Search
Contemporary Terroir
Interesting People

Mitch Bechard, Glenfiddich's Brand Amabassador West, shares the very best. Thank you, thank you!

Lamberto Frescobaldi has been appointed the new President of Marchesi de' Frescobaldi, Tuscany's legendary 700-year old winemaking group. Bravo!

Food Arts just awarded their July/August 2013 Silver Spoon Award to Seattle Chef Tom Douglas for sterling performance. Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Patrick Norquet, the Product Designer Bringing Style to McDonald's French Division 

Sylvia Woods, 1926-2012. Harlem's Queen of Soul Food Who Taught a Whole Nation to Appreciate Its Complete Culinary Heritage

Marion Cunningham, 1922-2012. Inspired Advocate of American Home Cooking, James Beard Colleague, Author and Esteemed Grand Dame d'Escoffier

 La Mancha Wine Ambassador Gregorio Martin-Zarco shares a true Spanish treasure with the world.

Naeem Khan, Style Setting Designer of Michelle Obama's WHCD Dress

Terron Schaefer, Sak's Senior Vice President of Creative Marketing - Co-Creator of The Snowflake and the Bubble 

Pete Wells, the NEW Restaurant Critic for the venerated New York Times - Enjoy the Feast! Ah Bon Appetit!

Garry Trudeau Who Transferred the Faces and Feelings of the 1968 Harvard - Yale Game into the Insightful Doonesbury Commentary Cartoons

Chef Patron Massimo Riccioli of London's Famed Massimo Restaurant and Oyster Bar - Celebrity Perfect 

Carl Warner, Creator of Food Landscapes, a Culinary Terrain Extraordinary

Howard Schiffer, Founder of Vitamin Angels, Giving Healthly Future to Millions of Children

Françoise Branget, French National Assembly Deputy AND editor of La Cuisine de la République, Cuisinez avec vos députés! (or The Cuisine of the Republic: Cook With Your Deputies!)

Professor Hanshan Dong, Developer of the New Antibacterial Stainless Steel - No More Kitchen Germs!

Frieda Caplan, Founder of Frieda's - Innovative Vendor Who Introduced New & Rare Produce to U.S. Well Done Frieda!

Adam D. Tihany, International Famed Hotel & Restaurant Designer To Be New CIA Art Director - FANTASTIC CHOICE!

George Lang, Founder of New York's Trend-Setting Café des Artistes sadly Passed Away Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Rest in Peace.  A Great Gentleman. 

Chef Pasquale Vari of ITHQ - Canada

Nach Waxman, Owner of the Legendary Kitchen Arts & Letters Culinary Bookstore, NYC

Chef Roberto Santibanez, Noted Master of the True Mexican Cuisine - Both Historic and Modern 

Jeremy Goring, the Fourth Goring to Direct the Legendary Goring Hotel, London

Elena Arzak, Master Chef of Arzak, Basque Restaurant in Spain

Yula Zubritsky, Photographer to the Culinary Greats including Chef Anne-Sophie Pic

Adam Rapoport, New Editor in Chief of Bon Appetit

Christine Muhlke, New Executive Editor of Bon Appetit, which recently relocated to New York City

Darren McGrady, Private Chef to the Beloved Princess Diana 

Master French Chef Paul Locuse, Esteemed Founder of the Bocuse d'Or Culinary Championship

Graydon Carter, Editor Extraordinaire and Host of the Most Elite of Post Oscar Parties, The Vanity Fair Gala

Cheryl Cecchetto, Event Designer for Oscar Governor's Ball 2011

Antonio Galloni, the New California Wine Reviewer at Wine Advocate

Tim Walker, Moet & Chandon's New Photographer Extraordinaire

John R. Hanny, White House Food Writer 

Nancy Verde Barr, Friend and Colleague of Julia Child

David Tanis, Co-Chef of Chez Panisse and Paris

Colman AndrewsAuthor of Ferran

Special Finds

Thanks to the IceBag, your Champagne will now always be chilled. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!

Canada's Crystal Head Vodka, 2011 Double Gold Winner at San Francisco World Spirits Competition - Though Halloween Perfect It's So Much More Than a Pretty Bottle: Fastastic Taste 

Post It Paper Watchbands - How to Remember Anything in Unforgettable Style

     
Kai Young Coconut Shochu - Stunning New Rice 'Vodka' from Vietnam, the Full Flavor of a Coconut in a Bottle!

