigeonholed ideal of what “Australian cuisine” should be.”
If you read one thing this week, make it this ...
- Beyond the impact of that melting pot of cultures on tables, there's the impact in our commercial kitchens. All of you working in our restaurants will know how important an open immigration policy (and working visas) are to staffing your kitchen. In the US (yesterday and today) they are holding "day without immigrants strikes." Restaurants are closing in support … Bravo.
- While you are considering that, you might want to take a look at this fascinating article about the false expectations we have around dishes we think should be cheap: “This view of people of color as sources of "cheap" labor bleeds into our restaurant culture: Immigrant food is often expected to be cheap, because, implicitly, the labor that produces it is expected to be cheap, because that labor has historically been cheap. And so pulling together a "cheap eats" list rather than, say, an "affordable eats" list both invokes that history and reinforces it by prioritizing price at the expense of labor.” Chang has previously been vocalon this in the past. It's important.
- Moving to FOH, there were some excellent articles on service beyond the kitchen (more of those please). This oldie, but goodie, on Lucky Peach looked at the role of the bartender: “There’s a nerdiness to our industry that is changing it for the worse. Our guests don’t need to know every technical detail of every spirit; most are coming to us to have a good time. We need to go from technical intelligence to emotional intelligence.” And then, similar vibe, different profession, I enjoyed reading this piece on Brahm Callahan looking at the challenges in becoming a Master Somm … he too concluded, as per the above, that it’s about the service not the wank. And while we're here, you could watch this delicious little video of a silver service waiter segmenting an orange at the table. I loved it.
- Globally: World’s 50 Best are a-coming. This week they’ve announced a couple of “Edible Ideas” talks. Saturday, April 1 will be in the Sydney Opera House with Massimo, Dominique Crenn, Pete Gilmore and Brett Graham. In Melbourne (on Monday the 3rd) it’s Daniel Humm, Will Guidara, Gaggan Anand, Jordi Roca and Grant Achatz. General entry tix from $30. Other things that are a-coming: Parabere Forum; theAdelaide Festival (and their excellent chef series line up); Tasting Australia (also in SA - more on that next week); the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (alongside 50 Best); and don't forget Season 3 of Chef's Table drops today.
- Locally: I thought Terry's article in the Good Weekend on the rise and rise of octopus on our menus was interesting, particularly given almost every restaurant mentioned in the reviews this week included an occy dish. Singing from my Dad’s argument song book, he gives us three reasons: “One, the Fremantle Octopus company now consistently supplies Australian chefs with first-rate whole octopus arms, tenderised and ready to cook. Two, charcoal ... And three, Instagram, the art of our age. The physicality of that graphic pink-and-black coil combined with a sense of danger-made-safe has tremendous visual and emotional appeal. Failing all three, it couldn’t just be because chefs have no mind of their own and are simply surfing the wave of whatever is fashionable, could it?" It's also affordable (and, perhaps consequently) currently hard to get your mitts on. There's a bit to ponder there.
- I am rounding out this week with a wildcard. To nutmeg - verb - to pass a ball through someone’s legs. It's common in soccer (Suarez was so good, it was suggested he could “nutmeg a merman”), it's occasionally seen in ice-hockey and, as per this incredible pass by Lebron James, this week was seen in basketball. Its origins are dubious: some suggest it’s about nuts and balls, others call rhyming slang (nutmeg = leg) and others still look to the history books and tales of unscrupulous nutmeg salesmen sneaking wooden replicas in to shipments between America and England – to be nutmegged was to be tricked. Notch that up as one for the repertoire.
The week that was (9 February 2017)
- In media news, Bauer have announced Sarah Oakes will replace Anthea as ed-in-chief of Gourmet Traveller. She comes via Girlfriend, Cleo and Sunday Life. Pat will move into the role of Managing Editor (from deputy). Meanwhile, Chef’s Table have released the trailer for series three. It premieres on the 17th of February and looks beautiful. Phaidon have opened pre-orders for Dan Hunter's Brae book.
