“The way Katrina changed me is that I’m more passionate about my home, more protective of my cuisine.”
“I was taught by Paul Prudhomme; it was one the greatest blessings in my life, and I want to give back and foster the next generation of New Orleanians to at least learn and respect the cuisine.”
Read the rest of my exclusive interview with New Orleans celebrity chef Frank Brigtsen….
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Legendary New Orleans: hurricanes can’t destroy it; corrupt politics can’t infect it; potholes can’t deter its beauty.
Food and drink sustain it: “We’ll always have hospitality,” says celebrity chef Frank Brigtsen.
“I was taught by Paul Prudhomme; it was one the greatest blessings in my life, and I want to give back and foster the next generation of New Orleanians to at least learn and respect the cuisine.”
“As we diversify the types of food being cooked in the city of New Orleans, it’s even more important to me to make gumbo and keep that going.”
Read my exclusive interview with famed chef Frank Brigtsen.
“Creole cuisine, the food of New Orleans, it’s a living thing. Nobody’s trying to stop it from changing; nobody said its got to end, so that’s why it’s still alive.”
Is there a beverage that defines the South? Creole and Cajun fusion? (or confusion) In my interview with Liz Williams, director of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum (SoFAB), she answers all and states the mission of this unique institution, “Look at cultural attitudes towards the foods, not just a recipe.”
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A new generation of young professionals have reversed the population decline, want an urban experience and are revitalizing Harrisburg.
Read about the movers reshaping a once “rust-belt” city at…
Harrisburg is still one of the major railroad transportation hubs of the Northeast connecting to the west and the south. Old steel mill buildings and warehouses have been repurposed for new specialized industries and institutes of higher education.
Read more about Harrisburg’s new mayor – not a cookie cutter politician!
Farmers who created Pennsylvania’s moniker the “American breadbasket” in the late 18th century built Harrisburg.
Young professionals flooding center city Harrisburg, PA, have a penchant for gathering with friends – that’s fueling a revitalization of hospitality businesses. Read the rest of the article at…
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The volcano that blew Santorini into history 3,500 years ago created a soil that produces the driest white wines and the finest dessert wine this chef has ever had moisten his palate.
Santo Wines – responsible for 17% of the agricultural land on the island – emphasized that its mission is “to preserve the cultivation of land and overcome the challenge of rapid touristic development that leads to the abandonment of land cultivation.”
The volcanic cliffs maintain an ideal temperature for wine production making air conditioning unnecessary.
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Spend time talking to the owners of the Paros Land Hotel and their promising young chef and you understand the resilience that has sustained Greece for millenniums.
It’s a creative force responsible for this enterprise and it will propel Greece beyond a temporary financial crisis.
Brothers, sisters, in-laws and grandchildren have all had a hand in the design, rebuilding and the myriad operational details required of a hotel. Their pride was palpable when they sat down each night at a long wooden table in the airy dining room for lengthy multi-course meals.
Please read the rest of the story…
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Summer: a time for fresh fruit, vegetables and taking time off from the daily grind. Do something different. Revert to the past when we all made our own and didn’t just buy it ready to eat. Enjoy!
The interplay of sweet fruit, astringent vinegar, fresh ginger, savory onions, spices, a bit of hot pepper and rich brown sugar is not only appealing but a great way to use fresh produce as it comes into season.
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I like figs and chevre and caramelized onions. Of course who doesn’t like pizza? And summer time is California fig season in the USA. They’re low in calories, high in potassium, not too sweet and hold up nicely when gently cooked.
By the early 20th century California fig production was second only to Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Spain.
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Robert Fitch answered my question, “porridge was the staff of life” for the common person until the 18th century. No wonder working the palace was a coveted job – even for a spit turner.
The Hampton Court Palace kitchen cooked two meals for approximately 600 people daily consuming in one 16th century year 1,240 oxen, 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer, 760 calves, 1,870 pigs and 53 wild boar.