Mandarian Hotel Group Now Offers Diners the Newest Cyber Currency - Worldwide E-Gift Cards

Qkies Cookies Makes QR Codes So Sweet

Air France Brings Art Aloft with New Menu Covers

Moet's Ice Imperial Champagne, a New Summer Favorite at Cannes Film Fetival Designed to Serve on Ice! 


P8tch, Customized Cloth URL patches - Perfect for Website ID Link on a Chef's Knife Roll

Dexter's New Knife Shape, the DuoGlide - An Innovative Design that More Than Makes the Cut & Then Some!

Spring Cupcakes, Perfect for Easter and Beyond, Thanks to Jelly Beans

Chocolates as Stunning as Rare Jewels from Promise Me Chocolate: Great for Mardi Gras or Elegant Weddings

Microplane's Fantastic New Hard Cheese Mill Exclusively from Williams-Sonoma

Be Enchanted by Red Italian Rosa Regale Sparkling Wine, Perfect with Chocolate for a Rose Themed Wedding

Moet & Chandon, the Official Champagne of the Oscars

Hu2 Design,  Art Stickers for the Kitchen 

Dry Fly Vodka of Washington State

New Portability with the Collapsible X-Grill by Picnic Basket

Before there was Champagne, there was Saint-Hilaire, the original sparkling wine

Chilean Winers to Remind Us All of True Courage

Monk's Head or Tete de Moine Cheese Slicer by Boska

The Amazing Smoking Gun by Poly Science

Maytag - Great Blue Cheese

Bookshelf

Ukutya Kwasekhaya - Tastes from Nelson Mandela's Kitchen is more than a just a book of recipes. Each dish tells one part of the 20 year journey the Mandela Family's cook traveled on South Africa's path to freedom.

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.

Seven Fires by Argentine Grill Master Francis Mallmann is a must have book as all things Latin are set to become a major culinary trend.

Food Landscapes by Carl Warner, London's Amazing Commercial Food Photographer (and yes, there is a 2012 Image Calendar for your wall - Happy New Year!)

Trading Up by Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske, a Must Read for All Who Market Luxury

Las Cocinas del Camino de Santiago de Compostela Captures the Essence of this Great Spanish Journey of Discovery

La Cuisine de la République, Cuisinez avec vos députés! (The Cuisine of the Republic: Cook With Your Deputies!) by Françoise Branget

Toast by English Food Writer Nigel Slater

Dinner at Buckingham Palace by Charles Oliver, Royal Household Servant

Tihany Design by Adam D. Tihany and Paul Goldberger - Truly Inspiring!

Hollywood Cocktails by Tobias & Ben Reed

The Art of the Chocolatier by Master Chef Ewald Notter, National Pastry Team Champion

The Stork Club Bar Book by bon vivant and culinary critic Lucius Beebe

Les Gouttes de Dieu, French Edition

Great Places

Entries in Academy Awards (5)

Tuesday
Feb262013

Fresh Guacamole Film Will Make You Laugh

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

Friday
Feb222013

Hollywood, Brownies and the Oscars

Soon the bright spotlights of Hollywood will shine high in the sky and the red carpet will be rolled out below. Cinematic star after star will walk that carpet and then take their seat, hoping that the T.V. cameras will focus on them as the announcer calls their name to come and claim a coveted Oscar.

Yet there are stars who have not sought the limelight or the Award. Some actors, such as Marlon Brando, have even chosen not to attend the Academy Ceremonies to avoid having to accept their award in person.

Another such ceremony-shy celebrity was Katharine (or Kate) Hepburn.  Born into a socially aware New England family, she was not an actress who needed to be discovered, hopefully drinking sodas at Schwab's Drug Store lunch counter.

For you see, her mother, also named Katharine, was a strong willed feminist and a national known suffragist. Along with Margaret Sanger, she co-founded the organization that would become Planned Parenthood.

Her efforts were matched by her husband, Thomas Hepburn, who as a doctor also fought for the right of women to obtain safe and complete health care.

