Carrot Top

I live in Appalachia now. And do agree with your thoughts. Yet even within this area, there are differences that can immediately be seen within the population(s) that can not be explained by affluence alone. At the moment, I live in a small city with a large university population. Fairly affluent, very well-educated population. There is some...obesity...as you look around, but it is not the norm, either among the adults or the children in the schools. For four years previous to this, I lived in an area that was intensely rural (about a hours drive from here) that by anyone's standards would be called modern rural Appalachia. There was less affluence there than here...much less. And a much lower education level and a much lower education level expectation for the children. It was a rare child whose parents intended them to go to college...and even rarer, that money could or would be saved for such a thing. Obesity was rampant there. Among the adults and among the children. It was actually rare to be in a group of people where three out of ten would be considered of such a weight level to even be 'healthy'. The gym teacher in the elementary school was always unhappy for it was hard for him to manage to get the kids to be able to be flexible enough to do a situp. This is solely an observation, and I will make no claims for the whys and hows. Just that it seems to not be just the level of affluence that causes this.

I was curious when Ptipois mentioned in an earlier thread about the orange juice after dinner question....and agreed then that THAT particular 'cultural occurance' seemed strange. But garter belts....uh...someone is buying them. They are even more commonly for sale 'everywhere' now, and in greater variety, than in past years. Someone is buying them, and someone is wearing them. ( ) Interesting topic for research, Bux. And again, all to do with food...for as they say in the article...garter belts and stockings can not be worn too comfortably well by those who have overindulged themselves into the way of avoirdupois. Do inform us of your findings.

In agreement with Mayhaw Man that the major costs to the businesses and the major instances of theft within restaurants are from people within the business itself...from food that walks out the door...to smallwares that go home with people...to cash or credit card manipulations... and special vendor dealings and specialty accounting practices. It is so common that I am surpised to learn it is not actually taught in culinary/hospitality industry schools...

Sigh. Yes. Mind-boggling.

In general, I agree that there have always been people of all sorts of sizes in this world...and perhaps there are more larger people around now, but that is mostly their choice....and is made easy by the ease of which food is obtained...and if otherwise the people are healthy and happy...it should not matter to anyone. If it does matter in ways of personal health and in ways of affecting the overall health of the society, though, then it bears looking at and thinking about. As I said near the beginning of the thread, though, I honestly do not see a lot of people who feel guilty about the way they eat...or that they are scared of their dinner. I do see lots of people who TALK about feeling guilty...but that is certainly not the same. Isn't this issue like so many other things that matter...a little bit of this and a little bit of that affect it? No time to sit down and eat, for jobs and activities take more hours of the day. Nobody at home during the day to have the time to shop and cook from 'scratch'...'healthy' foods. Tiredness from running around and the feeling that one deserves and sometimes just plain needs...to be taken care of and fed by someone else...i.e. the closest restaurant which depending on time constraints and pocket money might be fast food or the usual set of chain restaurants that are everywhere and that cater to the idea of lots of food drenched in buttery salty sauces for immediate mouth pleasure and perceived value by the customer. Foods in the grocery stores with higher, hidden amounts of sugar, fats, calories. Fresh fruits and vegetables in the grocery stores that have been grown to ship and are drained of flavor. Meats in the grocery store...that who knows where or how they invented these cuts. A fairly stable economy with people that have paychecks but who mostly live beyond those paychecks and ample easy credit cards sent through the mail for anyone who might have come close to using up their last line of credit on...whatever. Maybe eating out at chain restaurants... A country that...being born mostly of immigrant roots....with immigrants wishing to become part of the 'melting pot'....discards old traditional ways of cookery which might be guessed to hold some knowledge of ways to be healthy. The omnipresent culture of quick gratification, and most particularly quick gratification of all the senses. An intense focus on the culture of youth...where the ideal is to look seventeen years old forever. Bottom line, though...in these situations which are massively confusing...there are choices. You can listen to all of it and think endlessly about what everyone says all the causes are before deciding what tack to take. Or you can look at the situation and decide who to blame and then focus the blame and your energetic ire on them. Or you can decide that, with the time you've been given on this earth to try something else....to take charge of one thing that can be changed or taken control of. The only person one can really be sure of changing is oneself. We are free people living in a very open society with tons of opportunities to do all sorts of things. If we can not control the food we put in our own mouths...well...I don't know what to say to that....that is really sort of spooky. It would make a great science-fiction novel, actually. As Henry Ford said "Think you can, think you can't. Either way it will be true."

