Let Them Eat Foie Gras

In the article “Let Them Eat Foie Gras! French Food Fights Back,” talks about a  of couple organizations in France that are trying to show the world that French food will regain its dominance and that it is constantly evolving. The organizations, Omnivore and Le Fooding, became tired of seeing top chefs from other countries overtake French restaurant’s ranks on “best restaurant” lists as well as the decline of French restaurants in places such as New York City. They decided to “publish guide books that highlight a new generation of chefs in France and holding high-profile food festivals that attract top chefs.” Omnivore and Le Fooding are beginning to be sponsored by some big food and drink companies in France that can benefit from the kind of publicity that the organizations are offering. The formation of the two groups were both “by journalists to rally against the mainstream culinary press” because they felt these press “gave all the attention to expensive, overly formal restaurants that focused on luxurious décor” but these expensive places are not typically what the average diner is looking for today. Chef Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 in Manhattan has participated in events for both organizations recently and believes that “France has done a lot to move forward. They’ve opened up to the idea of being contemporary.” For centuries, French food has been regarded as eloquent and superior based on factors such as their ingredients, their technique, and even how they classify sauce. The precision used by French chefs allowed them to “train disciples, write more accurate cookbooks and effectively export their cuisine around the world.” Although, that exact tradition is what has hurt French cuisine in recent years. Other countries have been experimenting more and that has decreased the French’s dominance.  Omnivore and Le Fooding are doing their best to highlight that the French have begun to experiment as well, and that getting an authentic French meal doesn’t have to break the bank.

The author of this article does a good job of showing both sides of the argument. She shows how these new guidebooks are making good changes but also how the old guidebooks are still prominent and are relied on for making decisions. I thought that having both sides of the story was a positive aspect of the article. Doing this shows the reader that the author really tried to explain what each guidebook was about.  She also does a good job in breaking up her article. There aren’t any long paragraphs of text which makes it very easy to read.

The article was really interesting to me as it shows not only how the way people think about French food is changing, but also how not all of the French are for this movement to a more modern way of cuisine. What was particularly neat to me was how the two organizations were formed. The organizations have many similarities in how they were formed and why they were formed. I thought it was interesting how alike the groups were and how they had a common idea.

French Gastronomic Diplomacy

Associated Press recently published an article called “France’s Gastronomic Diplomacy” about the first worldwide “Good France” event. This event included people from 5 continents, 150 countries and 1,300 chefs. Chefs at the event ranged from Beijing to Rio de Janeiro. The event took place at Versailles Palace in France. The French Foreign Ministry and master chef Alain Ducasse orchestrated the event. “Organizers estimated that 100,000 diners took part, making it one of the biggest food events in history.” The banquet allowed for people from all over the world to savor French cuisine. The author of the article points out that the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius’s, presence at the event show how seriously the French take their cuisine. French cuisine was declared part of world heritage by UNESCO in 2010. France is one of the world’s most visited countries and about 60% of tourists claim that food is one of their motivations for visiting. France’s political influence in the world has diminished over the last century, and their cuisine allows them to promote the country’s identity. The restaurants present at the even ranged from bistros to high-end eateries, and all of these participants were encouraged to donate 5% of their proceeds to a local non-government organization that promotes health and the environment. Recognized attendees at the banquet included the new US French Ambassador, Jane Hartley, and Miss France. Ducasse stated that “this, for me, is the true face of French cuisine today- a living diverse cuisine that moves with the times.” Other master chefs that participated were Joel Robuchon, Marc Haeberlin, and Japan’s Fumiko Kono.
The author of this article was Thomas Adamson from Associated Press. I liked Adamson’s writing style and felt that he did a good job at adequately describing the event. He used imagery to give the reader an idea of what the event was like and what type of food was served. He was also able to get some great quotes from attendees which really added to the piece. He added some interesting pieces of information about the participants and France itself. I think that all of the information he presented was relevant and interesting.
This article was particularly refreshing to read as it was something that was positive about French cuisine because I feel that many of the articles I’ve read recently were talking about how French food was on the decline. This event sounds very exciting and interesting, it would be a lot of fun to attend. Who wouldn’t want to be in one of France’s most famous places eating renowned French food? It was amazing to me how many participants they had and how many diners attended. I am happy that I found this article. It is great for France to get this kind of publicity and host an event of such magnitude. The event really shows how dedicated to food the French are and how important it is to the French people and their culture.

Newest Influences to French Cuisine

Alexander Lobrano’s article “The New Japanese Masters of French Cuisine” focuses on the newest chefs in French cuisine and how they are utilizing Japanese influences to improve their food. Three of these new chefs have just opened some of the best and most original restaurants in Paris. According to the article, recently Japan has been supplying French restaurants with young chefs who have talent as apprentices which increases the Japanese influence on French cuisine. A majority of these chefs who come to France for new opportunities remain in France and continue cooking. Some of the more ambitious chefs have begun to open restaurants like Nakatani. The chef behind this restaurant, Chef Shinsuke Nakatani, worked at a southwestern style French restaurant in the Left Bank for nine years. The author describes the chef’s style of cooking as being lyrical. The food heavily relies on produce and is light, fresh, and flavorful. The next restaurant featured is Neige d’Ete (“Summer Snow”) whose chef is Chef Hideki Nishi. Nishi worked under Chef Eric Briffard for 14 years at the restaurant, Le V. Nishi’s take on French cuisine is a menu that is constantly changing. The dishes themselves are delicate and meticulous such as “a single, perfectly grilled cep mushroom centered in a pool of bright yellow sabayon enriched with cep bouillon.” The next featured chef is Chef Ryuji Teshima who the author says is the most talked about of the new Japanese chefs. Teshima recently opened Restaurant Pages in the heart of Paris. His style of cooking is described as refined and continuously evolving tasting menus. The author says that the French and the Japanese have had a long food love affair based on both of their loves of the look of the plate they’re serving. The last chef mentioned is Vincent Crépel who was born in southwest France but has recently worked as a sous-chef in Singapore under Andre Chiang. He had just opened a new bistro, Porte 12, and says that he was inspired by the many tastes and textures that are found in Singapore’s cuisine.

