InterContinental to Build the Ultimate Eco Hotel in Old Chinese Quarry

Hats off to the InterContinental Hotel System for what must be one of the most stunning land reclamation project to come along in a long time. 

Working together with the British firm Atkins (engineers for the 2012 London Olympics) and Shimao Property officials in China’s Songjiang District within Shanghai, InterContinental has started construction on a 19 story hotel complex to be built in an abandoned and very ugly former stone quarry.

At first glance the site seems totally unsuitable for a luxury hotel but the designers are planning a total revitalization of the area. When it opens in 2015, the 380 guest room resort site will feature a towering waterfall, expansive lake, and an underwater restaurant.

With such amenities and an opening rack rates of $320 per night, what chef wouldn’t want to be on this property’s culinary team? 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Engagement of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Brings Back Classic Wedding Trend

Over the past weekend Angelina Jolie, accompanied by her long time love Brad Pitt, appeared at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art wearing an elegant 16 carat designer engagement ring. Both the press and their children have long waited for the announcement of a wedding to come.

And though no date is yet set, Angelina's classic style is sure to mark a return to what stylists regard as “quiet luxury weddings”. The hallmark of such events is a subtle elegance, an understated style that separates the long established elite from the merely newly arrived.

Wedding silver, at such events, isn’t rented or purchased because the family has long had theirs.

There is no need for a flash or flare wedding gown that says, “Look, we’ve socially made it!” QL families have already arrived.

So look for bridal themes to be quietly chic this spring as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt set the season’s wedding styles.

Restrained elegance will be the trend and, so hopefully will be the charity work done by the couple.

Mature sophistication should always include an awareness of others, especially those not blessed with such a wealth of opportunity and choices.  

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Amazing New Farming Technique Could Make Food Available Almost Everywhere for Everyone

A new company, Agricel, has developed a new way to farm that requires 90% less water than traditional agricultural methods demand and uses 80% less chemicals yet produces 50% higher yields. Quite an improvement, no?

The secret is Skygel, a unique thin polymer film that acts as a sponge and can hold 1,000 times its weight in water.  Each internal cell with in the film absorbs and holds water and plant nutrients, safe from evaporation and surface loss.

As a plant’s root system tap into the millions of waiting water cells, it is essentially guaranteed its own growth reservoir no matter its location as long as there is sunshine, real or artificial.

With the world’s population ever increasing, both aerial land and free flowing clean water will become rarer and rarer raw resources. As a result, chefs around the world are growing concerned about the availability of future ingredients.

Now, thanks to Yalman A. Khan and Kunal G. Wadhwani, founders of Agricel, the film farming process is now available after extensive testing in Japan, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the U.A.E. and the U.K.

So take heart if a rare fruit or vegetable is required by your favorite dish – soon it might be growing in your own backyard from Dubai to Las Vegas, all thanks to Agricel! 

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Celebrate Spring At White House Egg Roll with Bo and then Italian Easter Bread and Egg Art

Easter Sunday will soon be upon us and that means that come the Monday after, the White House will host the 134th (and oh so much fun) Easter Egg Roll. Invitations to the event can be obtained only via lottery luck and any resulting adult, fortunate enough to attend, must be accompanied by a child in order to gain final admission.

But best of all, the 2012 event will be co-host by Bo, the beloved First Family’s pet dog. In fact he will even be honored with his portrait on this year’s commemorative wooden Easter egg.

And though these memorable eggs have their original origin in the humble wooden darning egg, used by countless women for centuries from Boston to Moscow, just consider the skill and beauty of the current exhibition by Oksana Mas, made entirely from painted wooden eggs. 

Her amazing work, using thousands of traditional Ukrainian painted wooden eggs known as “krashenki”, has been shown in Stockholm, Barcelona and Venice.  Each egg is individual painted by a different artist and then crafted together by Mas to create a collective icon of meaning. The effect, whether seen close up or at a distance, is simply unforgettable.

Equally unforgettable is Italy’s “Pastelli di Pasqua” or egg-wrapped Easter Bread.  Similar to Mas' egg icon, chefs around the world will gather their individual ingredients together, and create a larger experience to share with others. 

 

Whether offered to guests as a full wreath or as individual smaller savory wreaths, this bread captures, like the egg icons, the essence of the season, spirit of Spring, hope and meaningful change.

This bread, like the season, is sweet and the colored cooked fresh eggs have the perfect holiday appearance and flavor. Consider celebrating Spring this year with friends and guests – all within the circle of friendship, fun and fine bread. Bo would so approve as would the First Family! Enjoy!

Post Note, April13, 2012: Each year there is a holiday idea that simply wins the hearts of all who see it.  This year's winner is Cheesecake Easter Eggs - a true delight! Each chocolate egg shell is filled with cheesecake while the 'yolk' center curd is a creative blend of fruit jams and purees (see recipe below for center accent).

And though Easter may have passed, this attractive (and very tasty) presentation is well worth trying as well as saving until the Easter Bunny comes hopping back around next year.

'Yolk' Fruit Curd - 1 tbsp passionfruit puree, 1 tbsp apricot jam, 1 tbsp unsalted butter.

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

New Titanic Miniseries Can Remind Us Who We Are Today

As the hundredth anniversary of the tragic sinking of the famed ocean liner The Titanic approaches, a fleet of a new TV miniseries will soon seek to find port on television sets around the world.

Leading the way will be a new mega million pound four-part TV series written by Julian Fellowes, co-author of the very popular Downton Abbey PBS/BBC TV miniseries, entitled simply Titanic.

This parallel application of writing talent with the legendary grandeur of Titanic's famed elegance (and sad ending) is almost certain to guarantee the continued popularity of all things Edwardian.

Thankfully the series, which will be released in Canada, the United Kingdom and then the United States, will focus in large part on the passengers and crew as characters before taking the viewers into the sad night of April 15^th.

The delayed tragedy will enable those watching the series to glimpse the grandeur of the ship as well as the hierarchy that ruled society at that time.

It is important to remember that our Industry carries the legacy of that class system and the great estate houses that spawn it. Like the fabled Downton Abbey, we work witihin a daily structure that echoes the labors of Edwardian cooks, footmen and house maids in the modern positions of chefs, bellmen and housekeepers.

Today those positions are better paid professional positions, protected by labor law and owner-worker agreements. Yes, the world has changed a great deal since 1912 – or has it?

Indifference and injust judgment of others still occurs, lurking like an iceberg, offering equal destruction today unless we can see clearer than the Titanic’s esteemed but careless captain that professionalism requires a genuine respect for others, not merely profit by any means available.

Post Note, April 6, 2012: If you have ever try to visualize how something as big as the Titanic could sink (something roughly the size of a major hotel building), the amazing data-visualization company After the Flood has created a videographic for the BBC that explains it all.

Their work is an amazing demonstration of how the new videographic design, using advanced computer technology (and a lot of in-house talent), will change the face of marketing in the hospitality industry. Imagine telling the marketing story of your hotel or restaurant in five brief but unforgettable minutes! 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012