- The NYTimes announced Yottam has a new column of all things baked and sweet. I was intrigued by the opening premise: "Admitting to a sweet tooth these days seems rather illicit, what with sugar cast in the role of Public Enemy No. 1." Do we have to keep creating a baddy? I'm a little over the dietary swings and roundabouts ...
- And, staying with the Times, Wells’ review of White Gold led me to the story of the chopped cheese, a $4 Bronx/Harlem bodega invention “born at the intersection of taste and necessity.” It’s an interesting story that goes well beyond the ground beef, melted cheese and hero roll. Last year the chopped cheese inadvertently became a symbol of the disenfranchised, highlighting issues with the gentrification of food, the emotion that surrounds it and the politics of reappropriation. It's a good read.
- It's also an interesting topic - politics vs frivolity and the role of food somewhere in between. I found this article (by Zachary Sussman for Punch), questioning food and wine writing in times of anxiety, particularly compelling.
“As the White House continues to pursue its “America first” policy, I’m reminded that the values we share as wine drinkers—curiosity, inclusivity and cultural exchange—are fundamentally incompatible with this divisive brand of nationalism ... As the expression of a specific country or region, wine celebrates local heritage as part of a diverse global whole. This is what we mean when we refer to the “world of wine.””
I wrote my history honours thesis on feeding the national body – specifically looking at the role of food in maintaining morale and identity during WWII. I was comparing France (as an occupied nation) and Britain and their politics of food and rationing and so this particularly struck a cord: "I once had the chance to taste a rare bottle of Bordeaux from 1945. I was poured just tiny thimbleful, but as I rolled the 70-year-old liquid across my tongue, I couldn’t help imagining the men and women who pruned those vines and picked those grapes. How did they feel at the end of that harvest? How did the future appear to them, after having faced so many unknowns and endured so much suffering?"
I believe food in times of crisis is more important than ever. Let’s not forget Elizabeth David’s first book was published when the British were still subject to rationing. It was a fairytale of the life and food in the Med. Ideas of food should be painted with very broad brushstrokes (see Yottam above). “It’s more than our latest fetishes: orange this, or pét-nat that … Wine reminds me that history’s arc is broader than the last four years, or what might happen in the next.”
- So why not do good, and book your place at the #CookforSyria table at the Ducks in Rosebery? The dinner will be held on the 27th Feb with Muu Lindsay, David Thompson, Kylie Kwong, Clayton Wells, Luke Powell, Mitch Orr et. al. cooking alongside the Ducks. Syrian sister chefs, Sharon and Carol Salloum from Almond Bar, will be cooking a selection of traditional Syrian vegetarian dishes for the dinner too. All proceeds go to UNICEF Australia’s Syria Crisis Appeal for Children.
- The drama in Tassie’s farmed salmon fisheries continues with Huon Aquaculture now taking the government to court over their proposed stocking densities. This is not because they want greater density, but, in fact, because they want less. The submission is based on a report that was conducted by an independent scientific regulator claiming current densities are so bad that there is a death ring almost 500 metres out from the ponds. Dissolved oxygen levels are also frighteningly low. You may remember last year’s Four Corners report? As Huon, Tassal and Petuna fight it out (I have heard this tale may also be clouded by business vs business) let’s hope the fish (and good sense) prevail.
- In happier fish news, you might like to read Brent Savage’s seafood-sourcing tips. Not as benign as those columns can be, this one had some great advice.
- And, whatever you do today, take the five minutes required to watch this video looking at the process behind making Le Beurre Bordier in France. There's a moment where they explain how the salt draws out "tears" from the butter, and it is the salt and the tears that are the reason they use that particular wooden base, a base made from shipping timber, because it's "a product that knows the sea.” It was enough to make me want to weep. And then fly to France.
The week that was (2 February 2017)
- Letho started 2017 on the right foot with a little look at the value of the café/restaurant interaction. “That $4 coffee: rent, wages, glassware, a subscription to the daily papers, yadayadayada. How far do you reckon it goes towards leasing a $25,000 espresso machine, paying the landlord and the barista, insuring the premises.” Of course he’s right, you can’t put a value on the importance of those little sliding doors moments in public eating (or drinking) houses. That’s why we do it.
Pat also had a little something to say on the topic: “I don't want to get all David Chang on you about this … but complaining about the dumplings costing four bucks each at Queen Chow seems a little ridiculous, given how much skill they take to make, and if they were bruschetta or a tartine you'd probably cough up the equivalent cash without batting an eyelid. The cost of food in restaurants in Sydney is high, it’s true, but it hasn't gone up nearly so quickly in the last 20 years as just about everything else. If you pick your restaurants with care, you get what you pay for.”
- Dimmi held their hospo game changers event on Monday. I watched a little online and chuckled at a question thrown to Myffy, Pat and Georgia (from Broadsheet), suggesting that new reviews for stalwart restaurants only come when you move location or change your name (or indeed burn to the ground). It’s a fair point, one I have discussed quite a lot of late. I am not suggesting these things are done for the media attention, rather questioning the (rather predictable) reviewing choices.
- Those chefs (and there are a few of you) ageing their fish may want to read this article about Chef Eiji Ichimura in NYC. Or, if you’re heading to Japan, you may like this little list of the five places to seek out at the Tsukiji Fish Markets (before they are moved).
- To other produce news, Coles have announced they’ve stopped waxing apples. However, AFSA are calling this greenwash and say they are simply replacing the wax with “Smart Fresh” gas, so they can still be available year round. Come on people.
- Meanwhile, in equally frustrating produce news, Science journal (in the US) this week published an article celebrating a genetic fix to put the taste back into tomatoes. That would be the very flavour found in heirloom and wild varieties they bred out in the first place (in efforts to make them suitable for life on trucks and supermarket shelves).
At the bottom of the NY Times article looking at the study: “In the tasting panels, there were noticeable differences in preferences: between men and women, between foodies and nonfoodies, and, perhaps most interesting, between older people and younger people. He recalled one of the students working in his laboratory picking out the supermarket tomato as her favorite in one of the taste tests.”
That's both fascinating and kind of terrifying. That last point is completely terrifying. A friend recently wrote to tell me of the insipid nature of the produce he tasted while on holidays in America. It's a fight we need to win.
- In other things we should fight for, the lovely Maria and her wonderful Parabere Forum have announced their March line-up. This year they look at redefining sustainability for the kitchen, the planet and our working lives. If you are anywhere near Barcelona on 5 - 6 March, you should get there.
- Among the speakers is recently announced “world’s best female chef” Ana Ros. Don’t start me on the female chef of the year thing, instead read this great article by Jill or watch her story on Netflix. And, if you still don’t think the industry has a problem on that front, check out the line-up for Taste, or read this article in Eater.
- A quick, random side bar for wine friends – this week applications opened for the 2017 Master Sommsprogram.
- And, finally, to my buddies in Adelaide. Could one of you please find Ray and take him fishing? The below was posted on Gumtree, with a selfie.
“My name is Ray Johnstone, Australian. I’m a widowed pensioner who is looking for a fishing mate. My previous fishing mate is now deceased. I am a land based fisherman I have all the gear for all types of fish that is required for land based fishing what I want is a fishing mate in a similar position to myself who also wants someone to go fishing with …” Go Ray.
The week that was (20 January 2017)
It's another week sans reviews and I'm still late! Blame summer. To mix it up slightly, I've gone for a little jumble of thoughts from around the world stitched together by the arts. Enjoy.
There is some street talk:
- Pino’s Vino e Cucina has opened in Alexandria – Pat’s a fan.
- South of the border Attica has closed for renos. Shewry plans to have them completed by mid-Feb - presumably a little refresh before the 50 Best crowd descends. He says: “I want it to reflect the natural aspect and influences we have at Attica – the bush, the rawer textures in plates and food … it's not in the millions. I didn't want that. I wanted a designer who could thrive within a budget, because that's how I've worked – I think that's where character comes from.”
