Cricket Azima: Everybody Eats Lunch

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Did you know that lunch in Spanish is almuerzo and in Mexico it is commonly eaten by schoolchildren at home at 2:00 pm? Cricket Azima's Everybody Eats Lunch (Glitterati 2008), a terrific cardboard book, introduces the character Pedro who eats four things for lunch: cactus salad, torta, caramel sandwich and mango. There is a cartoon illustration of each dish and under the flap a recipe. A child can check the hands on the clock, ask questions about Pedro, and try to make Pedro's lunch. Maybe the cactus salad is too much of a stretch – but the torta is essentially a chicken, refried pinto bean and Monterey Jack sandwich, which would be easy to make with an adult. Kids can read about what other children eat in Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Jamaica, learn how to say "hello" and "lunch" in other languages and older kids can read the recipes. All the meals end in fresh fruit and most of the recipes are low in fat and very healthy. There is even a map of the world in the front of the book to locate each child. Everybody Eats Lunch not only has fun content, but it comes with a nifty built in handle that makes it as much a toy as a book. The only caveat is that the flaps covering the recipes are not attached in any way and it may not be easy for little hands to put them back in their place over the recipes. Maybe there should be an adult version with more countries that covers breakfast and dinner, too! Previous articles: [Kids' Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef

Foie Gras War: Eat Foie Gras in Chicago - Ban Repealed

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Super Chef has just learned that the Chicago City Council repealed its ban on the sale of foie gras today. Here is an email from Ariane Daguin of D'Artagnan: Dear Friend of Foie Gras, There will be much rejoicing today, as chefs in all the best restaurants of the country celebrate the repeal of the foie gras ban in Chicago. Passing 37-6, the repeal of the ban is a 21st century equivalent to the repeal on Prohibition! It stands for freedom of choice, common sense, truth and most importantly, freedom to eat!! We commend the Chicago City Council for voting on this fair and square, unlike the clandestine maneuver of April 2006, when the ban was buried in an unread collection of routine legal matters. The animal rights extremists have attempted to repeat their Chicago strategy in other states and cities in the Land of the Free. They petitioned and protested, but NY, NJ, CT, IL, MI, HI, MA, MD, and Philadelphia have resisted their efforts!! Feel free to eat foie gras in any of these places! Today, please raise a glass with us...and a plate of foie gras...to celebrate the victory of family farmers who work hard to give us wholesome foods, and to freedom of choice on our menus. Vive le foie gras!! Super Chef applauds the sober member of the council who have come to their senses. Related articles: Chicago Tribune Chicago Sun-Times New York Times Fox News Previous articles: No Foie Gras for Prince Charles Foie Gras War: Salt Lake City? Foie Gras War: Nears Washington Foie Gras War: Voodoo and Vigilanties [Foie Gras War - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, foie gras --> back to Super Chef

Fuchsia Dunlop: Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Perhaps it is pure coincidence that Fuchsia Dunlop's Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China (Norton 2008) should arrive now, just as Sichuan is reeling from a devastating earthquake. How much of Chengdu has been destroyed? How many noodle shops, restaurants, and hole-in-the-walls are left in the old city? How many people have died? Time itself could have wiped away so many of the places Fuchsia so lovingly describes – but an earthquake kills many of the people who cooked and ate the food with her- thus her memoir is even more prescient. As the book opens, Fuchsia finds herself studying in Chengdu, drawn there after a short visit to the city earlier when she is seduced by the fiery cuisine of Sichuan: The cold chicken tossed in a piquant dressing of soy sauce, chilli oil, and Sichuan pepper; a whole carp braised in chilli-bean paste laced with ginger, garlic, and spring onions; pig's kidneys cut into frilly dainty morsels and stir-fired fast with celery and pickled chilies. And so-called "fish-fragrant" aubergines, one of the most scrumptious dishes I'd ever tasted: the golden, buttery fried aubergines cooked in a deep-red spicy sauce, with no actual fish but seductive hints of sweet and sour. This was Chinese food as I had never known it before. It was a revelation. (p/ 17) The recipe for the aubergines luckily follows the chapter. It turns out that the spicy food is helpful in combating the constant damp climate, but chillis only arrived in the 16th century when Portuguese traders brought it to China (p. 25) where it was quickly taken up in Sichuan. Fuchsia quickly gives up her regular university courses, hires a tutor and gets to work eating her way through the restaurants, cafes, and food stalls of Chengdu, and writing about every dish. Here is her description of Dan Dan Noodles: They looked quite plain: a small bowlful of noodles topped with a spoonful of dark crisp minced beef. But as soon as you stirred them with your chopsticks, you awakened the flavours in the slick of spicy seasonings at the base of the bowl, and coated each strand of pasta in a mix of soy sauce, chilli oil, sesame paste, and Sichuan pepper. The effect was electrifying. Within seconds, your mouth was on fire, your lips quivering under the onslaught of the pepper, and your whole body radiant with heat. (p. 35) Fuchsia's book is brimming with exuberance for life and food in China, just like her earlier book, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook (See Super Chef review. Let us hope that none of this is permanently lost and that the citizen of Sichuan will soon be eating Dan Dan Noodles in the humid heat of the coming summer. Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Sichuan, Fuchsia Dunlop --> back to Super Chef

Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook

By JULIETTE ROSSANT How much influence does a restaurateur have on a restaurant's cuisine if he/she is not the executive chef? Take a look at Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, written with food writerGene Bourg (Vissi D'Arte 2008). Ralph is a member of New Orleans' leading restaurateur family, the Brennans. His aunt Ella is the doyen of Commander's Palace and other Brennan restaurants. Nephew Ralph got his start peeling shrimp and onions in the prep kitchen at Brennan's, and later became manager of Mr. B's, working with Paul Prudhomme. The preface traces Ralph's career through Red Fish Grill, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, Ralph's on the Park, and Bacco, all of which featured fish and seafood. He discusses how his own passion for Italian cuisine and seafood was behind his restaurants and their menus. The restaurants' recipes form the core of the book – ranging from the traditional to the more innovative: Ralph's on the Park opened at the end of 2003 with an award-winning menu geared toward locals seeking innovative yet approachable food exemplified by the menu's truffle-infused crab cakes, sesame tuna and redfish blacked in a cast-iron skillet. (p. 13) The ideas of the restaurants are Ralph's, but the recipes are from the chefs in his Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group (p. 17). Although the recipes are from his restaurants, a capable cook can prepare them at home – given the right ingredients, very large pots and plenty of This is an impressive, heavy, handsome book. Well photographed by Kerri McCaffety, with clear how-to photos of perfectly fresh fish and finish dishes. The first section is A Seafood Cook's Manual (p. 22). It includes a detailed introduction and description of species, how to debone a fish, prepare crabs, peal crawfish and shuck oysters – a good primer and a handy reminder of how to deal with most seafood. Most of the recipes call for whole fish, shrimp with shells and heads on, because they use the bones and shells and heads to make stock. Within each chapter Ralph and his chefs include classics and more inventive dishes. Gumbos, Soups and Bisques starts off with Gumbo File (p. 108). The recipe notes explain that file refers to a gumbo thickened with sassafras as opposed to okra or roux. The recipe is for makes 8 main-dish servings, and included 1 quart of oyster liquor along with 1 pint of shucked oysters, mustard greens, chicken and of course file. It's a great recipe if you are at the seaside with a house full of summer guests. Less traditional is the Golden Crab and Oyster-Mushroom Gumbo with Shrimp-Potato Salad (p. 115). The book includes a helpful section at the back on making roux and stopping at the correct color for different recipes. There is even a photo of bowls holding blond, golden, peanut butter and dark rouxes (pp. 414-5). Many of the recipes in the book look daunting, containing long lists of ingredients and many steps – like many restaurant recipes. But if you can get the Louisiana pepper sauce, the file powder, and above all, the fresh seafood, then they are well worth the effort. Choose a day by the sea, get hungry playing in the surf, and then get cooking. Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, New Orleans, Ralph Brennan --> back to Super Chef

Barbara Lazaroff Signs with Evolution Media

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Barbara Lazaroff's TV show is one step closer after she signed a deal with reality programming production company Evolution Media for a new documentary series. The series will follow Barbara as she works o resolve the problems faced by restaurateurs opening up their own restaurants. Super Chef asked Barbara to comment further about the show: The show is very much about mentoring -- problem solving -- both the practical and common sense aspects of the business. It will also tackle the more ethereal social interactions and the magic of entertaining. It will be amusing, serious, hectic, thoughtful, and chaotic, with aspects of planned and unplanned mishaps and a constant challenge to get it as right as it can be as often as possible every single day. I think aspects of the show will be in flux because of the personalities involved. I certainly hope it will be both informative and entertaining. Without the fun there will be no audience! Barbara is the president of Imagining’s Design Inc., as well as a partner with Wolfgang Puck in most of his restaurants and businesses. She designed the first open kitchen in the original Spago Hollywood as well as Chinos on Main, Granita, the Wolfgang Puck Cafes, and many other successful restaurants. She will serve as executive producer of the show, along with Evolution, her representative Pamela Wagner of James/Levy Management and Haber Entertainment's Susan Haber. Previous articles: Investor's Business Daily Finds Wolfgang Puck Brand Wolfgang Puck's Spago: Wherever You Are Who Pays for Wolfgang Puck's Wedding to Gelila Assefa? Wolf Wines & Dines, or Puck's Party Requiem for Granita Romancing the Stove - or The Way We Worked? [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Barbara Lazaroff --> back to Super Chef

