Like Water for Choclate uses Magical Realism to capture the transformative qualities of everyday food and drink into something more. Also consider reading (and enjoying) Joanne Harris' amazing Chocolat.
From Sydney to Paris the new year will soon roll in upon us. And while many of us within the Hospitality Industry are at this point a bit weary (to say the least) of holiday cheer, now is a good time to step back and think of our goals (and dreams) for the coming year, a year we all want to be exceptional.
Perhaps no one captures how to actually achieve that better than the staff at Absolut Vodka in their stunning "Anthem" video which takes items of the everyday and, in the hands of the gifted, turns them into art and meaning.
Likewise the members of our Industry do the same every day with our day-in day-out tasks. We take items common to us all - food, lodging, rest - and with skill turn them into the art of expression and experience.
And when we choose to add our perceptive insights, our unique take on it all, well, the result is both exceptional and unforgettable - just like a glass of fine wine or a sip of classic vodka, both well worth the effort and the price.
May 2012 Be the Best Year Ever!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011
International film festival directors now realize what movie lovers have known since the film Ratatouille made culinary fads of millions – thoughtfully made movies about the essence of cooking can deeply touch the hearts of viewers.
At this year’s Berlinale (Berlin) Film Festival an entire division was created to screen films solely about chefs, cuisine, ingredients and all matters culinary.
Though first shown from February 13th through the 18th, these remarkable films are now moving into distribution worldwide. Here are three of the films shown that are well worth seeing (and discussing) with staff:
This stunning film documents the art of the legendary sushi master Jiro Ono. David Gelb follows this 85 year old culinary star of Tokyo to his famed Sukiyabashi Jiro Restaurant, located in humble subway station. But size (and sometimes even location), does not a restaurant make. Jiro’s esteemed restaurant seats only ten yet it holds three Michelin stars. That’s enough to make any culinary professional want to see this movie.
Further expanding the plot is the stress and struggle experienced by his son Yoshikazu as the younger chef ponders his ability to continue his father’s quest for absolute culinary perfection.
If you are weary of staged ‘reality’ shows culinary or otherwise, you cannot help but be moved by this true life story of Charlie Arturaola, the world famous sommelier. Filmed in a mock documentary style, director Nicolas Carreras traces Arturaola’s struggle to reclaim not only his fading sense of taste but also his personal heritage.
For all those who have dedicated their lives to the profession they love, the film poses the fearful question: “What if suddenly you could no longer do what you Love?” The film suggests one response. Each member of the viewing audience will have to decide if their answer would be the same or different – in short, it’s a film that makes one think and re-think the purpose and value of our professional efforts.
Based on the autobiography of the same name by the English culinary writer Nigel Slater, this film is a coming-of-age story about a family in conflict where food becomes an expression of love and also a struggle for control. With a star rich cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Freddie Highmore and Ken Stott, the film counter balances the richness of food with a starvation of true affection often present in the homes of early 1960’s.
The script captures in heart-breaking clarity the struggle to be creative in an environment too narrow to reach a sense of authentic self. Anyone within the industry who has had to make the choice between the fate they were born to and the vocation that fascinates them, will understand this film and value its courage.
Post Note, November 2, 2011: The first ever Napa Valley Film Festival will be held for five days starting November 9th, featuring 75 films including Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Food, wine AND films - what an event! Be there if you can.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011
In less than a year, the30th Summer Olympic Gameswill open in London. As the pomp and ceremony begins on July 27, 2012 with the Parade of Nations and the Opening Ceremony, London will no doubt be compared to the last Olympiad held in China in 2008.
No one present there or watching worldwide can ever forget the stunning opening ceremony staged by Zhag Yimou, director of such legendary films as Heroand Curse of the Golden Flower.
Following the theme of “One World One Dream”, Zhag Yimou created a visual tableau that truly left millions of viewers breathless at the sweep of history and the display of beauty presented.
Yet have no fear because London is planning quite a show as well. Danny Boyle has been chosen as the artistic director for London’s opening ceremony. As the Academy Award winning director of Slumdog Millionaire, one can be assured of his sensitivity to an inclusive world view.
Because traditionally the heritage of the host country is highlighted at each Olympic Game’s first gathering, Boyle can draw on centuries of English history. One can only wonder if the Arthurian knights, Lord Nelson or the Tower’s venerated guards will appear in his event design.
But one image sure to appear will be the famed English bowler hat. First crafted in 1849 by the London hat makers Thomas and William Bowler (yes, that’s where the name originated) as a stiff protective hat for country gamekeepers, it was soon adopted by Londoners as a symbol for the composed style that has made London’s financiers (are you listening America?) famous around the world.
And now if hotel guests want some of that flare but aren’t necessarily hat wearers, they can celebrate with a new gin that is getting very popular as excitement over London's Games increases: Broker's Gin.
Distilled in small handmade batches, each bottle of this dry English gin is crafted in a 200 year old Birmingham distillery from an equally old recipe.
In order to follow this classic recipe,ingredients are sourced from around the world including juniper berries (but of course) from Bulgaria and Macedonia, orris roots from Italy, nutmeg from India, cassia bark from China, liquorice from Sri Lanka, coriander seeds from Bulgaria, orange and lemon peels from Spain and angelica root from Belgium and France.
