jayt90

There is a small amount of Yalumba Eden Valley Riesling available ($30) but you are mostly right, my favoured south Australia riesling is not now in the stores. There was a nice Annie's Lane 2003 Riesling at $19, and a so so Penfold's Reserve Riesling 2003 at $25. Let's hope they bring back the Henschke single vineyard rieslings.

Is lard good for fries? Does pork fat rule? Or is there a reason beef fat is used in traditional fish and chips shops in the U.K.? If you do find large large containers of lard or shortening, it might be good to avoid the hydrogenated type. I have seen lard for sale this way, though it doesn't need to be. Many large containers of veg. oil are hydrogenated for the convenience of the vendor. I haven't heard of hydrogenated tallow, but anything is possible when there is more profit to be had...

The restaurant I managed cooked in beef tallow but we did not tell anyone. I dare not do that in my own place, I have seen the chubby long term results of eating all the tallow fried foods. ← The calories are the same whether you use Crisco, Canola, or Cow's fat. We are close to seeing a renaiscence of animal fats, now that trans fats in vegetable oils have been discredited.

Korean stores of a certrain size always have a good selection of Japanese staples. The easiest access is in Korea Town, Bloor west of Bathurst. There is a large supermarket near Palmerston. They have a huge selection of miso, seaweed, and a small selection of bonito, including pellets, and flakes. I remember asking someone for tuna flakes and being shown canned tuna! There are more Korean marts at Lawrence east of Wrden, and Yonge north of Shepperd, and on Spring Garden.

You could send a letter to Chris Layton, Public Relations Director, LCBO, 33 Freeland Street, Toronto. (I don't have the postal code at hand, but it will be available at Canada 411.ca ). Remember, if the duty is too high, drink up before you leave!

There is an interesting, ongoing discussion in Pennsylvania with Chairman Jonathan Newman, of the PLCB. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's wine marketing is in many ways similar to the LCBO, and worth looking at. But it is hard to imagine Andy Brandt, or any of the top brass at the LCBO coming here for a 4 day discussion!

If you promote 3 coarses, who would go?

The restautant was featured on Opening Soon, I think last week or two weeks ago; I'm sure it will be repeated. Based on the the nasty temper he displays, and the seamy side of his past lives described in Toronto Life, I think I would spend my hard earned dollars elsewhere, unless the reviews and word of mouth were unanimously excellent...

Use a longer shutter time, and get creative with your props there. I have used wine glasses, empty plates, or my purse to steady the camera. You might get some interesting angles, as an added benefit. Nothing is as boring as a shot of food taken from overhead, and flash photography in restaurants should be a ticketable offense. ← Natural lighting in a restaurant can make for an interesting shot, but the camera work is more difficult. I looked over a range of high ISO cameras and films this morning, and I did not find much that will work well in a low light setting. There are a few digital SLR's that go up to ISO 1600, or even 3200 with a 'boost' (read=noise): Canon 20D, Nikon 70D, Pentax digital SLR, Maxxum digital SLR, and all of the very expensive pro digitals. Most of the point and shoots, or 'all in one' digital cameras stop at ISO 400-800, and that probably is not high enough. You can also drag out the old 35mm SLR, and use several high speed films without flash: Fujicolour 1600 135-36; Konica 1600 135-24; Ektachrome 1600 135-36 (this one can be push processed to 3200, the others cannot.) These are daylight balanced films, and would need colour correction afterwards, or select a table with window light. The grain inherent in the high speed would not be worse than the noise of a high ISO digital.The fastest lens available (i.e. f/2.0 50 mm, should be better than a zoom. A lot of planning should bring in some good shots.

A flash is a flash is a flash... The ring light is more natural than a regular flash, or perhaps a Lumiquest, as there is no apparent shadow. It is just one more option but not as good as 'cloudy-bright ' daylight. I guess you would need permission, and a back table, in a restaurant...

Freckles, it is great to see interest in Ont. wine stores from someone in France. A wine consultant is what the LCBO calls a product consultant now, and used to call a wine advisor. They are in most larger stores, and can be found in the 'Vintages Corner' dispensing advice, or restocking.Most are well trained, and knowledgeable; some are very good, and have a following. The LCBO has a lot more non French wine than they used to. This is a dominant trend everywhere, except in France. I think you'll find that prices of good French wines are comparable to Paris, but more than if you go directly to the Apellation. Our prices are generallly comparable to U.S. prices now, although some markets, like New York and Chicago, might be more competitive. Selection in Toronto is quite good, but you may have to buy from several sources: Vintages Corners, LCBO CLassics, Bordeaux Futures, and independent agents. There is a wide variety, but you have to work at it.

I just remembered that there is another type of flash available to SLR cameras, the 'Ring" flash, which will kill harsh shadows, and provide bright, clear shots. It is a circular flash tube, attached arround the edge of the lens. There are dedicated units from the major 35mm and digital SLR lines, but Vivitar makes one for about $100. Diane Arbus used one for a lot of her Mamiya based portraits. These units are also used by nature and scientific photographers when they have to get close. This might work for quick and easy food shots, as in a restaurant.