Yes...it is an amusing article! When I lived in Paris the thought often occured to me while shopping (for clothes) that they truly had the smallest underwear and the biggest earrings for sale, of anywhere! Every French woman I have known has a very clear and strict idea of what it is she will eat...and for the most part, this is followed. Even the word for 'diet' has a different intonation. It is not a 'diet', it is a 'regime'. Different outlook...more of a maintenance thing rather than an unhappy guilt-ridden sudden enforcement of changes in eating patterns. I have to admit, though...one thing did make me a bit cranky about the article. Almost every woman interviewed...seemed to be around 28 years old. Uh huh. At that age I...well. I'd better stop while I'm ahead. Finish the sentence yourselves, as you wish... Heh heh. The only good thing about getting older is that it will surely happen to everyone eventually...

Terribly uncomplicated, it is...Jinmyo...my mouth usually slavers when I read yours! but it has the great advantage that I know these little ones will gobble gobble it... (et merci, mon ami..aussi!)

We are a small family and not tradition-bound. Nevertheless...for the sake of having some sort of idea of 'history' and 'culture' for the children, I tried to plan a menu this year that will provide both but will avoid a large turkey. Nibbles beforehand: Nuts to crack and make a mess... Smoked Turkey and Chutney on Endive Spears Seasoned Crisp Roast Large Lima Beans Mulled Apple Cider Then: Corn Chowder....perhaps with a Sally Lunn or a Brown Bread, perhaps not...depends on motivation level Followed by: Maine Lobster, Drawn Butter Salad And for Dessert: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake and Pumpkin-Vanilla Swirl Ice Cream Tried to get the beans and corn thing in there...and I always like to think of that account (was it John Smith that wrote it?) of 'Lobsters as large as your arm' solidly filling the shore waters of the New World as they rowed in to the rocky beaches....then of course cranberries...New England needs its cranberry bog production jobs and pumpkin...(I grow livid thinking of the usual doleful pumpkin pie... ). So that, is our menu this year. Oh! A pleasant full-bodied American white wine for me, too. Haven't chosen one yet...generally I entrust the choice to our excellent wine merchant in town for I do not keep up with this always-moving detail-oriented knowledge-required business!

Very nice story, andie...

Everybody knows you are much sweeter than I, andiesenji. Me...just cook me slightly the wrong way and I am terribly tough and hard to chew on....

Ah, my little schnitzel....how you have changed Panko and chicken breast and tonkatsu They claim! No, my little schnitzel it can not be so... To be one with you in Paradise These ways will not go! Dear little schnitzel of Viennese fame Grown men cry upon hearing your name With a few fine wines quaffed and some thoughtful time spent In well-spun drunk argument over Whose cooking will make the final event. A pale slice of veal....tender and young, untouched Untoughened By age, sorrow or shame A fine thick paddle to stretch it, paddle it Into a frumpy papyrus shape, no blame Sweet milled soft flour, and more from the hearth Breadcrumbs to tumble in, quite briefly, dear heart A chicken? What use could that bird be here! Ah, yes...for an egg to coat...a tender crust to persevere. You must be quick you must be deft the heat must be just right The pan thick and clear The fat must be lard or butter (clarified, no fear!) And then perfect timing Will make you, my dear... My glorious little charming Bite of schnitzel. P.S. I have always had a fantasy of having an Eastern European lover who insinuates himself in a lounging sort of way close to me...and murmurs in my ear..."Ah, my little schnitzel..." (Well okay not always but at least for the last five minutes... )

Just wait till the baby comes, Chris. Then you can multiply the food fights in the kitchen....add on the cornmeal they pull from the cupboard to dump on the floor and play in....the garlic press which is used for playdough...the muffin tins which are used for crayon muffins....

That sounds like an appalling situation, andiesenji...one wants to take these sorts of people and send them off to a small farm somewhere miles from anywhere without a telephone or transportation and watch as they try to find their way.... . I see this more often in children, and more often in the children of today than of when I was a child of course (the usual historic refrain.... ) I think it might have to do with the ease and plenty of food today. They don't like what's on the table, it is easy for them to go to the fridge and get something else to 'nuke'. Actually, it is often encouraged for kids to find something for themselves to eat...for parents arrive home from work and there is half an hour before hopping back in the car to take the kid to soccer practice, ballet, whatever....which of course leads me to the next thing that floors me...how often children eat their dinners in the car! I think about three out of five weekday dinners are eaten on-the-run by kids today... One of the funniest 'thank-you' cards I got from the kids after doing that 'fresh corn' thing at the school was from a boy who decorated the card nicely (sixth graders really start to show their artistic abilities...it is great to see!) and wrote inside: "Thanks for the corn. My mom loved eating it while she took me to football practice. It was good." Raw corn. Wrapped in wax paper with bits of butter smooshed on it. That...was Mom's supper. (!) So thankful am I to contribute to the greater food pleasures of the world. But the original thing...in my first post...was more about having a client, say for a catering job...and trying to write a menu...going in with no presuppositions and allowing them free rein. Yikes! I am sure you have experienced this situation, too..... ...it seems each person's even more 'normal' food preferences and needs can fill a standard size notebook!