- And, for my mates in the Adelaide Hills, this delightful look at Lost in the Forest. (“Today’s review would perhaps be better expressed as a Wordsworth poem. Or perhaps an impressionist painting.”) How delightful they are getting so much attention.
- Max Allen has joined the AFR. He's already talking about diversity in our drinking, which is a win for all: "Three of the trendiest drink styles these days in our bottle shops and bars are pale dry rosé, sparkling prosecco and vermouth, which straddles the line between wine and spirits and liqueurs."
The soapbox via the arts:
- Do you know of Ron Finley, LA’s urban farming hero? He grew a garden on the sidewalk in one of LA’s food deserts, got fined for his troubles, the media jumped on it, the fine was overturned and now he’s doing TED talks and talking to Lucky Peach (very candidly) about the why and how of his gardens.
The why: “Because this food is not just food. This changes people’s lives, so therefore it’s changing culture, which is what we have to do. Agriculture. And we need our culture back.”
And the how: “Do what you want, it’s your painting. You should put the paint where you want it to be. The first stroke. Just do it. I treat this as art—that’s what it is to me. ... Oh, the yellow just happens to trim the green. You get to play with beauty like this, look at that. It’s like somebody painted them. That’s how I treat it. It’s art."
- I was quite taken by the excellent promotional posters on the walls at P. Franco in this Munchies article. I also liked Bracey's creative take on running a wine bar, from inviting different chefs to cook (each for a six month stint - “It’s almost like having a new restaurant every six months which I think is great for the community”) to wine matching (“I think there are moments when that happens and that’s great. But I think the beauty is that people can just … grab it off the shelf and drink that bottle and it will go somewhat across the menu.”) And then back to those posters ... I love the connection between the design/art and food (also see GT talking Patrick Sullivan's wine label here).
- In other wine news, the lovely James Hird makes an argument for drinking chilled reds this summer (apparently it's all about the acidity), while Decanter (among others) repeat their request to shun the champagne flute for a wine glass – it’s a bubbles vs aroma argument. In fact, did you know the bubbles also hold much of the aroma? As they pop at the surface, so too does the perfume. How delightfully romantic that image is.
- And, for a different artistic perspective, I really loved this look at the place of restaurant meals in society by novelist Kathleen Alcott. The opening premise: “You can tell everything about a person, says a common piece of wisdom, by how he or she treats the waiter.” It’s very true, I once broke up with a guy over it.
It is equally true that dining with the people you love, or are falling in love with, is the best. Alcott explains: “I often think of the poise of the friend who, should the water carafe become empty, without commenting or asking, raises her pretty hand to transfer a swallow from her glass into mine. Likewise fondly remembered is the pal who, upon receiving his dish but noting the absence of yours, asks after it on your behalf – in the transference of the question from your mouth to his, it changes from a complaint to a gesture of affection.”
She goes on: “I’ve learned to be many things in a restaurant – a young woman in love, intent on communicating a great breadth of affection or hurt with a certain touch of another’s elbow or a failure to look up; a writer learning to speak about her work … Sometimes I consider how foolish it is for someone with a middling income to spend considerable money and time on the theatre of eating out … but I can’t think of the institution that has taught me more.” Hear, hear.
- Lisa Abend talked to Redzepi about Noma 2.0, the Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico pop-ups, and what it is he is now striving for. There is no question the man is driven, but he’s also very logical. I love that and I particularly loved this: “Redzepi envisions menus – three of them to more accurately reflect the real number of seasons in this part of the world – that focus solely on vegetables in the harvesting months, for example, or game in the hunting ones.” There is much in that for us (and our seasons) too.
- In the NYTimes they're connecting food and tech, talking cow-share - if internet middlemen can help ordinary people share cars and apartments, why not cattle?
- And while we’re there, Pat penned an article with some suggestions for where you could spend your New York minute (with a focus on “newness, hotness and nowness”). On his list: Estela, Café Altro Paradiso (also by those of Estela), Blue Hill at Stone Barns (his fancy number one), Cosme, Le Coucou, Los Tacos No 1, Russ & Daughters Café, The Four Horsemen, Maison Premier and then a few stragglers. It’s a good time to be eating in NYC.
