Meet the Contributing Editor of Glam Dish

It's me! I am the contributing editor of the newly launched Glam Dish blog! I'm posting 4 days a week, so I hope you will check it out from time to time and say "hi." I'm doing my best to keep my head above water so hang with me until I adjust to the workload.

My first post is all about bollito misto in the form or an interview with Peter McNee, the chef at Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito. I've also included some links so you can make it at home, if you like.

You'll notice I've snuck another button over on the left hand column to make it easy to get to my posts. Without it even I would have a hard time keeping up!

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my round up of whole grain cookbooks.

Do Not Read This If You Are Vegatarian

A debate has been raging in my own head for a couple of years now as to what is the best type of meat out there. There are as you would imagine three main contenders....lamb, pork and beef and even though there are plenty of other fantastic meats out there like game, poultry and venison they don't have the range of possibilities that the big 3 have! This is by no means the definitive answer on the subject as I am still in some doubt myself and my personal favourite changes weekly however after lunch today I have settled on Pork as my favourite meat at least until my next great meal and my fickle mind has been dragged off in another direction again.

I had a very simple bacon and cabbage roast lunch in a local pub today that got my mind racing on the whole subject again. Sure you can have a great steak or slow cooked oxtail, a great Irish stew or tasty lamb kebabs but I got thinking about the number of options there are with pork and it is quite literally staggering....A simple bacon buttie(sandwich for those not familiar with this), roast pork with lovely crispy crackling, black and white pudding, 1000s of varieties of sausages worldwide, Ham and pea soup, stuffed pork tenderloin, crispy pancetta, proscuitto, BBQ ribs, glazed ham, Pork ramen noodles and i could literally go on with this list from now until 2010 but I am sure you are getting the message. I think I am about as close as I possibly could be right now to agreeing in my own head that Pork is the finest meat, although I am going for a burger with friends tonight so that might all change.

World in a Teacup: Tracing the Global Journey of Tea

The Hearst Museum of Anthropology is hosting a special event exploring the trajectory of tea in its many forms: from ancient origins in Asia, through its spread to Britain, India and the rest of the world, to contemporary manufacture and its modern role in popular culture.

Experts will discuss the history and trends of production, preparation, consumption and retailing of tea and related goods. Attendees will then enjoy opportunities to sample tea and other products from select Bay Area purveyors.

I've already bought tickets for this event! Hope to see you there.

Amy

DATE/TIME:
Saturday, March 1
1-3:30 Speaker presentations and discussion
3:30-5 Vendor event/sampling

LOCATION:
The Bancroft Hotel
2680 Bancroft Way at College
Berkeley, CA, 94704
hotel web site

COST & REGISTRATION:
Tickets are $20.00 general admission; $18.00 for museum members, UC Berkeley
faculty, staff, and students.

MORE INFO:
website

email
Phone: 510-643-7649 Contact: Akiko Minaga

Each ticket includes:
- admission to the program
- admission to the vendor event with sampling
- a special gift bag with samples to take home

Space for the event is limited and tickets are available on a first come first served basis. Purchase by:
* Credit Card by phone 510-643-7649
* Check made out to UC Regents mailed to PAHMA, UC Berkeley, 103 Kroeber
Hall, MC #3712, Berkeley, CA 94720-3712
* Cash at The Museum Store, Kroeber Hall

The panel discussion will take place at the Bancroft Hotel, located at
2680 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, and the vendor event will take
place at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, locatesd across the
street. (College and Bancroft)

Speakers:
Eliot Jordan, Director of Tea, Peet's Coffee and Tea
Erika Rappaport, UC Santa Barbara (British tea/history)
Winnie Yu, Tea Buyer and owner of Teance
Gregory Levine, UC Berkeley (Japanese, Zen and Buddhist Art)

There will also be a panel discussion moderated by Curator, Ira Jacknis.

Here is a sampling from our current vendor list:
L'Amyx
Peet's
Teance
Charles Chocolate

World's Best Food Country (2nd Place)

2nd Place France

5th Place, South Africa
4th Place, Spain
3rd Place, America

I don't think there was ever a doubt that France would make it into this list but the fact that the strong favourite has been beaten into second place is a real turn up for the books.
When you think of good food France is probably one of the first countries that springs to mind and if it were not for the quality of our winner France would certainly have taken home the honours! I could go on about the reasons why France didn't win but I personally think there is more value on focusing on it's merits and with an entry of this quality there are no shortage of those!I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in France and it is clearly evident that the people live for their food. What i love the most is their culture of food and their respect for the value of the local artisan producers. In a world that seems to be obsessed with bigger and cheaper supermarkets and with bulk buying it takes a stubborn group of people to ignore the lure of the cheap quick fix but the French seem to be fighting their corner well! Don't get me wrong, you will still find plenty of big supermarkets in France including Carrefour, one of the world's biggest but the French would never allow their small local food suppliers to be treated as they are elsewhere in the world. This passion for food manifests itself all the way through the supply chain and I can say with some confidence that French produce on a whole is the best I have ever seen. Chefs (and France has the best standard of these in the world) can only be as good as the produce you give them and in Frane they have the best selection of truffles, fois gras, chicken, game, vegetables, seafood, cheeses, breads and every other kind of ingredient you care to name.

