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.
For true professionals within the Hospitality Industry, there is a long tradition of service with honor and pride that those outside of our profession sometimes do not grasp or understand.
A new film, The Butler, captures that conflict as it tells the fictionalized story of Cecil Gaines, an African American, who eyewitnesses the epic events of the 20th century while serving as a White House butler.
The film is bsed on the true-life story of Eugene Allen, who rose from "pantry man" to the most prestigious White House rank of Maitre d'hotel, to serve eight American Presidents ranging from 1952-1986.
The outstanding script captures the courage and fears of a nation (and the individuals, both famous and little-known) who sought to find (or deny) the meaning of freedom for all.
This is a film, that between heart-breaking poverty and elaborate state dinners, will leave the viewer thinking about the true nature of service, by both the powerful and the humble, to the soul of self and the heart of a nation.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013
Only a few days after Ferran Adria presented plans for his BulliPedia to members of the Hospitality Industry and the waiting press corp at the University of Barcelona, he released this stunning video documenting the concepts for his elBulli Foundation, set to open in early 2015.
To see the future of creative cuisine as envisioned by Ferran and his remarkable staff, take a few moments and view this film in which he lays out his very thoughtful plans for the Center.
All the components included are designed to preserve the original culinary discoveries of the historic elBulli Restaurant, create new culinary concepts, share them with everyone every where and finally, provide a mentoring environment for inquiry and innovation.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013
Producer Philippe Rousselet wants Javier Bardem to play Ferran Adrià in the long-awaited elBulli film. Rousselet told the Hollywood Reporter that the actor is his "obvious first choice."
The film is based on the book The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which chronicles life behind the scenes in the avant-garde elBulli kitchen.
Adrià is involved with the production as "an on-set advisor." He has described the film asThe Social Network meets Ratatouille.
Rousselet is now calling it "The Breakfast Club meets Dead Poets Society meets The Social Network", i.e., less rats, more angst and lots of self-discovery for hard working young chefs.
Should be good - very good! What would your casting choices be?
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013
The crowds gathered in St Peter's Square in Rome were amazing when Vatican officials announced on Monday that the new pope would be, wait for it, an Argentinean.
Yes, that's right, an Argentinean - not an Italian, not even a European! Shock and surprise. So who is this man?
He is Jorge Bergoglio, the very different Cardinal of Buenos Aires. To begin with he speaks Spanish as a first language and is also a trained biologist.
But the differences go far further than that for this ascendant to the throne of Peter. Bergoglio is a Jesuit with a lifelong dedication to the poor and his whole lifestyle, including diet, is an indication of that commitment.
He has for many years lived in, not a palatial palace, but a midsized apartment in downtown Buenos Aires with another elderly priest. There he has cooked his own meals, crafting them from fruits and vegetables purchased at local markets with only an occasionally accent of meat for flavor. (What amazing dietary discipline in the land known for its fabulous and very large stakes).
After dinner he was known to often stroll on the streets of the Capital pausing to talk and listen to the needs, not of the high and the mighty, but of the everyday person. He never hesitated to enjoy what they enjoyed and that included a gourd of yerba mate, Argentina's national drink.
And therein lies a tale for mate is also known throughout South America as "Jesuit Tea". During the 1600s and 1700s the Jesuits established many missions throughout Paraguay and Argentina. In addition to sharing European skills with the local indigenous people, the Jesuits also simultaneously protected them from enslavement by the nearby Portuguese.
While working together, the Jesuits and the free native population were able to cultivate the tea-like wild mate plant. Soon this new-world produce was competing with the English and Dutch marketed tea and producing significant revenue to support the Jesuit missions.
In 1750 all this, however, came to a stop. The Treaty of Madrid, as captured in the film, The Mission, redrew the map of South America to satisfy the wishes of the rich and powerful.
This redistricting forced many of the once free native people under Spanish rule into Portuguese territories and into slavery. The Jesuits protested such an injustice while the native people could only flee back into the jungle and so sense of safety.
Without care, the mate producing farms were soon overgrown and absorbed back into the tangled undergrowth leaving no trace of the renaissance between cultures that might have been.
The new pope is surely aware of this tragic struggle between obedience to authority and unalienable human rights because he has chosen "Francis" ("Francisco" in Italian) as his papal name.
St. Francis himself, as shown in the film, Brothers Sun, Sister Moon, struggled with this same conflict. Born into wealth and comfort, he came to understand that nothing can be rebuilt by exclusion, by indifference.
Like Francis, this new Pope is a man of simplicity, entering a world of marble palaces and rigid hierarchy. He is being called upon to address such vast issues as the ever widening child-abuse scandal and possible money laundering by the Vatican bank as well as the needs of the poor and the demand for universal womens' rights.
Pope Francis has in the past preferred public transportation over riding in a limousine, carried his own luggage, bought his own groceries and even danced the tango when he was younger.
Like St. Francis, he will find himself in need of that humility if he is to decline the seductive trappings of papal gloryand remember the value a gourd of yerba mate drunk with the very people that Christ himself called, "My Brothers and Sisters".
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013
Sometimes in this world of stress, we can all use a little humor - even if it starts at the cutting board. Just remember, as always, the 'right' ingredients make the dish.
Entitled "Fresh Guacamole", this stop-motion film took over four months to create making it is the shortest movie ever submitted to the Academy in the Best Animated Short Film category.
Sadly it didn’t win this year, but it has amassed an amazing 3.5 million hits since being uploaded on the Internet. One can be sure its creator, who goes by the professional name "PES", is smiling and answering his phone with an enthusiastic "Ole!"
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 2:18PM 
