Need help with ideas for food column!

[barcelonabites]

Hi Everyone,

I have a newspaper interested in ideas for a food column and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions? What aspect of food culture would you love to read about (on a monthly basis!)? The audience would be quite international so it shouldn't be anything too region-specific. I would LOVE to hear your ideas!!

[Genkinaonna]

What about something relating to how food is named, you could explore different foods with unique names or even common foods and discuss where their names came from, kind of a more anthropological bent to food writing. For example, barbecue coming from the West Indies Barbacoa, and the related meanings. But then again, I'm a geek and etymology has always interested me...

Good Luck!

Edited August 17, 2010 by Genkinaonna (log)

[barcelonabites]

That's actually a really great idea. I could call it "The Language of Food" or something like that. I also love words and their histories so it would be fun. Thanks!

[pedie]

We just completed a Learning-in-Retirement class on the topic of food. The format is peer-taught, so each member was responsible for teaching one class. Each person selected a food item and did extensive research on the item and then taught us what they learned. It was a bit on the order of reading one of the food books written by Mark Kurlansky. The research covered everything from the origination of the item, the cultural aspects, the political aspects (Were wars fought over it! Were people fined because of it? Were legal battles entered over it?), the nutritional aspects of it and ways to enjoy it. It was a fantastic class, especially when someone brought sample items. We were surprised at how fascinating it all was and we even looked at humble barley differently. This is all a prelude to suggest that you take a food item and share little known facts about it...maybe ending with a recipe?

[IndyRob]

How 'bout a monthly culinary preview of global holidays, festivals and/or events. Regional Ramadan foods, Christmas foods around the world.... What's cooking at the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco? Etc, etc, etc.

Or, a monthly update of what's coming into season where? Like the above, but more about harvests (harvest festivals?) and game seasons.

[Fat Guy]

There are some commonalities among the world's major cuisines that could be fodder for columns. For example, most every cuisine has some variant of the dumpling. People might be interested in reading about dumplings around the world. That sort of thing.

[Genkinaonna]

No problem! I figure if I'm interested, someone else somewhere must be...let me know if you end up using it, I'd be interested in reading it!

[Chris Amirault]

There are some commonalities among the world's major cuisines that could be fodder for columns. For example, most every cuisine has some variant of the dumpling. People might be interested in reading about dumplings around the world. That sort of thing.

I'm pretty sure most cuisines have sweetened, fried dough, too, in some form or another. And I, for one, want to know how to make every single one of them.

[Doodad]

Along some other people's lines, I am fascinated by how a product is used in different places. Noodles for instance. Or tomatoes.

[Eatmywords]

How about following a cuisine outside its home country exploring variations in how its been adapted to foreign palates? General Tso's chicken believed to be invented in and mostly N.American centric for ex. I went to a Chinese place in Florence once that cooked everything in olive oil (wasn't very good). That sort of thing

[Chris Amirault]

Someone ordered a chop suey sandwich with extra fries at a Chinese-American restaurant yesterday. I wish I had had my camera.

[Eatmywords]

Someone ordered a chop suey sandwich with extra fries at a Chinese-American restaurant yesterday. I wish I had had my camera.

That's unheard of and nasty. Were the fries in the sandwich?

[Chris Amirault]

Of course not. On the side. In the sandwich would be gauche.

[Yajna Patni]

Indian Chinese is famous. As soon as i land in Delhi i need to run for some gobi manchurian or chili panir etc. I love the intermixing s of people and how they translate the cuisines of others, and how they adapt their own cuisine to different ingredients when they arrive somewhere else.

[Edward J]

Mmmmmm... ideas for a food column?

My entire life is consumed with the food and hospitality industry, so I have only one general topic to suggest:

Politics

To the best of my knowledge no one writes about the politics of the hospitality industry, and I don't know why this is, and also don't know if it would "sell". But it is interesting...

Here are a few ideas for various articles:

1) Industry benchmarks. What benchmarks are there there for cooks and waiters? For Chefs and Maitre D's? Are these National benchmarks or Provincial/State?

2) Hospitality Unions. What changes have they brought to the industry? What benchmarks or standards have they introduced? How closely do they operate with trade schools in designing culinary curriculum?

3) Culinary Schools. There are tremendous variations in the curriculums of every Culinary school, with some schools graduating students after 4 mths, and some after 2 or even 3 years. What benchmarks do these schools acknowledge when designing curriculums? How does one offer "degrees" in manual trades like cooking or baking? How aggresively do the schools recruit?

4) Social customs in N. America. Why is it a social custom to tip a percentage of the entire dining experience to only one employee in N. American restaurants? Is this changeable?

5) Biting the hand.....Why is it that all of N.American media (with emphasis on the publishing media) simply refuse to acknowledge the use of a scale in the private home? Is it that they feel the "typical" N. American can not adjust to such technology? Do they understand that virtually every N.American uses scales at work--from supermarket cashiers to lab techs to truckdrivers, from airport check-in staff to doctors?

6) Bakers. What benchmarks or standards are there for bakers? Do you forsee the dissapearance of small independant bakeries in the near future?

Many, many more topics. All of them closely linked with future of the hospitality industry. Will it "sell" though? Or does everyone just want recipies, new wonder ingredients, and the restaurant scene's "openings and clsoings"?