The author does a good job of giving detail to the reader to really give the reader a sense of what’s going on. I liked how the author had specific examples of people who are bringing Japanese influence into French cuisine. I thought that the examples really helped the author to make his point. The author also gave a good amount of pictures of the chefs and their food which I think helped the article seem more interesting.

Overall, I liked this piece. I thought it was interesting to see how restaurants in Paris are evolving and where they get their inspiration from. I liked the descriptions of the food that the author gave. I thought this article was very insightful to how Paris and all of France are becoming globalized. I thought that it was really neat to read about these chefs who come to Paris and bring inspiration from where they’re from or where they’ve lived and integrate those influences into French cuisine.

More Changes to French Cuisine- Rant and Rave #2

The article “Some Thoughts on French Cuisine” is an article that reflects on French food and why and how it’s changed recently. The author begins by examining French cuisine as a popular topic of debate. He goes into an explanation on what is considered French food. Back in the old days, French food was prepared seasonally and with ingredients that were local. Times have changed though and just like with the rest of the world, the French have become more modernized. Supermarkets are now bigger than they were, and fast food is growing in popularity every day. The French are also experiencing globalization which means that what they are eating now may not necessarily be considered French cuisine. The author then begins to talk about the New York Times article “Can Anyone Save French Food?”.  He said that some people were angered by the article because it only had one French chef but he found the article to be “optimistic and positive.” He thinks it’s noble of these non-French chefs to cook French cuisine as you don’t have to be from somewhere to be good at their style of cooking. The author explains that while some restaurants have moved away from typical French cuisine, popular French foods are still in France, they are just being cooked at home more than the restaurants. He finds the changes in French cuisine to be refreshing and open.

I think this author had a good handle on the point he was trying to make. The reader could really tell that the author knew what he was talking about. The author includes lots of examples in his piece which do a good job of supporting his claim. He breaks up the paragraphs with pictures which keeps the reader from being intimidated by a very long stretch of words. Overall, I think the author did a good job on creating this piece.

I really like how this article was the opposite of the New York Times article. This one makes French cuisine sound like it will improve and that culture just needs to adapt to changes from modernization and globalization. The author really makes the future of French cuisine seem optimistic whereas the New York Times author had a very negative attitude about the future. I liked the case that the author made. I think that there is hope for French food and the culture that surrounds it. From this article, you can tell that many of the French’s customs are still there, they are just being changed slightly to accommodate the growing world. I like how the author explains why fast food is becoming so popular in France and why fresh, local ingredients are becoming less popular. I thought that this article painted French culture in a better light than it has been previously painted. I enjoyed reading this article because I just really felt like the author wanted you to not give up hope on French cuisine.

French Food Revolution

In the article “Can Anyone Save French Food?” , the author states that the quality of French food has been declining within the last few decades. France was once a place of new and exciting foods but now over half of the restaurants there use meals that weren’t produced in their kitchens. The author goes on to say that chefs from all over the world are bringing something new and fresh to the streets of France. These chefs from all different places, such as America and Australia, are in France cooking French food and are doing exceptionally well at it. The natives in Paris would have once scoffed at the notion of foreign chefs cooking French food, but they are now craving it and want Paris to be more adventurous with their food. The recent movement in the food industry is the first since the 1960’s. Many new chefs in France are relying on what is seasonal and fresh that day to determine their menu. This idea is a popular one among French restaurants lately. The author continues the article with paragraphs regarding different restaurants around France with different styles and chefs. Overall, the author was making the point that French chefs are taking the easy way out and bringing in foreign chefs with new ideas has refreshed the idea of food in the French culture.

I think that overall the author did a good job at getting his point across. He starts the article with facts and statistics that are relatively shocking and then continues his article with how those statistics could be changing with all of the new things happening in France. The author explains that many French chefs just don’t care anymore when once they were very particular when it came to their food. He shares new ideas that are being implemented in French restaurants and illustrates how the foreign chefs are really bringing life back into the French idea of food.

The article does a good job explaining what French food has become. I found it interesting that so many meals were premade and that McDonald’s sales were significantly higher than one would expect in a country known for its fine cuisine. I liked that new chefs with new ideas are going to France and cooking French food with fresh ingredients. I thought the article was well written and had a lot of information to offer about the new chefs in France and how they are changing the way people in Paris eat. Though I’ve never been to France or had authentic French food, I will say that if the author is correct in claiming that French food was going downhill, I’m glad that young and adventurous chefs are coming to France to save the day and part of the French culture. I agree with the author that French food was once renowned and that the part of French culture that deals with food should change and grow with all of the new ideas that have emerged.