eatdrink magazine – Page 5

Table for One Around the World

Even as a reluctant celebrity, Anthony Bourdain continues to unwittingly mould his career as a chef into that of a renowned TV personality and bestselling author, who has been treating readers to his irreverent style of writing since 2001 when his book, Kitchen Confidential – about the darker side of restaurant kitchens – became a hit. Since then, Bourdain has had no shortage of writing credits to his name and he sets out to find the nasty bits that make cooking and travelling darkly entertaining. Bourdain is an executive chef in Manhattan, as well as a multi-tattooed, chain-smoking, well-travelled, wickedly funny writer. Read more

The Food Connection

In no book has the phrase “You are what you eat” meant as much as in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. This book needs no further accolades after receiving numerous awards in 2007, including the prestigious James Beard Award and a nod as one of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year. With all this formal recognition behind it, the book can accomplish what it set out to do: educate the masses about how the elements of a meal get to our plates. Combining science, philosophy, anthropology, and journalistic investigation, Pollan sets out to answer the question “What should we have for dinner?” Since humans are omnivores, it becomes far more complicated than need be; thus, the dilemma. He writes, “When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety.” Later, he concludes, “We’ve discovered that an abundance of food does not render the omnivore’s dilemma obsolete. To the contrary, abundance seems only to deepen it, giving us all sorts of new problems and things to worry about” (7). He tries to assuage our dilemma by inspiring a conscientious approach to meals by remembering that food comes from somewhere other than the supermarket or refrigerator. Read more

Waiter Secrets

January 1, 2008/in eatdrink magazine, Magazine Articles /by Darin Cook

What are the secrets to being a great waiter? Phoebe Damrosch learned there’s more to it than writing “Thank you” in bubble letters next to a smiley face on the cheque at the end of a meal. By working her way into the restaurant of a celebrity chef and learning from the best in the field, she became privy to those secrets. Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter chronicles her success moving from English student busboy to dining room captain. Read more

Eating Without Borders

December 1, 2007/in eatdrink magazine, Magazine Articles /by Darin Cook

Many people travel to enjoy exotic food directly from the source. Who couldn’t argue that Pad Thai tastes exponentially better from a stall on the streets of Bangkok or that Crème Brule has a certain je ne sais quoi when eaten in a Parisian bistro? Sometimes it’s beneficial to get a glimpse of the food served in other countries, if for no other reason than to avoid any surprises; as British food writer, Tom Parker Bowles, describes in his book, The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes, sometimes we need to experience cuisine by delving into menu items that define the extreme edges of a culture, the type of food that not everyone would even agree is food. Read more