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Food Media Omnibus #541: On Keller’s Pop-Up And Advice For The Chefs Of Tomorrow

by Claire Lassam | Presenting Scout’s weekly Food Media Omnibus, a collection of links to the local and international food stories of the day…

The New York Times discusses the merits of cookbooks becoming ebooks.

The Globe and Mail takes on the gender of condiments.

The Georgia Straight gives you every tip to make this Thanksgiving easy.

The WE dreams up the restaurants Vancouver really needs.

Learn to cure your own pork at Foodists.

The world’s most influential chefs pen a letter to tomorrow’s chefs on Butter on the Endive.

The Guardian raises an eyebrow at a pub getting 2 Michelin stars.

Grace Bonney (who may or may not be my idol) gives tips on home entertaining at Bon Appetit.

Saveur lists the top 55 food blogs in the world, which includes one of my favourite blogs from South Africa, Nook Eatery .

Energy drinks get political in The Province.

The Ethical Kitchen gets its organic meat recalled in the North Shore News.

Thomas Keller chats about the process of opening a pop-up French Laundry in London.

If you’ve ever eaten those beautiful micro greens at a high end restaurant, they probably came from the Chef’s Garden. Psst! You can grow them at home.

Claire Lassam is a baker, blogger, and freelance writer based in East Van. She has been cooking and baking her way through the city for nearly five years, working in restaurants ranging from Cioppino’s to Meat & Bread. She currently toils at the soon-to-open Cadeaux Bakery in Railtown and runs the baking blog  Just Something Pretty.

There are 3 comments

  1. Andrew, in your article about wishful Vancouver restaurants in WE, you mentioned 4 – 5 restaurants you believe do Risotto properly. I couldn’t agree more. Taking the time to build the sauce from a developing starch, not adding cream, not parboiling the rice etc. But my question – off the record- is what establishments do you feel do Risotto well? Also, I would to add to your list, a Japanese owned and run, Japanese restaurant downtown, Okada Sushi, now occupied as Guu Garden was the best – if not only – and Aki sort of fits the bill, but it’s in a dark oily hole under a McDonalds. Where are the classy, straightforward Japanese restaurants, with tatami rooms, no fusion and hard working Japanese girls running around? Sure there are countless Izakayas and Yakitori bars and Tojo-san and Hoshi-san – under Sandbar – are the best but they are too noisy/busy or out of the CBD. I want, I also need it for lumber business which is heavily reliant on the Japanese market and visiting customers from Japan, a really classy, well run, I don’t care about the price, Japanese Japanese Sushi focussed restaurant in CBD, please, domou arigatou Mr. Roboto.

  2. La Quercia. Cioppino’s. Cibo. West. L’Abattoir (chef’s new pine mushroom risotto is awesome, though expensive for a small portion).

  3. PS. To test the multiple risottos from a single master pot idea (to fit the ideal restaurant theme story), I made two at my mother’s last night from one pot; one with spot prawns and the late addition of prawn stock, and the other with fried pancetta cubes, peas and fresh basil. I could have done others (ie. asparagus and lemon, mushroom and black truffle), but I had exhausted her supply of finishing pans. Still, risotto cakes for lunch today with the leftovers!

    PPS. Try Dale Mackay’s tarragon and chervil risotto with prawns at Ensemble. The tarragon is an uncommonly happy punch in the palate. Delicious.