Tidbits that I found interesting this morning….
Chef-owner Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink took home a James Beard Award last night. He was named Best Chef: South. Other nominees included Zach Bell of Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach, Scott Boswell of Stella! in New Orleans, John Harris of Lilette in New Orleans, and Christopher Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham. Here is the full list of 2010 winners.
Barry Estabrook won a James Beard Award for his 2009 Gourmet article, “Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes.” Estabrook wrote a revealing article about tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida.
Since Gourmet is no more (although there are rumors of a rebirth), you can now read Estabrook’s writing at The Atlantic. He continues his work on labor abuses in the field, including this article about oranges and modern slavery.
Mark Bittman started his new “slog” (salon/blog) on Monday. Here’s his opening salvo. He’ll be joined at his “community table” by Barry Estabrook, Civil Eats editor Paula Crossfield, “outlaw cook” John Thorne, Raj Patel, and others.
An interesting trend: chefs foregoing meat. Sunday, Jose Andres declared on 60 Minutes that meat is boring, compared to the wonders of a fruit such as a pineapple. Even more amazing: Mario Batali instituted Meatless Mondays at all of his restaurants.