Consistently floors me how completely emotionally involved the vast majority of people on earth are with their food...not to say they are 'gourmet' or not...but try to plan a menu for someone...anyone...and you will find a zillion things that they can not tolerate/despise/will not taste....and another billion things that they love/need to have to eat/feel are indispensible in the situation. People....of all kinds and styles...they all do this. They might not give a hoot about what clothes they put on in the morning....they might have the sloppiest-kept house in the world....they may not care or know a thing about their own government or politics or anyone elses....but try to write a menu for them? Pandora's box.

that is the funniest thing ever....I can see it now....

Just all-American marketing techniques. Someone figured apples are boring, too 'usual' for the foodie customer in search of new tastes, so they developed this thing, packaged it up pretty, and charge three or four times the cost of a regular apple. My twelve year old daughter wanted to try it last time we were at the grocery store. I told her sure, if she wanted to spend her own allowance on it.... We brought Gala apples home, on my tab.

Now images of 'Goodfellas' are flashing through my mind. What a terribly exciting life you food reviewers lead....with all the pitfalls of expensive pens that might leak onto the pure creamy sauces as you surreptitiously scribble notes...wigs that might catch fire over the flickering candlelight as you lean close to take a better look at the lobster's prickly visage...chef's knives flashing in the background of the kitchen vying for your attentions and lying in wait to pounce if threatened....and now...being 'made'. Sinister. ('Yeah, he's a 'made' guy...watch out....). Who needs to watch the Sopranos. We will watch the Critics.

Is this a new variation on the saying 'The Pen is mightier than the Sword'? Now it is...'The Chef's Knife is mightier than the Pen'....hmmmm. I sort of like that....

I haven't wanted to respond to this thread, (because who wants to sound depressing about depressing things, you know... ) but anyway I guess I will just for the sole purpose of stopping thinking about it... 'Does the simple act of cooking....help to dissipate sadness and grief'...to my mind, there are some sadnesses or griefs that not much can dissipate...they are serious and deep griefs to which there is no realistic solution to hold onto in any way. If a person's life path steers them clear of these sorts of griefs...then they are simply blessed...though surely there will be other sorts of grief. But some people's life paths hold these griefs, and it is something they bear and live with. It is almost...insulting to the person's soul and spirit....to think that anything could allieviate the pain or despair. It simply is lived with and put on the back burner hopefully to be forgotten in day to day life. With lesser sadnesses and griefs, yes, of course cooking can do all the good things you mentioned above. In many of the previous posts, people mentioned cooking for others in their times of sadness. This is love personified and made real, in something that can be held, tasted, seen, smelled....and remembered on the palate and in the heart. Gifts of food are gifts of sustenance. It is harder...for one to be able to do this for themselves...if there is nobody around that knows them well enough to do it for them. But even then...the simple reality of seeing food...a bright red shining pepper turned on its side...a floppy bunch of celery staunch and aromatic at the market....a popcorn machine flipping out hot white kernels of puffy sweet saltiness....even seeing food can improve the mood of someone that is unhappy. You don't have to do a thing...the food is just there, gently smiling in its own way...in a welcome to join in life. What caught my real interest in thinking about this, was in thinking of what foods I would cook, to raise the dead...to lift a seriously depressed person out of the doldrums. First I would saute some onions slowly in butter. No garlic, that would be too bold, to insinuating, too pushy. Then the best most aromatic coffee available...would be put on to fill the house with its demanding warm aroma. Bacon? No...somehow it is too rude. Cinnamon buns...made with fresh yeast, allowed to rise twice at least...the yeasty buttery bright cinnamon scent tattooing a demand to rise and eat. None of this need be eaten. It is only for the scents.... Later, sweet hot mint tea. One fresh perfect fig. Then finally, even later.... the most intense, rich, pure, jelly jiggling cup of chicken broth imaginable. I can not imagine, that anyone capable of rising from pain would not be risen by these gentle teasing things. What would you make?

Cooking definitely helps alleviate the dreadful despair that I would feel at needing to eat at McDonalds if I did not know how to cook.

