Resharing Some Food Favorites (Because - Deadlines)

Hey all –

I'm up against another deadline, so instead of scrambling for something new, I thought I’d reshare a few pieces I really like but that, for some reason, haven’t been read as much as they deserve.

As always, I’d love to know what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Keith

Bourdain and Orwell on food

Two men I truly love—at least theoretically. I subscribe to the never meet your heroes philosophy, or at the very least, if you do meet them, assume they have lives beyond their work and try to talk about something interesting.

anyway…

Everyone’s talking about 1984 these days – dystopias are trending? But Orwell was an amazing essayist on endless subjects and it’s well worth exploring his catalogue.

Not all of them were deeply social and political. In Down and Out in Paris and London, Orwell worked as a plongeur in Paris restaurants, basically a glorified dishwasher—but with more suffering. A plongeur did all of the undesireable work: washing dishes, scrubbing floors, peeling mountains of potatoes, and at the bottom of a brutal kitchen hierarchy. As I was writing this, I just ordered myself a new copy.

that, plus Bourdain’s Don’t Eat Before Reading This is essential food reading with his own take on restaurants, travel, and life.
📖 Read it here

Anthony Bourdain's "Don't Eat Before Reading This"

Anthony Bourdain’s “Don’t Eat Before Reading This” is now a classic piece of food writing and one that launched him into lasting fame. It was published nearly 25 years ago.

Finding Home ElsewhereFinding Home Elsewhere

Next: Jacques Pépin and the perfect omelette.

I wish I could make an omelette like Jacques Pépin. For all his fame in the U.S., he’s oddly underappreciated in France. Imagine being a culinary icon everywhere but your homeland.

Anyway, no matter how good you are at making an omelette, he’s probably better. 🥚 Check it out

French Recipes: Omelettes aux herbes

Omelette des Herbes (Herb Omelette)

Finding Home ElsewhereFinding Home Elsewhere

And finally: Is French food... kinda bland?

It is sacrilege to say... But if you’ve ever found yourself craving spice or wondering why everything is just buttery in this country, you’ll enjoy this one. It features a fun conversation with my friend Stéphane, a Parisian who has thoughts about beans.

Plus, there’s a bit about how places like Nantes offer more variety, with Laotian, Korean, Syrian, Jordanian, Senegalese and Sudanese cuisine, among others.
Of course, some of these spots might be tweaking their flavors to suit French tastes, which is a bit sad.
🍽️ Give it a read

The Untold Truths About French Cuisine: Beyond Butter and Baguettes

French food is world-renowned for its ‘elegance’, but what happens when subtlety becomes bland? From croissants to creamy butter, French cuisine excels in certain areas while lacking spice and variety. As someone described it to me recently, “the French are masters of the bland foods.” Despite the highs and lows of French culinary traditions, "nuanced" …

Finding Home ElsewhereFinding Home Elsewhere

Comments about comments

As always, let me know what you think—I want to hear from you!

Or at least pretend you’ve read stuff, then you can click the little heart, and drop a general comment like:

1. “Interesting read!” (Nice, neutral.)
2. “Never thought about it that way.” (intrigue, requiring no follow-up.)
3. “Good effort!” (Encouraging, noncommittal.)
4. or just “Wow!” (rampant enthusiasm for no particular reason - the American response, a kind of typewritten high five - which has a much more interesting history than I might have imagined)

which I have been guilty of. And recently.

You could even cut and paste those ones. It still feels nice.

Or just give those Middle School student-friendly generic comments that work well for kids who are so excited about whatever they just did that any positive comment will work. They’re not looking for substance.

I should create a list of those for teachers.

I described this in French Days.

…I feel like the star of a bad middle school musical with actors bumping into each other on stage and everyone singing off key. Then, after the show, you have to talk to the them and encourage them to do more.

15 years of teaching middle school. I did this a lot.

(“Oh wow! You guys really did it! You did!” - the best I could offer. I understand that I need to encourage their efforts, but the results are tragic and should be discouraged for the greater good.)

Which may sound like I am the middle school student, big-footedly clumping my way around the internet in front of my community, which is precisely what I am doing.

I’ll take it.

Keith