This was not, as you might guess, a household that produced passive Victorian daughters (or actresses). At every meal the six Hepburn children were encouraged by their parents to speak freely and debate any topic of interest. And while current events and individual sporting activities were often the subjects of dinner discussions, there was one topic and dessert that was enjoyed by all – brownies.

But not just any brownies - the brownies of Bertha Palmer, owner of Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel and female extra ordinary.

Like the senior Katharine, Bertha was an early advocate of women’s rights – both in the doctor’s office and at the ballot box. Her active support was vital to the success of the Women’s Building at the Columbian Exposition, right down the boxed lunches served there. 

Palmer knew, as many of the early American feminists did, that mutual conversation and supportive fellowship was critical to the success of a national suffrage movement. If the women gathered at the Fair’s Pavilion could be prompted to linger over luncheon, common ground through conversation could be found.

But how? What better than a great new dessert – one too good to put down (but not too messy to enjoy). And that was the task that Bertha Palmer set for her skilled pastry chefs at the Palmer House.

Their resulting creation was the brownie (see recipe below).  It was that same brownie that Kate’s mother served proudly to her progressive family, along with the story of its origin and purpose. These were the same brownies that Kate would later make for Hollywood friends as she passionately explained why talent and truth matters so much more than mere money or annual awards.

Let’s hope the Academy remembers this culinary lesson wrapped in sweet chocolate as they honor those who stand in the bright lights of fame brownies on rich red carpets beneath California's starry skies.

PALMER HOUSE BROWNIES (With Many Thanks to Feminism and Hollywood)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb 2 oz Semisweet Chocolate
  • 1 lb Butter
  • 1lb 8oz Granulated Sugar
  • 8 oz Cake Flour (King Arthur)
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 4 Whole Eggs
  • 1 lb Crushed Walnuts
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Apricot Preserves
  • 1 tsp Unflavored Gelatin

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. In a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter.
  3. Mix sugar, flour and baking powder in separate mixing bowl,
  4. Add chocolate butter mixture and mix for 4-5 minutes.
  5. Add eggs.
  6. Pour onto 9-inch by 12-inch baking sheet.
  7. Sprinkle walnuts on top of batter and press down slightly into mixture.
  8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until batter has risen ¼ inch and the edges are crisp.
  9. Remove and cool for 30 minutes.
  10. In a saucepan, heat and bring to a boil for 2 minutes the water, apricot preserves and gelatin.
  11. Brush apricot glaze over cooled brownies with pastry brush.

Enjoy!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Thursday
Feb212013

Oscar Movies Made in Hotels

Lights, Cameras – HOTELS!

Sunday is Oscars Night and that means nearly endless movie clips, past and present, will be shown. Captured in many of those clips will be some of the world’s greatest hotels. Here are just a few of the locations that helped to make these fine films Oscar winners:  

PARK HYATT TOKYO - Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppola won the Oscar for Best Writing of an Original Screenplay in 2003 in this her second film. Talk about talent! Also much talked about was the bar's stunning view from the 52nd floor high above Japan's capital.

Featured Cuisine

*************

LA MAMOUNIA MARRAKECH - The Man Who Knew Too Much

Alfred Hitchcock starred Doris Day and James Stewart as an American couple caught up in mystery and intrigue in 1956 in Morocco. The film was awarded an Oscar for Best Song when Doris sang Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) in one of the Hotel's elegant suites. Later the song became her happy-go-lucky musical T.V. theme.

Featured Cuisine

*************

FONTAINEBLEAU MIAMI BEACH - Goldfinger

Who can forget a young Sean Connery as a handsome and very buff James Bond sunning by the pool. And where was that stunning pool located? Why, at the Fontainebleau, of course, where no special effects were (and are) ever needed. Despite that fact, the film did go on to win the 1965 Oscar for Special Effects.

Featured Cuisine

*************

GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL - Almost Famous

When William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit) goes on assignment after rock-and-roll's famous for the Rolling Stone Magazine, he encounters not only the rich, the talent and the strange, he also discovers the bohemian hotel that was the New York City home to stars (and near stars) of 1970s. Kate Hudson won her 2001 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in this near documentary film.