If you think of a flash as a point source of light, like the sun, then you can expect harsh shadows. A lightbox or softbox, or umbrella will diffuse the light source, and the shadows will be softened. This is much like photographing outside under cloud cover. There are accessories to attach to a flash, such as Lumiquest, which may help in a restaurant situation, but you can do better at home with a lightbox or softbox. However, one point source of light that works well with food is late afternoon sun. The long, lingering, warm shadows are not at all harsh. Tripod and long exposures will capture this. The reason I am intrigued by the use of six 23 watt fluorescent coiled bulbs is that they can be configured into a rectangle or circle much smaller, and more intense than 4 foot fluorescent tubes. And they don't throw off tremendous heat like the halogens.

Apparently some illegal Eau de Vie is made in the fruit growing areas of southwestern Ontario. Raspberries, cherries, and blueberries, but strawberries, plums and other fruits can be found distilled, or imbued into a brandy, usually by families who arrived from Europe 20-40 years ago. The LCBO claims to be ever vigilant to keep these bottles away from us.

That is so outlandish that it can't be true. Surely they would be out of business by now if the FDA made that decision, and it was made public. The way I remember the introduction of 'KFC', was that the corporation that bought out Col. Sanders was not allowed to use his name or image for a number of years after his death. He lived a long time after his sell-out, but when he finally passed on, the company had to stop using any reference to him. They went to KFC for a set number of years, and now that the time has passed, they are re-introducing his image in the outlets.

← Here's what I do. 1. Research the interesting items as best I can as soon as the catalogue arrives. The description might indicate a good score from a reputable source, and I may have to track it down. The description can be deceptive, as it is meant to promote the wine. 2. I talk to 2 or 3 product consultants I know. They may offer to set aside a moderate amount, or I might ask for this. I'll mention the first one offered to me several years ago: The '94 Eileen Hardy Shiraz was coming in at $27. The consultant offered 4 bottles to me two days before release. Current vintages of this wine are way beyond my price barrier, so I am glad to put those bottles away, and glad to have the consultant helping me. He has since moved to a store out of my range, but still a good source of info by phone. 3. If I can't do this before release, I'll check vintages.com to see where I can find a wine on Saturday. The smaller stores are better, especially if they don't have everything ready early Sat. AM. 4. If I miss out on a Sat. AM choice, I'll pop into a public library and check the search engine again, before heading to another store.

When I am chasing something that will sell out quickly, I generally ask two or three trusted wine consultants five days in advance of the release to set some aside. Sometimes they will even sell it before Saturday release, since they want to move product. Sometimes they will special order an item from a far flung store where it did not sell. But they won't do this until one week after release. As Malcom reports, there is no more of the chianti to be had, at this time. In any case, you need to plan carefully for Vintages items that are good buys.

I have used a small Larson softbox with a Metz flash unit to good effect. It is not nearly as powerful as a studio flash, but that doesn't matter since it can be placed overhead, or two feet away. It was quite inexpensive (the box, not the Metz!) in a used camera store. I got it when I had a job photographing signature dishes in a number of Toronto restaurants. I didn't know that it could be disassembled after use, and I was carting everything with me on the subway for the first two or three places! It was a great gig, as I got to eat the food! Since I am finally preparing to convert to digital, I have thought about making a lighting board with six 23 watt flourescent bulbs (the coiled bulbs) The output would be similar to a 500 watt halogen, and any unnatural flourescent color cast could be handled by the white balance, or raw files fixed later. I have seen set ups like this advertised in the back pages of Pop Photo magazine.

Raymond, your website photos are outstanding, and probably close to what most of us want to achieve, with ease. I think two of your suggestions stand out: tripod, and light box. With these you can get professional looking results. Is the box something you can build? Or is it better to buy one at a store or ebay?

Maybe you've been buying too many breasts; or perhaps you're a leg man...

In Japan they test every bovine for BSE when slaughtered. The incidence of BSE is greater in Euorpe, U.K., Canada, and Japan than the U.S., but a greater number of cattle are tested than in the U.S. Here in Canada, there have been many requests from cattle farmers, ranchers, and consumers to have all adult cattle tested when slaughtered. The government officials whether provincial or federal, have always refused. Why? Because they know more cases of BSE would turn up. Maybelline, your government knows this as well.

If there is any 'meat' to this story, the CBC will develop it into a larger documentary on TV or radio.

I remember a can of wild coho, canned in Australia. It was soft and mushy, and not very good.

Since a bag of chicken backs can be had for not much money, I have often wondered if I could remove 8 or 10 oyster pads, fricasee them and serve. Then use the remaining backs for stock. Has anyone seen recipes for oyster pads?

The CBC radio report was a headline issue this morning. The two suspected mad cows were slaughtered 8 years ago in upstate New York, in the same place, at different times. Initial reports absolved the animals of Mad Cow disease, but more thorough tests on the brains were not available, or not done, because the brains disappeared. A scientist has come forward now, after retirement. Frankly, this is what many Canadians have suspected all along: that there must have been cover ups of Mad Cow in the U.S., since their beef raising practices are very similar to Canada's, and there is a greater population of cattle for the disease to gain an entry. I wonder what else might be going on...