- Finally, Bill Addison (of Eater) has thrown in his two cents with eight restaurant trends for the year ahead: more pasta; French restaurants; black walnuts; chawanmushi (as vessel for all things luxe); crab rangoon (to take over pierogis as the dumpling darling of choice); baked pancakes, including my favourite clafoutis; green walls in restaurants; and Korean cooking (we've been saying this for a while, surely Korean will get there one year!).
The week that was (12 January 2017)
At home - For the current state of play according to John Lethlean, read his article on 2016's culinary highlights, lowlights (yes, again) and a little speculation for 2017. There was an interesting look at the big wigs in the game: from the endless march of Merivale, to Matt Moran and the Solotel group, the Chin Chin and Long Chim replications and what (may) lie ahead for the Rockpool Dining Group. Is 2017 shaping up to be the year of the mega-dining group? And, if so, what will this mean for our food scene? Letho wraps it all up with a little nod to the excitement, and potential ramifications, of Australia hosting the World's 50 Best this year. Whatever it is we think of ourselves, we are about to find out what a whole lot of other (rather influential) people think of us ...
Abroad - In NYC Pete Wells reviewed Flora Bar, by those of Estela. He was glowing: "I’m on the verge of giving up trying to explain why Ignacio Mattos’s food is so good ... In retrospect, nothing I wrote captured the qualities that made the food compelling. I latched on to visual style because I couldn’t figure out how to explain why the flavors grabbed me the way they did ... It’s a kind of cooking that’s almost invisible." I enjoy Wells' thinking and this is another lovely read. For those less inclined to words, there's a photographic slideshow of the food, but more than all of that you need to click the Flora link to check out their voyeuristic Daily 360 vid of the establishment. A sign of things to come in restaurant reporting?
In booze - I enjoyed Jon Bonné (for Punch) talking about the year ahead in wine. The article meanders from the implications of immigration restrictions to Italian white wines; from the rise of "new Australia" and "new, new Cali", to a reckoning for the Rhone and a Bordeaux comeback. He, too, talks big business: "... the sort of white-bread wine brands that once made America a boring place to drink will have even more market power. Wine lists in less-inspired corners—hotel bars, chain steakhouses—are going to get even snoozier. And those who promote such wines are going to beat drums even harder about how it’s what “the consumer” wants. This year, it’s up to the little guys out in the heartland to keep it real."
Most of all, I enjoyed his discourse on definitions: yes, there's talk of natural wines, but there are also some more intriguing discussions around labelling. He looks at sustainability and 'greenwashing', programs "that sound virtuous but are strikingly vague on the details" - this is an issue for the food world too. Also on the front of the bottle, Bonné suggests there will be a further push to quit appelations in France and greater Europe. I am fascinated by terroir and while the French were the pioneers of terroir branding and marketing, they also appear to be the worst at adapting to new market ideas and demands. That is to say, more and more wineries are shunning regional references on their labels (and the tight constraints that come with them) so they can make the wine they want. It is crazy to think wine makers should conform to an ideal stipulated at a particular point in time, generally depending on the date the appellation was created. It's the age old question of status quo. There's a lot to ponder there.
In politics - Bonné was quick to acknowledge the political nature of his commentary: "Drinking is often a political act, even when we don’t intend it to be, and today we face more complexity than ever: How natural is natural wine? What farming is actually sustainable, and what’s just lip service? Am I giving my money to a small producer or to a big company? Are we elevating once-obscure places, or just shoving them into the crush of globalism?" Big thoughts that are applicable across the food, wine and restaurant industry. We can all march with our wallets.
And so, while I assume you will already have seen this year's MLA "you'll never lamb alone"advertisement, I feel it would be remiss of me not to include it here too. They're baby steps, but I think they're good ones.
