Houston Chronicle Interviews Superchefblog

The Houston Chronicle's Nicki Britton recently expanded superchefblog's review of Cocina Betty Crocker: Favorite American Recipes in Spanish and English (see previous article), including interviews with New York University's Dr. Amy Bentley, Wiley Publishers' Natalie Chapman, and General Mills' Ursula Mejía-Melgar. From a lengthy interview with Juliette Rossant, the Chronicle reports: At least one critic believes the cookbook's intent is questionable, however. Juliette Rossant, author of Super Chef: The Making of the Great Modern Restaurant Empires, posted a scathing review of Cocina on her Web log, superchefblog.com. "Cocina Betty Crocker is a corporate marketing tool by General Mills to get Latinos to stop making tortillas and arepas and get them to make Bisquick biscuits," she says. (Bisquick is a General Mills product.) Rossant questions whether Hispanics are truly interested in learning to make Sloppy Joes and Chex Mix -- dishes, she wrote in her review, that "predate the American Food Revolution of the 1970s." "I think this (book) is mostly for housekeepers and maids to learn to cook American food -- and American food that's a little dated, at that," she says. Rossant points out the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines in America and doubts that Cocina will find much consumer demand. "All of us are reaching for this wonderful ethnic food, be it from Mexico or China or Thailand," she says. "This book is the opposite of the actual trend." Be sure to check out the responses to these statements, made by Wiley's Natalie Chapman and General Mills' Ursula Mejía-Melgar. (Click here to read the article, entitled "Mac 'N' Cheese in Espanol: New cookbook offers Spanish speakers classic U.S. recipes and a culinary language lesson.") Previous articles: Cocina Betty Crocker: Portent? [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, cookbooks --> back to superchefblog