Steve Klc

You all just as easily could be talking about the Bill Yosses "Desserts for Dummies." I highly recommend this book as well.

I first thought mastic was gum arabic. It isn't. It's from the acacia tree. As luck would have it, I'm researching ingredients and products for a Greek/Turkish/Lebanese restaurant consulting project I have coming up and was in a wonderful Washington DC Lebanese and Middle Eastern market today called Lebanese Taverna. Sure enough I saw a little jar of this hard crystalline stuff that looked a little like rock sugar candy, so I asked Gladys Abi-Najm, one of the impossibly beautiful family of brothers and sisters now running the market (and the several restaurants around town also called Lebanese Taverna.) Gladys said as kids they mixed a little chunk of the mastic with regular wax and made their own version of chewing gum that lasted all day. I poked around a bit in their cookbook collection and it seems mastic was also used to flavor Middle Eastern puddings and stews, historically. Here's the link to their site: http://www.lebanesetaverna.com/index2.html

1. now you tell me! 2. yes, it would be technically edible, a creme brulee topping taken to extreme lengths.

1. decades ago, trying to be efficient and defrosting a freezer with a chef's knife by chipping out chunks of ice, rather than unplugging and waiting for the ice to melt or using a hair dryer to speed up the ice melting. Pierced the wall, releasing the coolant, which resulted in the purchase of a new modern marvel, the frost-free fridge. 2. cooking sugar in a saucepan, covered, for a buttercream or caramel, then walking away from the stove to answer the phone or "quickly check e-mail." As smoke starts to waft through the hall, quickly pull pan off the heat to realize I've created a cool, new decorative sugar product--something called carbon sugar--thin, airy, crumbly, spongy black material--very, very cool on a sugar showpiece dusted with gold. Of course, the pan has to be thrown out because the black residue has bonded to the surface and cannot possibly be removed, no matter how you try. I've thrown out two saucepans because of this over the years. Now, carbon sugar can be made much more efficiently by "baking" in an oven.

Jeanne--your Food section is beautiful--colorful, consistently artistic and aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps the most beautiful newspaper Food section in the country. I especially enjoy your frequent use of photographer Renee Comet. Perhaps you'd be willing to share how this comes together each week--and reveal some of the process behind the product we see and read? How directly involved are you, as section editor, in the design and layout? How large is your team behind the scenes, apart from the writing talent, to help you put the section together? Are there Food section-specific people who handle this or are there general Post photo, art and graphic editors which you work with?

I read somewhere that the Food section goes out to 800,000 people each week--does the sheer magnitude of that number affect how you and your staff do your jobs each week and why you do certain things?

Bruce--one comment of yours which flew in under my radar was "right about the time when cooks and waiters were leaving restaurants in droves to seek their fortune in the dot-com dream world." Did you ever address this on your site or do you recall articles which addressed this? I'd appreciate the links. And thank you for clearing up that you are SauteWednesday--did I miss an "about the site" or "about the author" button? It seemed deliberately oblique and I am sorry if I missed your full disclosure. And Leslie--don't forget that even before Steve Plotnicki said it is difficult to judge a book based on one review, Bux said "I just read the review mentioned and have not read the book. From what I read on the sautewednesday.com page, it certainly sounds as if the book is sensationalism and meant to appeal most to those who don't eat at Daniel. I don't know if that's Ms. Brenner's fault or the reviewer's." My opinion is Bux correctly assessed that review. His next sentence was to disclose--for the umpteenth time online--that he has had a business and several close personal relationships involving Daniel. Your mentioning his daughter by name surely cleared that up for us all and gained what exactly? is that the context and balance a restaurant reviewer, food historian and novelist provides? Other than that, you're reacting to speculation as if you have something to prove. You don't, the book will stand on its own. You've urged for balance and context and promised the book delivers on the details, which many of us will hope to find when we read the book. For the few people reading this thread and NOT considering reading your book, you have done a very good job rekindling interest as Jinmyo noted. For me, I was planning to read it all along and now, with your thoughtful (but at times unthinking) contribution, this thread provides an even better template from which to judge. For that, thanks.

Jeanne--are changes underfoot affecting how we perceive newspaper food sections? For instance: Do you feel under any pressure to create an ongoing first-person food column--or significant food personality--a rival, if you will, in the style of Amanda Hesser in the New York Times Magazine? Do you think the next step in the evolution of newspaper food sections is for certain writers and voices to be slotted more as "Columnists" than "capital-J Journalists?" I'm specifically thinking of Russ Parsons at the LA Times. Are either of these examples evidence of newspaper food writing being taken more seriously--or aiming to be taken more seriously--and should we expect to see more first-person writing, commentary and news analysis from Food section writers?

I look forward to reading this book with a critical eye. Thank you Bux for sharing your initial reaction--realizing that you have not read the book yet and not been given such "unprecendented access" as the author. Bruce--did you write the review on SauteWednesday? Are these your words and are you SauteWednesday? Are you a friend of Leslie's or her pr agent? Did SauteWednesday "review" or "preview" any of her previous books--especially American Appetite? If so, could you provide a link?