The week that was (5 January 2017)
- You will likely love this list from Bloomberg of the most scathing restaurant reviews in recent times. L’ami Louis by AA Gill takes the cake, while the excellent review of Trump's Grill(e) by Tina Ngyuen for Vanity Fair comes in at number two. She suggests there's a lot to be learnt about the President-Elect ("The allure of Trump’s restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich") and concludes it may just be the worst restaurant in America. There are take outs for those playing along at home too: "The menu itself would like to impress diners with how important it is, randomly capitalizing fancy words like “Prosciutto” and “Julienned” (and, strangely, ”House Salad”)." It's a pet peeve. Don't do it.
- You may also want to check out Lucky Peach's 10 Most Read Articles for 2016. I was rather fascinated (and impressed) to learn their most read article for the year was the history of pho. We're not all listicle consuming morons after all (unfortunately number two on the list, The Official Costco Food Court Power Rankings, does little to support my argument).
Among the list was Eat Drink Fuck Die, penned by Bourdain. It’s a cracker. It's a listicle within a listicle as Bourdain looks at some of the films that have best portrayed food over the decades, namely: Eat Drink Man Woman, Babette’s Feast, Spielberg’s Munich and the grotesque La Grande Bouffe.
I was particularly enamoured by his thoughts on Eat Drink Man Woman, partly because I was discussing it on Sunday and have been meaning to look it up. I’m most pleased I did (click the link, watch the exquisite opening scene). Not only is it a delightful portrayal of the mesmerising movement of a chef in the kitchen (better, in my eyes, than any ballet), but “… it supports, convincingly, the widely held belief that a plate of food has innate qualities, and that - depending on the history (personal or otherwise) that an eater might have with the dish - it can contain ‘heart.’” Food and memory are so inextricably linked, and yet so different for each and every person. It’s Proust with his madeleine - would it have been the same if it was toast or biscotto?
Bourdain suggests that's the point, but also gives a little touch up to the over-use of the concept: “You hear this all the time on shows like Top Chef. A chef will claim to cook with “love” (a proclamation that I, as a judge, often found worrying, summoning, as it did, possibilities that the contestant had rubbed his knob around in the sauce).” Ha! I feel likewise regarding the word passion. Let’s please keep it off my plate and out of the kitchen …
- There was also Lisa Abend’s list of the five chefs to watch around the world this year: Lisa Lov (Tigermom, Copenhagen); Beau Clugston (Le 6 Paul Bert, Paris); Jeong Kwan (Baekyangsa Temple, Bukha-myeon, South Korea); Angela Dimayuga (Mission Chinese Food, New York); Kamilla Seidler (Gustu, La Paz, Bolivia). A delightful and thoughtful list, and not just because of all those vaginas. There's health, social goals, education, terroir and, as an added bonus, there's a sneak peak at some of the dishes at Noma spin-off 108 too.
- If you read TWTW in the days before Christmas you may have re-read the article on The Sugar Conspiracy in The Guardian. It's fascinating. This week, Dan Barber reviewed a new book on the same topic, The Case Against Sugar. It brings some new facts to light: "In September, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, uncovered documents showing that Big Sugar paid three Harvard scientists in the 1960s to play down the connection between sugar and heart disease and instead point the finger at saturated fat. Coca-Cola and candy makers made similar headlines for their forays into nutrition science, funding studies that discounted the link between sugar and obesity." There’s more from Taubes, the author, here. Roll over, tobacco.
- Equally sobering is Kevin Alexander’s story in the Thrillist on the restaurant bubble in the States. It’s the third article in a trilogy, where Alexander argues we will inevitably see less sit-down traditional restaurants and more of the “hip iterations of fast-casual restaurants, with smaller menus, counter service, and a skeleton crew of front- and back-of-the-house staff”. (For any of you considering the fast-casual route - and that's a considerable number of you - note success still lies in genuine hospitality, see NYT on that here). It’s all a little sombre, with part one looking at the homogenous nature of today’s culinary innovationand part two exploring the endlessly dismal question of the chef shortage (and the necessity of price rises). Sombre, but definitely interesting.
