I like to think that I am known, where I am known, as a pretty cool cucumber behind the bar. ‘Unflappable’ is the condition I aspire too; I consider Lloyd from the Shining to be a personal hero (as mentioned previously); and I think the only redeemable aspect of the movie Cocktail is the Coughlin’s Law that posits a bartender must “never show surprise, never lose your cool”. But man, the other day this guy seriously threatened to put a crack in my proudly steely composure. Get this, Vancouver, it concerns you too… Read the rest of this entry »
July 30, 2009 at 2:52 pm · Filed under Keith Talent
The New York Times Magazine posts Michael Pollan’s latest feature length article prior to publication on Sunday. Print a copy and take it to the beach or pool. Because floating on an air mattress with your laptop is just dangerous. The piece centres around the phenomena of cooking becoming less a participatory activity and more a spectator one.
But here’s what I don’t get: How is it that we are so eager to watch other people browning beef cubes on screen but so much less eager to brown them ourselves? For the rise of Julia Child as a figure of cultural consequence — along with Alice Waters and Mario Batali and Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse and whoever is crowned the next Food Network star — has, paradoxically, coincided with the rise of fast food, home-meal replacements and the decline and fall of everyday home cooking.
The first inaugural Taste, Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine, took place a couple weeks ago at the revamped jewel of a venue known as the Crystal Garden. I attended the main tasting event of this four day festival while vacationing on Vancouver Island recently and I can’t help but reminisce what an excellent day it was touring BC’s capital and exploring some of the great new products being created in our province.
Two Chefs & a Table Wine Drinker dinner goes Mediterranean; Bollywood Dreams ~ Opus Bar presents their 7th Annual Street Party on Friday, July 31st; Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Dinner at the Granville Room; British Columbia’s top wine producers team up to launch boutique wine sales agency; db Bistro offers ‘French To Go’ beach boxes for the fireworks; Mon Bella’s Tuesday Tasting Menu; Farmstead wine tasting at Firefly Fine Wines & Ales on Saturday August 8th; VinoCamp Returns to Vancouver with the Addition of CheeseCamp!