What I love the most about france is that it really doesn't matter if you are in a local bistro or a 3 star michelin restaurant, you will be guarenteed to be served great food at a modest price. Top that all off with some of the world's best wine and a surly french waiter and what more could you possibly ask for!

Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I didnt write a post about Valentines day on the day as that is what every man and their dog seems to do. My logic on the situation is that you should treat your better half with food and surprises all year round instead of when the marketing people deem it right! You could shower people with presents, take them on holidays or splash lots of cash on them but I have never seen people happier than when they receive food unexpectadly as a gift. Think of a surprise meal somebody has cooked for you, a home made birthday cake, friends cooking you a BBQ or a surprise breakfast in bed and they are all bring back fantastic memories. Food has a way of bringing people together and most of our fondest memories will involve some form of edible treat! I am going to put what I preach into practice this week and make these brownies and share them around friends. I learnt this recipe from an American family who came onboard one of the botas I worked on. They are completly and utterly delicious and couldn't really be any easier to make! The recipe is below and for those of you who struggle with cooking the video demo is here.

Chocolate Brownies

* 340g Unsalted Butter
* 340g Bitter Sweet Chocolate
* 175g All Purpose or Cake Flour
* 140g Coco Powder
* 600g Sugar
* Salt
* 6 Eggs


Step by step



1. Set up a bain marie or double boiler (a bowl over a small pot of simmering water);

2. Keeping it on a very low heat add the butter and chocolate to the bowl;

3. In a separate glass bowl sift the flour together with the cocoa powder;

4. Pour the melted chocolate and butter into a large glass bowl as soon as it has melted;

5. Grease an oven dish with a little bit of melted butter using a pastry brush and then sprinkle with a liberal dusting of flour;

6. Add the eggs in one at a time to the chocolate mixture while continuing to whisk constantly;

7. Combine the dry ingredients with the chocolate mixture and fold them together using a spatula;

8. When the mixture is smooth and velvety fold the sugar and a pinch of salt into the mixture;

9. Pour the mixture into the greased oven dish and use a spatula to spread it around the tray evenly;

10. Bake the brownies in the oven for 40 minutes at 180C/360F;

11. Remove the brownies from the oven and place the dish on a wire rack to help cool them down;

12. Make sure they are cooked by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer, if it comes out clean without any wet mixture they are cooked;

13. When the brownies cool down flip them out of the tray and portion them up making sure to serve with a glass of milk.

Damian Foxall Round the World

Watching Damian Foxall the heroic round the world Irish sailor tonight on the Late Late show made me think of my career sailing the oceans. When I say that I sailed the oceans it is technically true, I did sail across the atlantic and pacific a couple of times but I was lucky enough to do it in the comfort of one of the finest boats ever to be made, the 100 metre Tatoosh. For those of you who dont know I worked for Billionaires for a few years as a personal chef but that is a whole different story.

What annoys me so much is that in this modern modern day world of celebrity culture any old randomer who lives in a house for 12 weeks or happens to be a good gardener is propelled to ridiculous heights whereas people with real talents and huge courage like Damian are not given the respect they deserve. Let me tell you something...Sitting in the middle of the ocean on any sort of boat, yet alone a a 60 foot flimsy craft as sailed by Damian is very very fucking scary! The nearest land mass can be 1000s of miles away, the waves crashing over the boat and you are feeling as sick as a dog, you are literally totally and utterly alone! Well Damian was in that situation whereas I was in a similar situation but had the luxury of 6 engineers to fix any mechanical issues, Facebook access via internet, 3 chefs, a cinema, beer and a double bed. It is very hard to explain just how hard it is sail under the situations that Damian Foxall faced day in day out and most people will never understand what it is like (it can best be discribed as going to work tomorrow, staying there for 3 months, getting drenched every 5 minutes, getting very cold, going to the gym every 3 hours, sleeping very little, eating hydrated food, feeling like you have the flu constantly, non stop concentration, not seeing another person, missing your loved ones and not having a change of underwear)so that is why this man needs to be rewarded beyond the 15 minutesd of fame his achievements will receive.

I would love it if our culture changed and we could reward people like Damian Foxall as they should be rather than making huge stars out of peoople who have no evident ability and whose only talent is not wearing underwear on a night out!