Could it be Bux only meant he was against reading a "bad review of a restaurant that deserves a better one" and not against all negative reviews?

Shaw, aside from nailing the native privileged Napa style when you described yourself as having "an authentic version of the grimy/rumpled look," I think for me, the most telling comment was "Certainly, if you've dined in a bunch of other top restaurants, you've seen all these tricks before: The tidy little stack of ingredients (every dish looks like a "Napoleon") in the center of the big white plate. Lightly seared or roasted this-or-that on a bed of brightly-colored vegetables with something-or-other emulsion. The baby chocolate soufflé/cake for dessert." I'd add everything circular or square. My wife staged in the French Laundry kitchen last Summer (2001) when I had to be in Napa on other business. She was blown away by the consummate level of respect, calm yet efficient manner and supreme professionalism which pervaded every aspect of the back of the house--and which manifested itself on every plating and presentation. (She has also worked in Michel Richard's Citronelle (DC) kitchen, Roland Mesnier's White House kitchen and Jacque Torres's Le Cirque 2000 kitchen.) The group of "fairly significant" chefs I was with took several meals at The French Laundry--several had dined previously at the restaurant prior to this trip. Their collective assessment--it was a superb meal but there's no reason to go back. The level elsewhere around the country had been raised to such a degree that the Laundry wasn't so special anymore. For them, there was little to "rave about," merely good dishes. Shaw and Steve P--when you were there, you guys also had a different pastry chef. To Thomas Keller's credit, when he brought in a new pastry chef (French this time, not home-grown) he allowed Sebastien (from New York's Lutece) to develop his own desserts and petits fours and use his own recipes--only requiring that Sebastian retain a few signature items--like the coffee and donuts, which Sebastian proceeded to tweak and improve anyway. And Lizziee--I'm excited to hear your even more recent report.

One man's cheapskate is another's inventive cook!

Steve--tie your comment "but it is a romantic notion for readers that creative people get screwed" back to the Trama example given by Lizziee, courtesy of cabrales. Is there a correlation? And, when you conclude with "Not to make it too cliched but, a meal at Robuchon is more than a highly expert chef cooking a great meal. It's about a craftsman who knows how to express the terroir of the ingredients he has chosen to create something original that will have his signature on it" aren't you actually making the case that another chef--even copying Robuchon's recipes, techniques and presentation--would in fact be making a wholly different dish--factored through his own unique aesthetic--with a different yet still "original" result? Neither the Robuchon nor the copy would be inherently better, more creative or more original--and it would, hypothetically, be possible that the emulator/copier's dish would be a superior experience?

Robert--are you aware of the HearthKit? http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/dining/22OVEN.html I saw an ad for it recently featuring Rose Levy Beranbaum then tracked it down at Sur la Table--seems solid and substantial though I haven't worked with it yet.

Cogent enough to quote and excerpt here under "fair use?" If it were a paragraph or two within a larger essay--pull it out and paste it in here Jaybee.

Jaybee--when you say that "it makes little difference whether I am eating a dish prepared by its original creator or a fifth generation copy by a acolyte or opportunist chef, as long as what I am eating is the best that dish could taste" that operates on one immediate level--as a diner immune from larger issues and context. My question to you is--would you then have no problem reading puff pieces on said accolyte or opportunist chef, written by a misinformed, unaware food writer, touting such culinary genius? Otherwise--I'm with you completely, especially when you write: "I think people often confuse 'different' from 'innovative.' Uncreative people are often satisfied by being different rather than striving for truly creative innovation." You could substitute "new" for "different" and indict some of the glossy mainstream food media in the process.

Lizziee--I wonder what you think about this passage--you're not giving anything away? If Trama is quoted accurately and not out of a much larger context, it's one of the dumbest things I've read--on several levels--attributed to an elite chef in a while. Those "who worry about being copied" are as misguided as those who see copying as some sort of sin of commission and aren't able to talk about it honestly. The last passage about dishes being developed or pursued 80% in the mind and then fleshed out by technique rings roughly true for the way I work. It has nothing to do with the base of knowledge and experience and spirit which informs those processes. Trama comes off as petty and insecure.

Wilfrid--if you think this is "an effect exaggerated by the competitiveness of the Manhattan food scene," within the NY food scene, then imagine what happens when chefs from around the country, with less exposure, training, confidence and restraint, come to NY to cook and/or try to attract media attention for themselves? Might there be more than just a little pressure to create and serve "more interesting" dishes than they ordinarily would feel at home? I'd suspect so.