Truly this is a beverage whose ingredients are almost as international as the Olympics and yet it’s the perfect gin to capture all the fun and excitement of the upcoming London Games. It’s so perfect the bottle istopped with an English bowler hatand you just can’t get any more English than that.
So enjoy the fun to come (Broker’s recipe for The Londoner Cocktail is listed below) and let us all hope that as the date for the game comes up, we find a world at peace and in harmony - at least for a few days. Cheers!
Squeeze the lime wedges into a shaker and add the other ingredients. Fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake vigorously until the shaker is freezing. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011
The ancient Romans may have cultivated the vine and wine in Spain but it was the Spanish who gave the world its favorite cool summer drink – Sangria. Traditionally made with muddled fruit and rich red wine, most non-Spaniards first tasted this historic wine punch at the 1964 World's Fair in New York when the Spanish World Pavilion served this refreshing beverage to the ever-increasing number of center visitors.
Soon an array of seemingly endless sangria variations appeared, some made with the addition of rum, vodka and now sake. Spain, a lover of both tradition and innovation, just smiles at such novel adaptations and hopes that the world will celebrate life as much as they do with food and wine, no matter the ingredients chosen.
Here are the latest sangria creations from Asia, all featuring the legendary rice ‘wine’ of Japan – Sake: (Enjoy! They are 'summer perfect'!)
Muddle the fruit, add the sake and plum wine and let infuse. Add ice and stir well. Top with soda water.
Summer Sake Sangria
¾ cup fresh watermelon, cubed
1¼ cups fresh honeydew melon, cubed
24 oz Gekkeikan Sake
12 oz Gekkeikan Plum Wine
Muddle ½ cup watermelon with 1 cup honeydew melon. Add the sake and plum wine and let infuse. Add the remainder of the melon, ice and stir well. Top with ginger ale.
Ginger Plum Punch
28 oz Kobai Plum Wine
4 oz Domaine de Canton liqueur
2 cups fresh honeydew melon, cubed
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
7oz Zipang Sparking Sake
Combine the plum wine, ginger liqueur, melon and mint in a pitcher. Muddle lightly and let infuse. Add ice, stir and top with Zipang Sparkling Sake.
Sake Berry Punch
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup fresh raspberries
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
4oz simple syrup
32 oz Gekkeikan Sake
1oz ginger ale
Lightly muddle the berries, mint and simple syrup. Add the sake and let infuse. Add ice, stir and top with ginger ale.
Cool Sparkle
1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
4oz honey
24 oz Gekkeikan Plum Wine
7oz Zipang Sparking Sake
Muddle the cucumber, strawberries and honey. Add the sake and let it infuse. Then add ice, stir and top with Zipang Sparkling Sake.
Fruity Sake Sangria
1 green apple, sliced
1 cup fresh honeydew melon, cubed
1 orange, sliced
28 oz Gekkeikan Sake
4 oz Kobai Plum Wine
1oz soda water
Lightly muddle the fruit, add the sake and plum wine, and let infuse. Add ice, stir well and top with soda water.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011
While staffers all over London are busy fine tuning the last details of the upcoming royal wedding, the chefs at the U.S. White House have just finished arranging the boiling and dyeing over 14,500 eggs (yes, 14,500 eggs!) for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
This delightful child-centered event is an annual pleasure that everyone in Washington DC looks forward to - yet few people know how the Easter Egg Roll almost didn’t happen.
America’s beloved very first First Lady Dolley Madison (1808 – 1817) started the tradition of rolling Easter eggs, not at the White House, but on the grounds surrounding the U.S. Capitol Building.
At that time much of Washington DC was either under construction or still a swampy marsh so the elevated grassy area around the Capitol Building was simply the best spot available for a dry egg hunt on the Monday after Easter Sunday.
Indeed, these Easter events proved so popular that pre and post Civil War thousands upon thousands of children and adults marched across the Capitol lawns looking for colored eggs.
By 1876 Congress had had enough of all these laughing children messing up their congressional lawn, not to mention their legislative dignity.
So in one of the nation’s less than child-loving moods, Congress passed the Turf Protection Act, banning all Easter egg rolling, hunting or carrying on the velvet green lawns that surrounded the oh so sartorial Capitol Dome.
But take heart, First Lady Lucy Hayes(also known as “Lemonade Lucy” as she would not serve demon rum or the like at her White House events) had a kinder heart. Sheinvited the local children (yes, one needed to be invited – no more free-for-all as before) to come and celebrate on the White House's even more meticulously manicured lawns. Well done, Lucy!
World Wars and sometimes weather have caused the event to be cancelled or delayed but on the whole it is one of the most delightful annual events any President and First Lady can look forward to.
Over the years a costumed ‘rabbit’ had been added, along with music and healthy treats (thanks the nation’s present first lady, Michelle Obama). Admission tickets are still required but no longer to a chosen special few.
Perhaps that will teach any congressman who longs for the dictatorial powers of the past not to be so hard-hearted about sharing a little of their 'green' with any nation's greatest treasure -the children, the children - always the children.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011
Update on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 8:07PM by
Ana Kinkaid
Chef Jacques Pepin cooks very healthy crepes at White House Easter Egg Roll!
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 2:48PM 