Kona kampachi Ceviche: Recipe

I know, it's February and I ought to be singing the praises of cabbage and turnips but frankly I'm not in the mood. The sun is shining, the weather is warm and I feel like celebrating with something tropical and refreshing. I need a break from Winter. Right now. And ceviche is just the ticket.

Knowing that the ocean's resources are rapidly being depleted, we should all be concerned with the sustainability of our seafood. The problem with seafood harvested in the wild is that it has the potential to drop below sustainable levels. You probably know what has happened to cod populations and tuna may not be far behind. Also in some instances the pollution and chemical levels in wild fish is not very healthy. On the other hand some farmed seafood practices can lead to pollution and disease which can harm wild populations. There is no hard and fast rule. In some instances we should buy wild, in other instances farmed seafood.

Kona Blue, the company that produces Kona kampachi was founded by two marine biologists who wanted to find a way to raise fish that would be healthy for the the ocean, the fish and for human consumption. For me, tilapia is mealy and bland though inexpensive and sustainable. While Kona kampachi is relatively expensive, it's worth every penny. Similar to a type of Jack or Kahala, it's high in healthy fat, has fantastic moist firm texture and luscious flavor. While it is not local, the company is looking into different locations around the world to minimize shipping distances and lower cost.They are also working to help establish organic standards for farmed seafood.

I've had the chance to try this fish cooked and raw and while it's good cooked, it's just amazing raw. I hesitate to give a recipe for ceviche because you really should make it to taste. This is how I make it, but by all means, add, subtract, experiment and make something yummy. I tried it with red chile flake, with yuzu kosho and with a combination of both and it was delicious every which way. Chilling the fish to make it easy to dice.

Kona kampachi Ceviche
makes 2 cups

1 cup Kona kampachi, diced (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup corn, cooked (fresh or good quality canned or frozen)
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (or more to taste)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used a blood orange olive oil for more flavor)
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes, fresh chile, yuzu kosho or combination.

Gently combine all the ingredients and allow the fish to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

10,000 Euros coming our way?

One of the first things a business needs is a good business plan and we drew ours up when we launched last summer. We always knew that we would have to follow it to the letter if we wanted to be a success and now it turns out that the business plan itself could be bringing in a nice wad of cash! We are down to the last 3 in the prestigious Bolton Trust award that is taking place this Thursday infront of Venture capitalists, assembled media and business leaders. I had to do a photoshoot for the awards this morning which sadly meant I had to put my list of best food countires on hold for a couple of days! The good news is that we could win 10,000 but the bad news is that I have to make the presentation infront of 100 people! I'll be nervous but there could be one hell of a party Thursday night!

World's Best Food Country (3rd Place)

3rd Place
America

This is a selection that I know before writing is going to cause a lot of debate especially from people who have not travelled to the USA before! America is one of the most stereotyped countries in the world and that doesn't change when it comes to food with most people probably thinking about burgers, chips and hot dogs as they read this! The reality I am happy to report is totally different with some of the world's best food coming from the states these days. Yes you will find burger joints and junk food easily but you will also find these in the other countries on the list. America is like a huge melting pot of cultures and what that produces is some of the most unique and diverse culinary treats that you are ever likly to find.

Forget the burgers! When i think of America I think of the great diversity of New York and it's 1000s of restaurants, or the clean and vibrant cooking happening in Los Angles, or the rich and souful food of the south, or quality Tex Mex at it's best, or the trendy food in Miami etc etc. See America is like 10 countries rolled into one with lots of different flavours mingling together to create a huge variety and choice of dishes. If you add to that mix some of the world's best produced ingredients along with some very highly trained chefs you have the perfect mix for a country to make it in at number 3 on this list! I just know a lot of people are going to disagree with this and have a preconcieved idea of American food all being served in Hooters but I also know that the people who are thinking that are the people probably have never been to the country to sample it's delights!

Food Network Slip up

I remember being in the states watching this live and I still think it is one of the funniest freudian slips I have ever seen on TV! The best part is that she just tries to keep a straight face and play it off! Priceless!

World's Best Food Country (4th Place)

4th Place

Spain

See 5th Placed country here

We are starting to get into the front runners now and this is one that could have featured higher but with the level of competition in this contest 4th is not a bad achievement. One of the main factors in choosing the ranking of the countries in this exclusive list is the amount of original dishes and ingredients the individual country has contributed over the years and Spain has certainly shone in that category! Wheter you are talking about chorizo, paella, tapas or saffron there is no doubt that the Spanish know what they are about when it comes to food!
Wheter you are enjoying late night tapas in "Las Ramblas" in Barcelona or deep in the basque country eating a hearty bean stew there is such a depth and variety to Spanish cooking that is just not apparent in other countries. The sort of food that is created in Spain doesn't just come about from a new recipe but instead has grown, been refined and matured over the centuries and the result is a country that is forging ahead in the culinary stakes. Not only do they have what is probably regaded as the world's best restuarant in El Bulli but what appeals to me even more is the wide range of cheap streetside cafe and tapas bars the stretch the length and bredth of the country. God writing this is making me crave for a cold beer and a few plates of tapas!