Meaning that they are written with the working pro in mind--to be read by and to influence chefs/restaurateurs/sommeliers/f & b directors/advertisers/what have you. I'm not as big a fan of Art Culinaire as Liza--and probably agree more with Lesley C, our Canada board moderator who has written about how she feels Art Culinaire has had negative effects on younger chefs trying to emulate what they see in its pages--with strange, discordant, misplaced results. It is a genre a bit apart from glossy consumer magazines for foodie audiences like Gourmet and apart from newspaper food writing. Sometimes "food writing" gets lumped into one catch-all, but really there are different audiences, expectations, pressures, advertisers, deadlines, etc. We talked a bit about that very Gastronomica issue previously Hop--I, too, adored the pho article by Alexandra Greeley. She made me realize I had been eating inferior pho all these years--relying on guidance from a certain ex-Washington Post restaurant critic--now on the Gastronomica advisory board--who wasn't aware of the nuances either! The "Food as Intellectual Property" by Anna M. Shih--who posts here as Chocokitty by the way--and the food irradiation piece by the Washington Post's food science writer Robert Wolke, were very nice as well. The rest of the journal issues haven't been anywhere near as consistent, provocative or lively enough for me, though. Too often they miss the real issues or focus in on the mundane and irrelevant--but you know, you're right--there is a "tenured college professor mailing it in" tone to much of it--while the real world, and adept writers, reside just outside the walls. Many thanks lturley4--I lost my bookmark when I went to an iBook from a PC.

Don't forget our even more esteemed Suvir, Liza! Hopleaf--what were your favorite articles in the Gastronomica issue you have and why? Let's also remember some of these magazines are really meant for pros--like Art Culinaire and Food Arts--though non-pros can benefit from them as well. Liza--isn't Waitrose online as well? Seems to me I stumbled across their site once and was impressed--not least by the pretty pictures. Do you have the link? Hopleaf--do help build up our anemic-at-present Chicago restaurant reports--and also post about your swing through Maine, if you still recall vividly enough. And I'm sure you meant to say "Michael Jackson (the beer guru, not the lame musician or the NFL player or the gritty starting point guard for the NCAA basketball championship Georgetown Hoyas who later went on to Harvard.")

Wilfrid--your observation and "regret that chefs either want to, or feel pressurised to, devise menus of new and innovative dishes rather than perfect the preparation of the established repertoire" is fascinating--I wonder how much pressure you feel comes from the magazine and newspaper food media? How much is self-imposed--a feeling that in order to receive media coverage they have to be perceived as new or innovative? For me, and I'd suspect Steve P. and you as well--it isn't tradition or inventiveness that makes something good or not.

We're fortunate to have Jeanne McManus, the current editor of The Washington Post Food section, join us for a few days of questions and answers. Feel free to start posting your questions, thoughts and ideas now and Jeanne will begin addressing them on Wednesday June 5th. As with our previous eGullet Q&A's--to post your question click on "New Topic." That way each question on this forum is kept separate--and Jeanne can respond to you personally. If any eGulleteer--newbies from Austin or Chicago or Hartford or Atlanta or indeed anywhere else--has any technical or logistical questions about this--feel free to message or e-mail me. I'll talk you through it. Jeanne became Food editor in 1999 and since then, her section has garnered critical acclaim--most notably the 5 James Beard award nominations for Newspaper Journalism in 2001 and winning 3--Best Column, Best Feature, Best News Story. Also from her Post bio: "Was deputy sports editor for eight years that included 5 Olympics, 3 Redskins coaches, 3 Bullets/Wizards coaches, 3 Capitals coaches, Tonya and Nancy, OJ, Magic, Mike Tyson, 2 Michael Jordan retirements, one Bandwagon and dozens of stories on various athletes charged with drunk driving and sexual assault. Style assignment editor (one year), Magazine senior editor (eight years), Editorial Page assistant editor (2 years). Fifth generation Washingtonian, a product of 16 years of local Catholic education (Blessed Sacrament grade school, Georgetown Visitation High School, Trinity College). Could win the Nobel Prize and still be known first and foremost as Tony Kornheiser's friend Nancy. Live with husband, David Stang, in Bethesda. And no I don't have a great kitchen. I have a lousy electric stove and a 22-year-old toaster oven." Peruse the Post Food section here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/food/ We also discussed Jeanne's recent piece "Searching for Lillian: You Can Learn a Lot About a Woman From the Recipes She Collects" here: http://forums.egullet.org/ikonboa....;t=6448 Yes, Jeanne decided to stir the pot a bit by answering a few questions early. Enjoy them and feel free to ask more.

Pity well-earned Miss J. Possibly topped only by finding yourself within the A Balic bio thread and unable to get out.

I think it says more about the dense, leaden, poorly designed prose John. It was rough going which you rightly draw attention to. (Koen would fit right in at that scholarly Gastronomica magazine.) As rough going as some of Bjorn Lomborg's analyses of environmental studies, which may or may not say something of the biases and preoccupations of some eGulleteers as well. In fact, most posts I find worthwhile say something about one's bias or preoccupation at that given moment in time--while general posts about the bias and preoccupation of others I rarely find rewarding. I was grateful you posted it Miss J, slogged through it and 44 people did at least check it out. I suspect most of us eGulleteers had pretty much put to bed the chefs copying/originality/inspiration issue as a canard on the previous threads and felt we didn't need to reopen it yet again.

Tony, funny you should mention Simon--he did already have something to say about her. Here's the link to our previous thread on the "Sultry Chef from Britain": http://forums.egullet.org/ikonboa....27;st=0 Seems there are fewer seats left on her bandwagon every day.