- It’s not all bad, food has the ability to be excellent. It’s fundamental we make it so. Watch Christian Puglisi talking at Food on the Edge - a talk that inadvertently combines a couple of the issues above, namely the importance of the small, singular-focused restaurant, here with a farm attached. He wanted fresh mozzarella. You too can have fresh mozzarella, by attending one of Kristen’s classes.
- This Farm from a Box is also rather excellent. $50k buys you a shipping container containing all the tools and a closed loop system complete with solar powered drip irrigation; with enough juice to run a two acre plot and feed 150 people. But wait, there’s more. The power also runs the wifi, to keep the farmers connected and to allow them access to the three-part education regarding sustainable farming, technology use and enterprise. People are clever.
- And finally, the cricket. Yesterday an 87 year-old Hawkie skolled his beer on camera, bringing to light more than the contentious spelling of the word skol. Specifically, do we, as a nation, have a drinking problem? The Huff Post have pulled out some stats (citing pissed tourists as part of our malaise, which is a little odd) and the same old quotes. I have written about this for the Oz. I think it’s an important topic to discuss, but I think it’s poorly tackled by the wowsers. I believe drinking, particularly when coupled with food, is an art de vivre. It’s not for everyone, but I don’t think that means it can’t be for anyone. And so maybe Boonie is not the greatest poster boy for Australian alcohol consumption, but I still proudly drive a car with his name on the plates (because the man is a legend). And, to be safe today, I’ll be taking a tin of anchovies to accompany the odd VB. You will find me, and my anchovies, in the Ladies Stand. I’ll be the one in pink.
The week that was (30 December 2016)
To round out the year I didn’t want to write a "listicle" (yes, that's actually a thing) and I certainly didn’t want to talk trends. And so, when I began to tackle "the year that was" last week, I panicked and decided to leave it for this week. Taking a deep breath (and my Dad's advice - “if you can’t win them with the first three arguments, you will never get them with your fourth or fifth”), I have mined the soapbox to bring you three key themes from 2016, cobbled together from articles around the globe.
If you are looking for something a little more chilled, you may want to go back to last week's TWTW and find the year's best reads. If you are looking for current (albeit sad news) Pino's in Kogarah was involved in a fire on Christmas night, it looks like much stock was lost. I can't find much more on the news, but my thoughts are with them. Devastating.
(1) Is regenerative the new sustainable?
- Earlier this year, a farmer donned an Akubra and rode his horse across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a plea for awareness regarding NSW's land clearing laws (TWTW 30 June). The ramifications of a similar change to the laws in Queensland had been devastating to the native flora and fauna. Restoring Earth, a documentary featuring that same farmer, explained the regenerative role of tree roots in the soil and of the decaying trees (humus) in carbon consumption and on our waterways; essentially they were arguing for more synergy between the farm ecosystem and Australia’s natural ecosystem (using our terroir, rather than a cookie cutter British/global model). He argued for bridging the gap between farmers and ecologists (there is an agroecology revolution taking place around the world, read more here or look at the example of Via Campesina), but also between ag and education, and ag and health. Why is it we all know our doctor, but very few of us know our farmer?
- There was the Annabel Walsh (TWTW 8 Sep) and her incredible story of single-handedly regenerating their remote family property (with the help of native weeds) after her husband was nearly killed. Widely travelled, Annabel studied rotational grazing in Africa, shepherding traditions in Mongolia as well as how these traditions play out in continental Europe. Working with the premise our food is only as good as the soil it grows in, Annabel argues for the removal of mono-cropping systems and the regeneration of the soil with native perennial grasses and putting animals back into the cycle of the land. While I had long understood the role of different stomachs over the soil, I had not considered the role of hooves. For more on the impact of herding on our environment and agriculture I loved Allan Savory's TedX speech (TWTW 22 Sep). It is so excellent.
- In the states, the story of Marty Travis via the doco Sustainable (TWTW 14 July), further unpacked some of those issues – looking at the role of trees and livestock on carbon sequestration and the impact of tilling on water retention in soils. He, too, talked about the need to change the language from “sustainability” to “regeneration”.