When porridge was the staff of life: cookery at Hampton Court Palace
Puddings were a major component of the English and American table during these centuries and often served as the foundation of a one dish meal in this age of cooking on an open wood fired hearth.
Clarissa Dillon on the great age of English puddings
Clarissa Dillon, one of the foremost authorities on 16th-18th century English and colonial American cooking, tackles the often confusing interpretations of our shared culinary past.
I believe both Fergus and Clarissa would agree that a 17th/18th century middle class diet was healthy only if the diner was physically very active, but it’s tasty. London’s Chef Fergus Henderson and Philadelphia’s Dr. Clarissa Dillon have never met yet share a no-nonsense and unsentimental approach towards the diet of their 17th and 18th century Anglo ancestors.
Eighteenth century appetizers from two culinary historians
When St. John Bar & Restaurant at 26 St. John Street, London, was a smokehouse in the 18th century, located a couple blocks from the centuries old Smithfield Market, Hampton Court Palace had a chocolate kitchen catering exclusively to the large royal household.
Chocolate was a London fad when oysters were fast food
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Sitting at a beach side café in Possidi on the Halkidiki peninsula of Kassandra, this North American was struck by an unfamiliar scene. People were reading.
Driving Kassandra unplugged and tuned into Greece
Fingers of land jutting into the Aegean, Kassandra, Sithonia and sacred Athos have, like all of Macedonia, been at the center of turbulent times since the 4th century B.C.E. In the 21st century the only turbulence seemed to be the long lines of cars every summer weekend that bring holiday seekers from Thessaloniki and Eastern Europe.
Family owned since it opened in 1989, the rooms surround an opulent pool that is the focal point of the Flegra Palace Hotel including the Soleil Bar with its dramatic glass floor jutting over the water.
Flegra Palace Hotel plans new venture in Pefkohori, Greece
Fortunately mere mortals can dine at Ambrosia, the open-air dining room at the Flegra Palace Hotel in the Halkidiki seaside resort town of Pefkohori, Greece.
Chef Aphrodite Balanou makes Ambrosia in Pefkohori, Greece
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At a recent press lunch for journalists of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association and New Jersey Press Association, Yang Chao Lu, owner of 88 Palace, presented a veritable banquet of dim sum dishes over several hours.
But 88 Palace is more than a restaurant. It’s a microcosm of any Chinatown street, fun to explore and taste. Read more at…
Sitting stadium style looking out an entire glass walled side and half the ceiling of the specially outfitted bus, The Ride talks, in a deep resonating voice, not just to its customers but to people on the street as well.
The Ride deftly weaves Manhattan to give the audience a sense of the city’s energy and comedy. Read more at…
“I’m the mozzarella man,” says David Greco, and there’s a cigar man, cannoli women, a microbrewer and six other purveyors at the venerable Arthur Avenue Market in the Bronx.
New York still has neighborhoods such as Belmont in the Bronx and streets like Arthur Avenue that are pockets of an almost forgotten urban reality. Read more at…
…and while you’re at it, have a cigar.
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The Hotel Rafayel is part of the remarkable 21st century transformation of the Docklands, the East End and South London from post industrial wasteland into the vibrant, upscale, multi-ethnic residential and commercial city London’s east side of the Thames has become.
Hotel Rafayel on the Left Bank has garnered praise for its attention to environmental details. From components for the actual building’s construction to its water catchment system, its eco-conscisousness only adds to its 21st century 5-Star charm.
The Hotel Rafayel on the Left Bank: sustainable luxury on the Thames
Rapid urban change has remodeled the river scape along the Thames recreating the bustle of a modern port of international commerce. Except now the product is more than likely to be transported by computer or jet than freighter.
With a city as cosmopolitan as London, there could only be more articles appearing shortly on Travel with Pen and Palate.
The Tate Modern Gallery is housed in a converted art deco power plant within walking distance along the Thames River walk just up from the Globe Theater. The clean lines of the sprawling space gives justice to both the subjects and size of many great and imaginative works. A voiceless short documentary from the Tate is an urban ballet.
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