Featured Cuisine

*************

BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL - California Suite

Maggie Smith (who we have all come to love yet again as the reserved Lady Violet in BBC's Downton Abbey series) won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in this 1978 film as an over-the-hill actress who simply had to see-and-be-seen at this famed Hollywood Hotel.

Featured Cuisine

*************

HOTEL DEL CORONADO - Some Like It Hot

Located on a stunning California beach, this 1959 film is a visual delight as well as a hallmark comedy about romance American style. Equally stunning are Orry-Kelly's costumes for which he won an Oscar. One can only wonder, however, had Marilyn Monroe not been wearing them to, umm, 'their best advantage', would the designer have won his award quite so easily.

Featured Cuisine

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2013

Saturday
Feb252012

Discover Hollywood's Favorite Foods and Champagne Cocktail at the 2012 Governors Oscar Ball

 

Sunday, February 26th is Oscar Night in Hollywood this year. And while the stars and artists of all things cinema will be watching the award ceremony at the L.A.’s Kodak Theater, chefs and event designers around the world will be analyzing the cuisine and décor at the offical post-gala Governors Ball.

Once again Cheryl Cecchetto will produce the must-be-at event with Wolfgang Puck overseeing the cuisine along with pastry chef Sherry Yard. This is the 18th year that Chef Wolfgang has directed his Spago staff to cheer the winners and comfort the losers, all with his hallmark flare and creativity.

And this year is no different with some exciting changes in store. Unlike past evenings, this year’s event is no longer a formal sit-down dinner. Surprise-surprise. There will also be no buffet tables or long lines straining to grab a bite from crowded tables. Even bigger surprise.

Instead 550 pieces of customized furniture will be brought in to create a dazzling lounge, created with a welcoming open floor plan that will surely say ‘You can NOW relax and have some fun” to all with that sought after invitation card as all the food will be directly tray-offered to the lucky guests.

Yet soft suede, red roses, sparkling crystals and purple drapes still mark the event as one with classic Hollywood glamour.

And then there will be the food as only Tinsel Town can do it – 1450 pounds of Maine lobster for petit tacos for starters and finally dessert mouse served in golden hued eggs. Ah Hollywood!

But what’s a party without a cocktail – the Governors Ball has always had its very own signature one, thanks to the very elegant champagne of Moet & Chandon. So without further delay, card please – recipe card, that is…Enjoy!  

RED CARPET GLAMOUR COCKTAIL 

  • Fill a chilled champagne flute ½ way with ice.
  • Stir 1 ounce of fresh-squeezed sour mix (see below) and Hum Botanical Spirit with fresh ice.
  • Strain into flute to fill ½ way.
  • Top with Moët & Chandon Imperial.
  • Garnish with a single rose petal.
  • Continually refresh as needed with champagne.

Sour Mix: Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until sugar is completely dissolved. Add 1 cup fresh lime juice and 1 cup fresh lemon juice and refrigerate.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012 

Friday
Dec162011

Glenn Close Shines in New Hotel Movie Albert Nobbs

Movies about service within the hospitality industry are few and far between, especially ones that portray the history and heritage of style that still hallmarks all legendary hotels to this day.

And while so many of us in the industry can laugh with understanding while watching the very funny Fawlty Towers, we still might long for a more serious presentation of what service can require.

Now, thanks to the fabulous actress Glenn Close, we can in the new film Albert Nobbs.

Based on a short story by George Moore, we follow the life Albert Nobbs, who is a butler at the Morrison Hotel in 1890’s Dublin, Ireland. But Mr. Nobbs has a secret – he is actually a she.

No, this is not a film about gender preference but rather about the decision to hide and survive for only as a man could “Mr Nobbs” obtain a living wage in conservative Victorian Ireland.

Yet as the years pass Mr. Nobbs serves others so perfectly that “he” almost forgets his/her feelings within and the precious dreams beyond the day-to-day of "may we serve you?".

And who among us with the industry, especially during the rush (and crush) of the holiday season does not know that feeling of so much for others, often so little for ourselves, as we endlessly smile and serve?

This is an outstanding movie – beautiful to watch, touching to see.  It is well worth the viewing and one that the Oscars should acknowledge for Glenn Close captures in a single steady glance the true heart (and price) of service served then and still today.

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011