- Finally, a newie that has been stranded on the cutting room floor, this excellent story of Daniel Zetah and his diet as it changed through vegetarianism, veganism (even freeganism - don’t ask, do keep reading): “… while there is no hard rule for what a human being should eat, or what the perfect diet is, in terms of minimizing suffering of other beings, there is an ideal diet for each region and each situation ... I can’t eat grass, I can’t break down cellulose, but I can eat meat. And the fact is that every time we plant some kind of annual crop, in a mono-cultural setting, we have to effectively destroy an intact ecosystem to do that …” It’s so fascinating, particularly his arguments around the values we hold to different lifeforms - why are whales important while those small farm animals displaced by monocultures are not??
It may be time to shift the language. There is no point being sustainable unless we have something to sustain.
(2) The business of being sustainable
And so, perhaps we should move the idea of sustainability from our farms into our kitchens. The restaurant industry is notoriously difficult, both financially and physically, and yet we tend to place the most demands on ourselves both in regards to using produce we are proud to sell and making it affordable for people to buy. The industry is very good at nurturing others but perhaps needs to get better at nurturing itself.
- In Denmark, there was Christian Puglisi’s Sustainability Report, looking at ways in which we can tighten our belts in the kitchen (TWTW 28 July) “Everything from how we differentiate our waste to what we invest in as a business needs to be focused on the long run and that all types of resources should be treated with intelligence and respect. Whether that involves using backsides of printed menus to take notes or re-fermenting wasted wine to vinegar ...”
- In the UK, Jay Rainer talked about the cost of food and how it’s fueling a culture of underpaid restaurant staff (TWTW 17 Nov). While in the US, Pollan threw in his 2 cents (TWTW 20 July): “… a significant slice of the consuming public is getting used to the idea that food produced in alignment with their values costs more and is worth more. But of course, there remain people who won’t be able to afford the higher prices of sustainable food, and that’s where the difficulty arises. How do we make this food available to them? That, I think, is the big challenge of the food movement: to democratize sustainably and ethically produced food." Dave Chang also weighed in from the US, noting “food” should be more expensive (he put “food” in inverted commas because “every tiny part of a restaurant is in the cost of that dish, from dripping faucets to broken plates.”)
- Meanwhile, in Oz, we argued about the price of bread and prematurely sounded the death knell for fine dining while simultaneously questioning the cost of "simple" food, often without context. Food with incredible provenance, cooked with incredible care, is valuable. It should cost. I believe it's the journalist's role to explain that, instead of sensationalising it for an opinion they think their readers have. We need to start talking up to people.
It is, without question, an interesting time for journalists around the world. Social media has changed the way people consume, just as the radio did in '30s, television in the '60s, the internet in the naughties, to social media now; I recently read that we can best understand this power, and the success of those who harnessed it, by looking at the American Presidents who adopted the new: FDR with radio, JFK with tv, Barrack with the interwebs and now Trump - the difficulties are not to be sneezed at.
That said, I believe the role of the journalist is even more important now than ever before. They need to disseminate information and play a part in educating. It's not about getting up on your high horse, but it is about being the expert, being professional and thoughtful. Take your time - enough with the early reviews (TWTW 21 April) - tell the story properly. It's quite possible the sustainability of our restaurant industry, and the regeneration of our agricultural industry, depend on it.
(3) Addressing the penis in the room
And on to women in the kitchen. It’s still a problem. The pay gap is deplorable, the patronising “chick” awards equally so, although, a significant improvement on simply leaving them out altogether.
There have been some incredible groups created to shine the spotlight in the other direction: The Parabere Forum (TWTW 10 March) - next year they will poignantly be talking about “Redefining Sustainability” on 5 – 6 March in Barcelona. While locally we have Sharlee’s Fully Booked in Melbs, WoHoin Syd.
Personally I would like to see more men on the invite list and in the room. Feminism is not a woman’s domain.