Favorite things: Brut Rosé

Chatting with winemaker Eileen Crane is almost as delightful as a glass of sparkling wine. In fact, Eileen is a bit like the sparkling wine she makes--bright, sophisticated, elegant but completely unpretentious and fits in just about anywhere. She's a great person to talk to about wine, because she's been making it at European style wineries in California for ages. She's been a winemaker at noted sparkling wine producers Gloria Ferrer and Domaine Chandon, in addition to Domaine Carneros in Napa Valley, where she's been for the last twenty years.

I talked to Eileen because I wanted to get to the bottom of why I am so crazy about sparkling rosé, especially brut rosé. Now as we are heading in to Valentine's Day it seems like the perfect bubbly, but actually, it's the perfect bubbly all the time, as far as I'm concerned. Sure it has a festive color, and a rarity about it, but there are so many more reasons to love it.

Perhaps most importantly, we talked about brut rosé being one of the of the more versatile wines around. Even Julia Child noted, "Rosés can be served with anything." Hamburgers? Seafood? Salad? Pork? Barbecue? Charcuterie? Turkey? Indian food? Pizza? Yes! In fact, it has become one of my favorite picks to go with a multi course tasting menu because there is hardly anything it doesn't complement. Eileen blends Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the color comes from Pinot, and it's the Pinot that gives sparkling rosé some backbone.

Just because it's pink, doesn't mean it's sweet, brut still means dry. The brut rosé from Domaine Carneros is particularly crisp and almost lemony with some just a hint of strawberry and melon or peach. Called Cuvée de la Pompadour, it's namesake is Madame de Pompadour who introduced Champagne to the court of King Louis XV and was known for her artistic eye and her seductive ways. It used to be available only at the winery, but now it has much wider distribution and sells for about $36 a bottle.

Eileen told me she opens a bottle of it and keeps it in the refrigerator. If it's sealed properly with a good champagne stopper, it actually holds its flavor better than many other wines, not to mention the bubbles. At 12% alcohol it is also an easier drinking wine that I can enjoy a splash more of, something I can't say about too many wines these days.

When it comes to lesser sparkling wines, Eileen recommends making cocktails out of them and I couldn't agree more. Any berry or fruit flavored simple syrup will turn bubbly into a blushing refresher. But if you find a brut rosé you like, I suggest you enjoy how special it is without any adulteration. And by all means, don't just drink it on Valentine's Day!

Irish Event Company Launched

Ireland's premium event company has just been launched called minted and guess who set it up? Yes us! What is minted.ie? It high end event company that is going to bring all the glitz and glamour of places like St Tropez, Miami and Monaco right to your doorstep here in Ireland! We will be throwing the biggest and most decadent parties whilst organising fairytale weddings and spectacular launch events! So check out the menus on the website, tell your friends and shout it from the rooftops; The party is starting right now in Ireland with minted.ie!

World's Best Food Country

5th Place
South Africa

I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world tasting amazing food and am often asked what the best I have ever tasted is so the only way to answer is to list the top 5 based on flavour, consistancy and local produce. This will run over the next few days with the big winner being announced on Friday!

This might come as surprise to a lot of people as this country is probably better known for it's wine than it's culinary ability but believe me for those of you who havn't been lucky wnough to visit this gem of a country yet there is a beautiful range of gastronomic treats awaiting you if you do make it there! The country not only has huge Oceans surrounding it packed with incredible fish but has vast acres of incredibly fertile land that is not only perfect for growing wine but also everything thing from osterich to warthog! I must say that the cuisine does lean towards meat quite heavily but there are always plenty of seafood options.


The other best thing about SA is that it is like a huge melting pot of cultures with African food sitting alongside the best of Indian, Chinese and Western cooking. What has happened over the years is that there is natural fusion cooking that has developped rather than just some random chef throwing wasabi on parsnips and calling it fusion! The fusion element actually works really well here to the extent that some of the best curries I have ever had were in Durban and I think it must have a lot to do with the quality of ingredients the chefs are workig with.

The best thing about SA is that it is a country well and truly on the rise from a culinary perspective as they have had bigger battles to fight over the last century. Now that there are a new crop of chefs coming through and torism is booming the quality will only rise along with their ranking on this list in the future.

