Gender Cupcakes Grow in Popularity as Kate and William Await Baby’s Birth

Currently all of England is involved in waiting for the birth of Britain’s newest prince or princess. 

And while Kate and William may be occupied with getting the nursery ready, England’s bookmakers are taking bets on everything from the baby’s sex to the baby name chosen by the royal couple.

In olden days, to borrow a phrase from Cole Porter, everyone would be wishing for a boy as only a male could ascend the throne to become the future royal ruler.

Thankfully that male-only tradition has faded away and now the first child born, regardless of its sex, can step into the line of royal succession.

But it’s still fun to guess: Will it be a prince or princess? And that has resurrected a charming English culinary tradition not seen since the birth of Diana’s own beloved sons, Princes William and Harry – Gender Cupcakes.

Hidden by frosting inside each cupcake is a sweet insert of pink (it's a girl!) or blue(it's a boy!) frosting.

When mixed and served at afternoon teas and birth wait parties, each guest declares their internal cupcake color and a tally is made. According to tradition, the winning color number will predict the child’s sex.

Truly a charming and very sweet custom – as enduring as Kate and William’s baby is sure to be.. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Try Wearing Fast Food Sweatshirts to Reduce Culinary Work Strain

No one would say work within the Hospitality Industry is without stress or strain. The hours are long and one's everyday pay often does not equal that of the external corporate world. 

Yet the chance to be creative, to travel, to associate with other highly creative people is unique in the business world. But that said, there is always a need to relax, refocus and have a little fun.

Since eating fast food is a no-no stress reducer, why not try wearing some? These original snack food sweatshirts are growing in popularity with in-the-know chefs in Europe.

Why not treat yourself to some real fun food and become a true fashion 'plate'!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

New BBC Series Tells the Story of Selfridge London's Legendary Merchant

Well, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has done it again. This time their winning series is Mr. Selfridge, the story of the rise and fall of Harry Gordon Selfridge, American merchant extraordinaire.

And although Selfridge began his career in Chicago at Marshall Field, it was in London that he won lasting fame as the founder of Selfridges Department Store. Within its elegant walls, he redefined the shopping experience from one of merely purchasing an item into an exciting and singular experience.

He was the first to connect celebrities to in-store product promotion. He created such lasting marketing phrases as “Only XX days left ‘til Christmas” and “The customer is always right”. He blended dining, relaxation and style into a new form of client interaction that still affects our world today.

When a restaurant trains their wait staff to be informative rather than aggressive, they can thank Selfridge for establishing that prescient.  When diners are aware of (and expecting to enjoy) exotic ingredients from around the world, again it was Selfridge who first suggested such items should be offered to shoppers along with the traditionally expected.

Based on Lindy Woodhead’s book, Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge (not excluding, of course, Selfridge’s own text, The Romance of Commerce), the new series traces Selfridge raise to the heights of Edwardian society (complete with his very own castle) to the sadder days of the Great Depression and World War II.

Definitely a must-watch series, Mr. Selfridge offers a glimpse into the mind of a brilliant, yet very human, man whose courage and creativity still inspires us today, right down to the phrase, “How may we serve you?”

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Ferran Wine Collection to Be Going Going Gone at Sotheby's April Auctions

For 50 years the famed Spanish restaurant, elBulli, has collected over 8,000 bottles of legendary wines. 

Now, on April 3th in Hong Kong and later on April 26^th in New York City, Sotheby’s will be auctioning them all off in support of Ferran Adrià’s elBulli Foundation, a center to be opened soon by famous chef in Barcelona to study the creative process both in AND out of the kitchen.

Among the wines offered are three bottles of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti 1990, estimated at $32,500 to $47,500.  The largest selection of wines (more than 2,000 bottles) will be from Spain, featuring important vintages from Pingus, Clos Erasmus and Clos Mogador. Their estimated value ranges from $200,000 to $300,000.

Wine buyers can also look forward to 415 bottles of Rhone from Chateau de Beaucastel, more than 1,400 bottles of red Burgundy, more than 1,000 bottles of white wine and a large collection of all five first-growth Bordeaux vineyards.

But just in case multi-thousand dollars bottles of wine are not in your personal culinary budget, additional elBulli kitchen items will also be on the auction block.

Also available to the top bidder (starting at $1,000) is a white chef’s jacket signed by Ferran as well as a set of knives and signed siphon (both also starting at $1,000).

If these prices seem high, consider the cause that will benefit. The elBulli Foundation is a unique research center focused on creativity.

And as we all know, true creativity is both priceless and, sadly, rare. Bravo Ferran! May the discoveries you find at the Foundation inspire us all!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Easter Dove Shaped Bread Marks a Flaming End to Lent in Florence Italy

No one, but no one, celebrate Easter like the citizens of Florence, Italy.

In a tradition that's centuries old, teams of white oxen, bedecked in flowers (after all, the word Florence literally means the “City of Flowers”) draw a massive and mysterious 30 foot wooden structure, which is over 500 years old, through the cobblestone streets.

This Easter tradition honors Pazzino de’ Pazzi, who in 1097 was the first soldier to scale the walls of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. (Hopefully in more modern times, we will be more mature as citizens of a mutually shared planet and not hurl rocks and stones at each other.) 

But in 1097, Pazzino was climbing the Holy City’s walls and was later given three fire-striking flint stones from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as a reward for his achievement, which considering their source, made them holy relics in the 11^th  century.

Being a citizen of Florence, Pazzino placed the newly acquired relics, on returning to his beloved City State, in the care of the Church, what has honored them ever since on Easter morning.

Then as now, when the tall antique tower reaches the Piazza del Duomo, a Mass Pasqua will have just been completed. With its arrival, the real fun begins in what the Florentines call the Festival of Scoppio del Carro.

A long fuse wire will have been attached from the Duomo's high altar to the elaborate wooden tower outside. A dove, symbolizing the hope for peace and harmony, is then ignited at the altar and, with fire and sparkles, shoots down the length of the Cathedral towards the outside tower.

The flaming dove then flies into the tower, which is affectionately called “the cart” by the Florentines, to the delight of thousands gathered outside. Inside the wooden structure are hidden fireworks, which then ignite and shoot off to the cheers of the citizens, Everyone is grateful that the dietary limitations of the Lenten season are finally over as the flaming dove flies back to the Cathedral altar.

And how do the Florentine citizens celebrate their new freedom to dine without restraints? Why, with a slice of Florence's famed Colomba dove shaped Colomba bread.

And while many might say, this legendary loaf is only vaguely bird-shaped, the Florentines might reply,

"Don't worry. Life, like the flaming dove of the Cathedral, shoots by all too quickly. The outlines of one’s life don't matter all that much - as long as we have the courage to truly savor the elegant contents of both the loaf and life itself!"

Happy Easter! May your life always be full of flavor!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013