I was just reading the two newspapers we have delivered to our home each morning – The Star Ledger and the New York Times. On Wednesdays I always turn to the food “sections” first. As I was perusing through a few thoughts came in to my mind, not original by any means, but, and I hate to use this overused phraseology – food for thought. On the one hand I wondered why the Star Ledger has all but abandoned its coverage of the food world. Is this because they consider the New Jersey food landscape devoid of inspired work, is it because they have instituted budget cutbacks, is it because they don’t “get” or value the raging popularity of food culture in this country, or, bottom line, is it that food culture doesn’t have the desired marginal return in selling their particular paper in their particular market? More substantively, I found myself thinking about this – the question which is being applied to the blurred lines in the media culture in general these days – it is media’s job to report the news or is it media’s job to create the news? Where is the line? Do we want a line? Do we need a line? Is media reporting objectively at all anymore? Is objectivity passe? Where is the absolute best of food culture or is media merely trying to create/bolster the ever burgeoning population of celebrities? Today, I find the answer to this question – unclear and indecipherable.
I am usually suspicious when I see someone featured over and over again in the media. I wonder if this person(s) is truly as spectacular as they seem or is it their PR people trying to prop up something that isn’t quite as great as they would like? Is a fat budget fostering their coverage in a multitude of ways, is the public somehow “demanding” to see and know more about them and/or their food and contribution to the “culture” or, does their work stand on its own – worthy of analysis, praise and pedestal? On news programs – morning, noon and night, we see more and more, guests booked who are out on their latest book tour. Is the book great? Or, are the networks merely supporting the marketing thrusts of publishers and authors? Last week the James Beard Awards were given out to a wide array of talents in the business – likened in the press to the Academy Awards of the American food landscape. Careers are made and broken in this process. Humbly, who am I to argue with this? No one. And, I am sure none of this matters to 99.9% of the population of this planet – but it matters to me.
Granted, I consider myself a neophyte in the food world, merely a product of my own narrow experiences, just plain motivated by interest and my own love of cooking. But I find myself not quite being able to sift out what is greatness, what is the best? Is it first and foremost the food – taste, presentation, originality, value, even? Is my own individual palate the measure – or is it the chef’s? Does food have to be cutting edge or are re-fashioned, old-fashioned recipes, on which so many current personalities have built their empires just as interesting and worthy? Or am I so naive that I am missing the common denominator in all of media and marketing – if it sells, it is worth putting out there????? I confess, that I am sometimes overwhelmed and confused by the whole process and its outcomes. Have we so totally bought into “the dump” theory?? – just dump it out there and see what happens – what survives and sells is worthy?
I will never get the opportunity to eat in every famous chef’s restaurant(s), read every great cookbook and try all of the best recipes, read all of the best food writing volumes of yesterday and today. I most likely will die trying, though – at least as far as my little legs will take me. What I can’t quite settle on though is the inherent conflict in the values of media – take it at face value, try to decipher from it all what is “best”, try to define what is best, or is it just about taste, my taste, your taste, or the mass’s taste????? Ugh, today, I just don’t know………
I’d be remiss in not posting a footnote here – on Pete Wells’ column in today’s NYT. The first 8 paragraphs of his review on Perla are, in my humble opinion, dead on in the world of food writing. He’s succeeded in evoking the desired effect – run out and eat this food asap! Mission Accomplished!
On a lighter note, yesterday’s experiments – Chicken and Roasted Fruit Salad*, Molly Wizenberg’s Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystalized Ginger, Chicken Caprese Salad and my first encounter with the Smitten Kitchen Classic Brownie recipes were all well received. Ryan and I were home alone last night – he asked for Chicken Caprese Salad and I decided at about 8pm to dive into a new (for me) brownie recipe. We had a “small” sampling on the way to bed…..perfect way to end the day, I’d say!
Garden photos are from this morning!!!!!! Hello, sunshine!!!!!!!! How about hanging around for awhile??????
*For the warm apple vinaigrette that I was hoping to make, I substituted cranberry juice, reduced it, mixed in chopped shallots, a little honey, olive oil and fresh thyme. Recipes to follow……..