See Position 4 tomorrow!

The World's Smallest Restaurant

I was in a bar in Dublin a week ago that is the "city's smallest bar" which got me thinking about the world's smallest restaurant and with valentine's day fast approaching I think i might have just found the perfect romantic getaway. Turns out that it is a quaint little place just outside Pisa in Italy with one table called "Solo per Due" or "only for two" in English. Now it would appear that the gentleman who runs this place has elected to keep the seating arrangements as they are either because he wants to keep an incredibly high level of service or just that he is plain lazy! Space is certainly not an issue as the "restaurant" is situated in an old 19th century building with lush gardens and ample room to squeeze at least another 12 tables in!
There is one major drawback and to be totally honest it is one that I expected from an establishment so small and that is the price! A meal for 2 and I would assume this is the sort of place where you would need a date rather than sitting there listening to yourself breath will set you back a whopping 500 Euros! I suppose it is pretty unique and you are never gooing to have to worry about other diners, getting rushed out for the 9 o'clock sitting or the waiter confusing your green slad for a bloody steak but 500 Euros would be a lot to pay in a fine Michelin starred restaurant never mind trekking up the hills to sit in Marco's living room and have him grinning at you like that!

Plastic Bag Tax

Nothing annoys me more than the sight of people loading 20 plastic bags into the back of their SUVs as they carry out their weekly shopping! I am lucky enough to live in a country where we have a forward thinking government who several years ago introduced a 22 cent environmental tax on plastic bags which has cut their use by 94%. If you take into account that the UK alone use 10 BILLION consumer shopping bags and that they take on average 500 years to decompose in landfill sites you see the scale of the problem that we are up against!
So if the model in Ireland is so successful and drastically cuts the consumption of these horrible bags why has it not been embraced in other countries sooner? Are the big corporations lobbying to keep them? I am no politician but it’s not hard to see that cutting use by 94%, raising additional money in tax whilst changing the mentality of the consumer all in one fell swoop has to be a very good thing! These bags are causing immense harm to the environment and it needs to get to the stage where it is a social stigma akin to wearing fur to be seen carrying a shopping bag and the best way to change people’s habits as usual is to hit them in the pocket!

5 Year old rapper! Brilliant!

This is totally unrelated to food but incredible! I have never seen anything as funny in my life! Brilliant!

Meet Alice Medrich at Charles Chocolates

Photo ©Abigail Huller

Just in time for Valetine's Day! The Alice Medrich event at Charles Chocolates has been rescheduled. Meet Alice Medrich and perhaps do a little holiday shopping at a favorite local chocolate shop.

Charles Chocolates has a lovely Valentine's Day collection including very traditional heart shaped boxes, but my pick would be this heart decorated edible box filled with passion fruit, raspberry and mojito chocolate hearts, eight of each flavor. Fresh, delicious and unique.



Alice Medrich will be signing her latest book, Pure Dessert, which was one of my favorite books of 2007. Hear her experiences working with chocolate and try some locally made chocolate confections.

A visit to the Charles Chocolates retail shop is always a treat, it's attached to the chocolate factory where you can see practically everything that goes into creating chocolates. Proprietor Chuck Siegel like Alice Medrich, is a chocolate innovator, creating beautiful confections and reinterpreting classic and new chocolate combinations.

I hope you'll join me at Charles Chocolate for this free event with Alice Medrich, please RSVP here, to guarantee admission.

Tuesday, February 12th, 6-8pm

Charles Chocolates Chocolate Bar
6529 Hollis St.
Emeryville, CA

for a map, click here

Marco Pierre White Interview

Ask any household cook who their favourite chef is and the same old names will pop up; Jamie, Gordon etc etc but ask professional chefs and one of the names you will hear most often is Marco Pierre White. Some readers will remember him from the recent series of Hell's Kitchen but to be honest that is best forgotten as his best work was done where it should be by all chefs and that is behind the stove. He achieved his career zenith at 33 by being awarded 3 prestigious Michelin stars. However it wasn't just the Michelin guide who were taking notice but also the whole generation of budding chefs (including myself) who had found a new hero! His book white heat is widly regarded as one of the greatest cooking books ever written and so far removed from the glossy mass produced examples that abound these days. If you love food and consider youself a foodie I stronly urge you to buy it and drool in awe at some of his creations. The following video is long at 44 minutes but it gives an excellent and in depth insight into the mind of a true culinary genius. If you grew up with Marco as your hero you will thoroughly enjoy this.

Google Chefs Rock!

I have a hunch why Google have become one of the biggest companies in the world in the blink of an eye and it doesn't just have to do with the incredibly effective technology they provide us all with for free. It's the age old adage that if you look after your staff they will look after you and google has found a way straight to their staff's hearts by providing them with daily restaurant standard food totally for free! It has been clear from the start that Google have had a passion for food and that this comes from the top with Co-Founder Sergey Brin recently commenting on their search for 2 new executive chefs "These two chefs will play an important role in managing the company's growing appetites."

With an ever expanding workforce and staff from all over the world how many companies would be able to offer dishes like this in their corporte cafeteria...Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke, Eggplant Ratatouille, Pollo en Huerto, Seared Day Boat Scallops in Green Coconut Curry Sauce, Arugula with Dried Apricots, Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Spinach Lentil Dal and Tropical Shrimp Bisque soups, Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum Compote, Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake and Creamy Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies?

I really do applaud Google for trying to make their staff so happy and even though the end game is probably the bottom line they have certainly found their way into a lot of their staff's hearts! A lot of companies could learn from this but my guess is that they would never be forward thinking enough!

You just have to watch this video to get a better idea of how it all works. The good news for the rest of us is that they all seem to be putting on tons of weight!

Hotel Chocolat Goody Bag Review

Let's talk chocolate. I promised you a review of Hotel Chocolat's Valentine's Day offerings. Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolate company that recently launched their treats in the US, available online. They are also hosting a contest for Valentine's Day. But in case you were on the fence about entering, perhaps this will help you make up your mind.

The Goody Bag of the Season changes but when I tried it there were two scrumptious slabs of chocolate, a bag of caramel and Florentine canapes, praline butterflies and a chocolate dipper.

I really loved the milk rocky road chocolate slab. A super thick chocolate bar has chocolate chip cookie, puffed rice and white chocolate bites. It tasted like a candy bar with lots of textures in every bite, it's crunchy, crispy and creamy. It kind of reminded me of a mix-in ice cream, without the ice cream! Very silky and high quality.

The caramel canapes might have been my favorite treat of all. This is a high cocoa milk chocolate so it's much richer than what I think of as milk chocolate. Each mini tile has little chunks of chewy florentine and a drop of caramel. Just a couple of these are satisfyingly sweet.

The raspberry creme slab tastes a bit like a raspberry milkshake. The dried raspberries that are embedded in it are unsweetened so they provide a tangy counterpoint to the sweet white chocolate that is creamy, not waxy and not too sweet.

The butterfly pralines were my least favorite. Mostly wrapped in white chocolate they were just a tad too sweet for my taste, though I did appreciate the hazelnut filling and they were awfully cute.

Want your own goody bag? One person who enters the Hotel Chocolat contest, using this link, is guaranteed to win. To enter, explain in 200 words or less why Hotel Chocolat should surprise your loved one with a luxury chocolate gift. Dig deep and tell a moving tale, as the most compelling entry will win! And it can be a funny story, an inspiring story, a beautiful story, or even a romantic story. The competition closes on February 8th, 2008 and entries will appear live on the Hotel Chocolat site.

McDonalds Subliminal Advertising

We all know that advertising is a huge industry and that the advertising of food products makes up a huge part of that industry. We also know that advertisers are looking for increasingly creative ways to target the ever more elusive consumer. Of particular interest to advertising execs is subliminal advertising and they might just have cracked it already by the looks of this video! For those of you living outside the USA, Iron Chef is one of the biggest food programmes in the country and watched by millions every week. Watch this video and make your own mind up! Could it just be in innocent mistake? I don't think so!

Dublin Cooking School (Cooks Academy)

Ballymaloe is the name that first springs to mind when you think of cooking schools in Irleand but there is a new kid on the block that is hoping to join the Cork powerhouse as an established name on the international cooking scene! Tim Greenwood and his staff have an ideal premisies in Dun Laoghaire and after speaking to him this morning things seem to be booming! I found it fascinating to hear that their customer profile is mostly young professionals rather than the older crowd you might normally assosiate with cooking classes, as Tim said "cooking is cool at the moment". The great news is from next week we'll have a few of their videos on here so you'll be able to see some of the great facilities yourself!

You can never have enough people learning to cook I say!

Check out the website

iFoods on Verizon Voyager

We are very happy to announce that our videos will now be appearing on the very sexy new voyager phone in the USA with thanks to verizon who have 62 million users! It is a competitior to the iPhone and all it's lucky users will be able to watch and cookalong to free iFoods videos! Look out for iFoods.tv on a phone near you soon!

Dylan McGrath Mint Restaurant

I've never had a huge temper in the kitchen and could always laugh things off but I always remember one guy who could get under my skin and now I am not surprised to see he has just been awarded a prestigious Michelin Star for his restaurant Mint in Ranelagh, Dublin. Dylan McGrath was a lowly chef de partie when I knew him but you could see in his eyes he was going places. The thing with great chefs is that it is extremly rare for them to have a personality and Dylan is falls comfortably into that category! Now I havn't seen him in 6 years but my guess is that when you watch RTE tonight and see him in action you will see exactly what I mean! Don't get me wrong, all the great chefs are driven and care little for what other people think and I think that is exactly what you need to suceed in the hard world of gaining Michelin stars. I havn't eaten Dylan's food since the Peacock Alley days but my guess is that it is outstanding and that he is still a grumpy arrogant young man!

Mint restaurant
Ranelagh Dublin
Website

The Future of Chinese Food continued

On January 23rd the San Francisco Professional Food Society presented an insightful panel discussion on the future of Chinese cuisine in the US, along with The Asia Society and the Chinese Cultural Center. The panelists were (seated from left to right) Martin Yan, TV host and master chef author of 26 cookbooks, Alex Ong, Betelnut partner and executive chef, Albert Cheng, former three-term president of the Chinese Culture Center; Nicole Mones, author of the novels Lost in Translation, A Cup of Light, and The Last Chinese Chef, and moderator Olivia Wu, currently chef at Google and a former writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.

One of the hurdles to great Chinese food in the US has been immigration policies. In a discussion about Chinese immigration to the US, it was mentioned that opening a Chinese restaurant was often the only opportunity for Chinese immigrants. Often those restaurateurs were not professional chefs, and as a result did not have the same passion for the cuisine as you might expect. According to Yan, immigrants who open Chinese restaurants rarely have been trained as chefs and usually don't want their children following in their footsteps. Ong agreed, saying his parents were terribly disappointed when he told them he was becoming a chef.

Wu also pointed out that Chinese chefs are often unable to communicate with their customers so they stay in the kitchen. They don't understand branding, marketing and promotion and this holds their restaurants back.

Most of the panel spoke wistfully about the diversity of the cuisine in China and Mones complained about the sauce-driven style of cooking here that relies on heavy sauces as opposed to the subtle flavors one finds in China, where there are estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000 different dishes. In China, she explained, there is barely enough sauce to cover the dish. Here long menus often obscure the fact that only a handful of sauces are being used.

Ong questioned the American taste level and waxed poetic about the joy of eating "the bones" something echoed by most of the panel. He complained about his customers only wanting the velveted style of chicken breast meat.

Favorite dishes among the panelists that they rarely find in the US included Beggar's chicken, red braised pork belly and broad beans with toon leaves.

A question arose as to whether we as diners are willing to pay for great Chinese food, since we have come to regard it almost as "exotic fast food" that is always cheap. On the flip side, Ong complained most Chinese restaurants choose to compete only on price disregarding elements such as service, decor and having a bar.

So what advice did the panel have for American eaters?
• Keep trying new places
• Always try one or two dishes you are unfamiliar with, when you eat out
• Ask about the specialties of the house

To read the first part of this story posted last week, click here

Chris Walken Cooking Video

What do movie stars do when they are bored in between getting $10 Million per movie? Simple they put their pinnie on and do a little bit of home cooking! This video shows well known actor Christopher Walken(Batman Returns, Pulp Fiction etc)cooking a lovely looking roast chicken with simple instructions! What was he thinking and what is the cat doing at the end? All very strange!

Home delivered food review.

The biggest problem that many people like me how live on their own is what to eat at night. Now you would assume that being a chef I would be cooking up a storm every night but the reality is that takeaway food is often the most realistic option. The biggest problem I have with takeaway options here in Ireland is that the choice is limited to Pizza, Indian or Chinese, it really doesn't stretch any further than that! The Irish food scene has come a long way in the last ten years but sadly the standard of food delivered to your door has lagged way behind the standard of other modern cities. Takeaway is a way of life in many big cities but unlike Ireland there is a huge variety and particular emphasis being placed on healthy options. There really is a massive gap in the market here in Ireland which I hope entrepreneurs start to exploit but until then here are my thoughts on some of the options we currently have...

The Bombay pantry has been around for some time and its reputation along with the number of stores are growing rapidly. Very good standard of food with only drawback being often slow delivery. Head and shoulders above the rest of Indian Food in Ireland.


Le Diep has long been a famous restaurant in Dublin but their big success has come with the opening of their takeaway and delivery service from Ranelagh. Mostly Thai food with nice packaging and wonderful choice. Only drawback is the popularity of the place and extremly high prices!

Four star have been around for some time and the only reason they are on this list is because I like them when I am pigging out and drinking beer! So different from the real traditional pizza you would find in Italy and not exactly a gourmet meal but it is always cheap, always on time and never lets you down!



The sad thing is that in a city of over a million people I have had to think really hard to find 2 examples to review here. We deserve better here in Ireland and should be able to order fresh, healthy and interesting food from the comfort of our homes! It's a very sad reflection on the Irish food industry and one that I hope will change over the next couple of years.

The Future of Chinese Food

On January 23rd the San Francisco Professional Food Society presented an insightful panel discussion on the future of Chinese cuisine in the US, along with The Asia Society and the Chinese Cultural Center. The panelists were (seated from left to right) Martin Yan, TV host and master chef author of 26 cookbooks, Alex Ong, Betelnut partner and executive chef, Albert Cheng, former three-term president of the Chinese Culture Center; Nicole Mones, author of the novels Lost in Translation, A Cup of Light, and The Last Chinese Chef, and moderator Olivia Wu, currently chef at Google and a former writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.

The discussion focused mostly on the challenges of finding great Chinese food in the US. While a few panelists did not mind American-style Chinese food, having traveled extensively in China, they all agreed there are many hurdles to finding truly authentic Chinese food in America. From the outset, Wu mentioned the following:

• Limits on Chinese immigration
• Lack of availability of ingredients
• The predominance of "American style" Chinese food
• Perception of Chinese food as exotic fast food--cheap and familiar
• Not knowing where to go and what to order

Wu began her comments by saying that understanding the language and food are equally important to "living" the culture of China, something Mones agreed with. She also wanted the audience to know that traditional ways of eating in China are healthful, something echoed later by Martin Yan who observed if eating Chinese food was so bad for you, how come there are 1.3 billion people in China?

Alex Ong talked about Chinese food being a "never-ending artichoke" where the more layers you peel back, the more you find. Ong explained that the problem is not unique to America. He grew up in a Chinese family in Malaysia and after visiting China for the first time in 1999 he threw away all his recipes for Chinese food, amazed at how different it was from what he had eaten his whole life.

Cheng gave a brief run down of the history of Chinese immigration and the exclusion acts that kept Chinese out of America. It was pointed out that Chinese immigrants from just a few regions end up cooking dishes from all over China, rather than specializing in regional cuisine. Cheng also recited a famous quote in Chinese that "eating is the greatest pleasure under heaven." Very true for many of us!

Ong and Wu shared a perspective about good places getting overrun, and how sometimes Chinese people don't want their favorite places becoming too popular for legitimate fear the quality will decline.

Martin Yan who recently opened a Chinese cooking academy in China said the supply of labor force was a limiting factor. In China cooking schools are more vocational than professional and they turn out good technicians, but not mature chefs. Also, culturally speaking, both Yan and Ong commiserated that becoming a chef is not well-regarded by most Chinese families who would rather their children become doctors or lawyers.

Next week read more about Chinese food in the US including the panelists tips for how to get a great Chinese meal

Town Bar and Grill Restaurant Kildare Street

There is nothing that gets me more excited or tells me more about a chef's ability that a menu. Seems like an obivious thing to say but the art of writing a great menu is not a simple one and many great chefs have fallen at this first hurdle. In my humble opinion the key is simplicity and any understating on a menu is good thing as there is nothing worse than reading a menu with 100s of ingredients per dish. There is nothing worse than becoming dizzy as you stare at a billboard size piece of card with the chef's life story spread out in front of you. All I want is 5 starters, 5 mains and a few desserts thrown in to keep everybody happy but you will find that it is only chefs with the utmost confidence in their ability that can pull this off!

It was business that brought me to Town bar and Grill on Kildare street this week and not being a huge fan of basement restaurants I wasn't expecting much. Turns out my doubts were misplaced as the atmosphere and ambience in the room were excellent and i suppose one shouldn't expect anything less from a premises that used to house Mitchell's wine merchants.

After walking through the door four things happened in succession which are remarkably simple but are often neglected by restaurants thus setting a bad precendent for the rest of the meal; First my jacket was removed and taken for safekeeping in the cloak room, we were then swiftly brought to the table, offered drinks, brought a menu and served warm bread. Now you can leave me sitting for 20 minutes after you have done that without even looking in my direction and I would be perfectly happy but as it happens the efficient staff were back topping up water and taking orders as soon as we looked ready.

The menu was faultless with simple choices at at 22.95 excellent value for lunch. The chef had kept everything simple and without creating any fuss had designed an apetizing and elegant menu. I went for the Carpaccio of Tuna to start which was perfectly acceptable without being outstanding and followed it with a "10oz Ribe eye steak with mash, greens and herb butter" which did exaclty what it said on the tin.

The only other blemish on an otherwise enjoyable lunch was one waitress pouring me flat water followed by fizzy water, followed by flat water into my fizzy water! That just took the service level from a 10/10 to a still (or fizzy) respectable 8/10.



All in all a decent meal



Town Bar and Grill
Kildare Street
Dublin
Ireland