Cooking
Gastronomica is where food meets culture and the arts. It is not a cooking magazine and it might not even make you hungry, but it will certainly feed your brain and your senses. It's deep and provocative, not something mindless to skim through in a waiting room. It's an expensive journal at $13 an issue, but the production values are high and each edition is something you'll most likely keep.
Last week there was a program celebrating the 10th anniversary of Gastronomica, featuring introductory remarks from founder and editor-in-chief Darra Goldstein and a conversation between Harold McGee, celebrated author and contributing editor at Gastronomica and University of California Press' Senior Sponsoring Editor, Blake Edgar. Here are some highlights:
• In the past people who worked in food science weren't necessarily food lovers. That seems to be changing. As a result, food science today is looking more at taste as opposed to just issues of safety.
• He shared details of the International Workshops on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy that took place in in Italy in the 1990's. He was disappointed more chefs, especially non-French chefs were not invited to attend and participate.
• As someone revered by the molecular gastronomy community, it was interesting to hear him say that he "experienced some of the worst dishes of my life in those (molecular gastronomy) restaurants."
• The reason why he doesn't take a public stand on political issues like GMO's is that he doesn't feel comfortable in that role and that the issues are very complicated or as he put it, "there's a lot more to the story."
• He also shared details about visiting Nathan Myrhvold's world class lab/kitchen and his role as a reviewer in an upcoming series of books that Myrhvold is working on.
• His next book comes out in October, The Keys to Good Cooking, and it will help answer the questions home cooks have about the practical side of kitchen science.
Everyone who attended the event got a copy of the Winter 2010 edition of Gastronomica. It has a fascinating piece on how cherries were marketed using teen idols and music videos in Taiwan, a discussion on food porn, a look at the phenomenon of "no great women chefs" an investigation of chocolate and terroir, historical essays on food in art and art in food, a moving personal memoir about the food proclivities of one man's mother, a poem, photographs of Portuguese pastries, and so much more. In fact it even comes bundled with a little booklet of photography artfully arranged.
If you are more of a book sort of person, then you should really check out The Gastronomica Reader a compendium of over 40 essays, poems, art, memoirs and everything that makes the journal so compelling. It's the only resource on food that I can think of that is at times sexy, shocking, smart, disturbing and beautiful. It's a handsome coffee table book and timeless in a way that food magazines rarely ever are. Buy it and savor it for years to come.
- After Dark:gastronomy
Photo credit: ©Intellectual Ventures/Modernist Cuisine Are you curious about the modern techniques and ingredients often lumped under the controversial term "molecular gastronomy?" While I never ate at El Bulli or Alinea, and I don't have copies...
- Interview With Claudia Roden - Part 2
Photo credit: Red Saunders In part 1 of my interview with Claudia Roden she shared her experiences from years of writing about the food of the Middle East and her thoughts about cooking in the US and Britain. In part two, she tells us about her upcoming...
- Julia Child Contest
I am still savoring my Summer edition of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. It was an entire issue devoted to none other than Julia Child. There are interviews, remembrances, stories, poems, songs and even a picture of Julia in the bathtub...
- Radio Interview With Ed Behr
Through a convoluted series of events, I found this recent radio interview with my writing idol, Ed Behr. My food blogging friends worship chefs, I worship the publisher of The Art of Eating, the world's best food and wine magazine (an attitude I...
- Invest In Swedish Vineyards
This article at Slate details how global warming might affect the northernmost wine regions and improve the quality of the grapes. This isn't particularly new—Gastronomica ran a similar article years ago—but it is interesting. The wine growers...
Cooking
Gastronomica turns 10
Gastronomica is where food meets culture and the arts. It is not a cooking magazine and it might not even make you hungry, but it will certainly feed your brain and your senses. It's deep and provocative, not something mindless to skim through in a waiting room. It's an expensive journal at $13 an issue, but the production values are high and each edition is something you'll most likely keep.
Last week there was a program celebrating the 10th anniversary of Gastronomica, featuring introductory remarks from founder and editor-in-chief Darra Goldstein and a conversation between Harold McGee, celebrated author and contributing editor at Gastronomica and University of California Press' Senior Sponsoring Editor, Blake Edgar. Here are some highlights:
• In the past people who worked in food science weren't necessarily food lovers. That seems to be changing. As a result, food science today is looking more at taste as opposed to just issues of safety.
• He shared details of the International Workshops on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy that took place in in Italy in the 1990's. He was disappointed more chefs, especially non-French chefs were not invited to attend and participate.
• As someone revered by the molecular gastronomy community, it was interesting to hear him say that he "experienced some of the worst dishes of my life in those (molecular gastronomy) restaurants."
• The reason why he doesn't take a public stand on political issues like GMO's is that he doesn't feel comfortable in that role and that the issues are very complicated or as he put it, "there's a lot more to the story."
• He also shared details about visiting Nathan Myrhvold's world class lab/kitchen and his role as a reviewer in an upcoming series of books that Myrhvold is working on.
• His next book comes out in October, The Keys to Good Cooking, and it will help answer the questions home cooks have about the practical side of kitchen science.
Everyone who attended the event got a copy of the Winter 2010 edition of Gastronomica. It has a fascinating piece on how cherries were marketed using teen idols and music videos in Taiwan, a discussion on food porn, a look at the phenomenon of "no great women chefs" an investigation of chocolate and terroir, historical essays on food in art and art in food, a moving personal memoir about the food proclivities of one man's mother, a poem, photographs of Portuguese pastries, and so much more. In fact it even comes bundled with a little booklet of photography artfully arranged.
If you are more of a book sort of person, then you should really check out The Gastronomica Reader a compendium of over 40 essays, poems, art, memoirs and everything that makes the journal so compelling. It's the only resource on food that I can think of that is at times sexy, shocking, smart, disturbing and beautiful. It's a handsome coffee table book and timeless in a way that food magazines rarely ever are. Buy it and savor it for years to come.
- After Dark:gastronomy
Photo credit: ©Intellectual Ventures/Modernist Cuisine Are you curious about the modern techniques and ingredients often lumped under the controversial term "molecular gastronomy?" While I never ate at El Bulli or Alinea, and I don't have copies...
- Interview With Claudia Roden - Part 2
Photo credit: Red Saunders In part 1 of my interview with Claudia Roden she shared her experiences from years of writing about the food of the Middle East and her thoughts about cooking in the US and Britain. In part two, she tells us about her upcoming...
- Julia Child Contest
I am still savoring my Summer edition of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. It was an entire issue devoted to none other than Julia Child. There are interviews, remembrances, stories, poems, songs and even a picture of Julia in the bathtub...
- Radio Interview With Ed Behr
Through a convoluted series of events, I found this recent radio interview with my writing idol, Ed Behr. My food blogging friends worship chefs, I worship the publisher of The Art of Eating, the world's best food and wine magazine (an attitude I...
- Invest In Swedish Vineyards
This article at Slate details how global warming might affect the northernmost wine regions and improve the quality of the grapes. This isn't particularly new—Gastronomica ran a similar article years ago—but it is interesting. The wine growers...