Startling, that ingredient list, huh? Chef Boyardee is surely keeping America employed. Plus several other small countries, too, it is to be imagined. Lovely...sugar cane, sugar beets, grown in the tropical sunshine! And chemicals galore that require at least a Master's Degree in 'something' to build from whatever slop they manage to build it from. Thank goodness for higher education and the heights to which it has brought us!! Indeed, the very concept of canned spagetti is miles ahead of the usual stuff, no? for as we all know...the tomato is botanically a fruit...so sugar is naturally a good combiner with it. What we are really getting here...is dessert for our main course. Who could want more in this busy world? All on one plate. Now if they could figure out a way to have cake and eat it too, the ultimate philosophic pinnacle would be reached. All through food. Bliss.

Yes...the service is top-notch for anywhere in the world...as are the facilities. And they do work with local farmers to have them grow produce and meat(s) to exact specs. No small feat. And when it works right, it glows.

I am always somewhat surprised by The Greenbrier. It is really smack dab in the middle of Almost-Nowhere (which is something like Almost-Heaven), West Virginia. You drive through miles of nothing, and then there it is. It is imposing...and it is elegant and it has the same aura that other resort hotels such as The Breakers hold. There is no wandering in...by 'just anybody' here. Your car will not be parked by the valet unless there is good reason to be there. It is old world WASP snotty in its own charming way. There are dress codes. You will see families with small children...where even the children are wearing dresses or nice pants rather than jeans. The food? It can be very good during the seasons that the hotel is sure to be well booked. But again, this is an old WASP'y place, and tasty exciting food is not right up at the top of most old WASP families Wish Lists. If one orders well, one might get something quite tasty, but that is not what sells the place to the people that frequent it year after year. On the other hand, it hosts cooking classes both for adults and for children year-round, with major cookbook authors and chefs coming in to teach for a week or two at a pretty penny. And there is the food writers conference, too...here is the link: http://www.greenbrier.com/foodwriters/ (Looks like Ruhlman is going to appear at this year's conference...) One other very nice thing about The Greenbrier is that they are working within the community to improve and develop opportunities for young people who might wish to enter the world of fine dining or other foodservice careers...by financially supporting and being quite involved in the operation of a new curriculum which is offered at the very small Greenbrier Community College (part of the WVU system but not a well-known one) and by also offering work-study programs for degree-seeking students. Finally...I must say...where else can one go to study 'falconry' as part of a vacation package?!

It should not have to be an optimal situation, though. It should be a regular situation. There is a very simple management tool called the Job Description. A well-written job description states exactly which tasks each defined job encompasses and at what level of compentency these tasks are expected to be done by the person that is hired to do that job. Any person who accepts the job must also accept and sign off that they clearly understand the responsibilities and tasks that the job demands...and generally if there are more than one 'group' of types of employees working together to create a product or service, the tasks defined in the various job descriptions fit together in the best manner for the business and for the people working there. If the tasks are not being performed by the person(s) in an acceptable manner, then they should be called on it. And called on it again and again until they get it right and stop disturbing the work flow and pleasant atmosphere that should exist in a well-managed place. Obviously each business will (or should) have clearly defined limits as to how often an employee will be counseled by management for performance-based issues before that employee would be considered for termination...and this is something that also should be made clear and signed off on during the hiring process. What disturbs me even more than the fact that this simple management task is not done as often as it could or should be...(for everyone spends a great deal of their time at work when they do have a full time job...and there is no reason on earth for it to be unpleasant...what a waste of the precious stuff of life, which is time!) is that still, in this business, the restaurant business...we still hear of chefs who throw things at people, who are allowed screaming tantrums, etc...based on the fact that 'it has always been that way'...or 'they are creative'. Utter nonsense. They need to stop this act, and they need to start acting the same way professionals in other businesses do or they will not ever, really, be considered of the same ilk. To throw something at a person with intent to hurt them...on any street in the USA... could be considered assault. Why...should it be tolerated...in a kitchen?

There is supposed to be something called a manager. On organization charts, whether drawn out or just in the staffs heads...this is who they report to. It is the managers responsibility and part of their ongoing daily job to be sure that BOH and FOH respect each other and get along. If there is no manager that is in charge, ultimately, of BOTH groups, that is a problem. If there is a manager that is in charge that is wandering around and not addressing the BOH vs. FOH situational workings, that is a problem too. If there is a manager who thinks their job is to be in the office doing officework all day or night and not walking the floor, that is a problem too. A good, caring manager can cut this crap between BOH and FOH out, for the most part. It is not something that is required to operate...and it is not something that is 'inherent in the business' unless you allow it to be. It is truly a crying shame that this business that supposedly offers 'hospitality' and happiness on a plate...puts up with this operational nonsense with the people that are working in it.