From Gordon Ramsay to Mark Sullivan's Spruce Restaurant

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The British press is all a flutter over Gordon Ramsay's latest snafu. He suggested that restaurant that use out-of-season produce flown in rather than locally sourced produce should be fined. He believes that locally sourced produce would not leave as large a carbon imprint. The problem is that Gordon's 15 restaurants use plenty of imported ingredients. The Telegraph lists blackberries, parsnips and fennel as current culprits that would generate fines. The article goes on to site various chefs: Anthony Worrall Thompson, a television chef, was also circumspect: "I trawled through his menus from Claridges and Maze and there were at least 15 items that would have warranted a fine," he said. "The principle is right but as for fining, I think it is a bit of a nonsense – he likes to keep in the limelight." The article goes on to point out that "food miles" are misleading. New Zealand lamb creates lower carbon emissions than British meat, because farmers in New Zealand use fewer fertilizers and apples shipped in from the other side of the world are better than English apples, if the local apples are refrigerated. Is Gordon's idea applicable to restaurants in the US? Many restaurants are trying to increase their locally sourced produce and other ingredients. Gordon's demand for locally sourced ingredients, brings up a lot of important issues for chef at fine dining restaurants. Essentially, chefs need to figure out how to balance the importance of sourcing locally and the demands of their own craft and imaginations, as well as the demands of their customers. Sometimes all of these factors fall on the same side. Super Chef spoke to chefs across the county who are focusing on locally sourced ingredients, in most cases sourced within 100 miles of the restaurant on the West Coast and 500 miles on the East Coast. Chefs on the West Coast, where the growing season is long and practically everything is available nearby, can economically follow the rigors of sourcing locally and still create memorable menus. Those local ingredients are grown using organic and sustainable practices so that they are, in fact, more carbon neutral than imports. Mark Sullivan's restaurant Spruce, in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco is a great example of what Gordon's restaurants could be. Spruce sources 80% of its products locally, much from an exclusive 5-acre organic farm 20 miles away owned by Bacchus Management Group, which also owns the restaurant - Mark is a partner, too. The farm also supplies The Village Pub in Woodside, CA. owned by the group – and could support more restaurants as the group expands. Many of his chefs and cooks work at the farm, "I think most cooks haven't been on a farm. When they go to the farm, the cooks feel more passionate about what they are doing, they respected it more, and they don't want to waste." The farm truck even uses recycled waste oil from the restaurant converted into biofuel. But even Mark uses 20% that is not local. Much of that are bulk ingredients like onions that are not economical to grow organically on his small farm. For example, Sullivan uses a peppery, $10 per liter single varietal Arbequina Extra Virgin olive oil, produced by California Olive Ranch for finishing dishes. For poaching and sautéing he uses much cheaper grape seed oil and Spanish olive oil at $5 per liter to lower his food costs. "We use 20 gallons a week, that starts to add up. We are thinking of making our own, or committing in advance and paying a lump sum." Sullivan already works with a winery in Wilimette Valley, Oregon, which blends a house wine for his restaurant. "It is about space and understanding that you are committing to the long term." Mark is also not dogmatic about his commitment to locally sourced ingredients. He does indulge when he believes a dish needs a special ingredient not available locally. I am concerned about environment, social issues, pollution, and all these thing that are a problems when you buy asparagus from Chile, but I will buy a beautiful brand of rice, or use an olive oil that taste better on my veggies. Related news Telegraph Times Guardian Independent Previous articles: Gordon Ramsay: Child Obesity Gordon Ramsay: Reality Lawsuit Will Beckham Spice Ramsay With Puck? Marco Pierre White: The Devil in the Kitchen Gordon Ramsay: Find Me a Fanny Gordon Ramsay: Say No to Celebrity! Gordon Ramsay v James Bond Gordon Ramsay: Women Can't Cook Gordon Ramsay: A Chef For All Seasons Gordon Ramsay: In the Heat of the Kitchen Gordon Ramsay on Jay Leno: Funnier than Hell Hell's Kitchen on ICE Sneak Peak: Hell's Kitchen, with Gordon Ramsay Gordon Ramsay Joins Richard Branson in Fox's Reality TV Hell Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef