Jacqueline Church's Blog
Posted by Jacqueline Church
Today's post is brought to you by the letter C. That's C as in Coffee and Culinary travel. Our horizons expand through the experience of travel. Good educators can bring that same broadening experience to you, via the classroom.
Whether you're saving dollars or minimizing your carbon footprint, if a trip to Italy isn't in your plans and you're near the Big Apple, why not take a two-day break and learn something new at the I.C.C. The quality of the offerings here are fantastic. I'm a fairly highy caffeinated gal and I've done my fair share of reading and self-study. What a revelation this course was! It wasn't just the caffeine that made my eyes pop and my jaw drop.
Though this class was taught by experts from Illy's Universita del Caffe in Trieste, this wasn't just a promo for the company. This was a thoroughly entertaining and educational course about coffee from its historical significance, through trade and scientific developments, through current events like fair trade and sustainable farming trends.
The diversity of the class in terms of experience with coffee, with food, with science was great. Less well executed curriculum would have failed where this one succeeded.
Bad Writer, Good Dog
A food writer, this food writer approaches product reviews with the best of intentions. I accept products to review only when I think I can do them a fair turn and fit in the review in a timely and traffic-building way. Sometimes, life intervenes.
Good Dog Coffee came to my attention when I was researching Shade Grown Coffee. They are a micro-roaster and roast your coffee to order. They sell Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown coffees from smal coops that help establish living wages and good working conditions.
They even label your coffee with a personal label. Imagine my surprise when my bags of coffee arrived with my own grinning mug on the label! And my own mug was grinning when I sipped these darkly roasted, guilt-free brews. You can find Good Dog Coffee here and they're on Facebook, too.
Posted by Jacqueline Church
Quel Dommage - what a shame.
To read more about this Saveur this month has a great article here.
Many local cheese shops are hosting special tastings or meals even, featuring the cheese which may soon be only a memory.
If you'd like to learn more about other cheeses, I highly recommend the new magazine Culture: the Word on Cheese. The second edition has just been released and it's every bit as informative, fun, well-written and beautifully photographed as the first. On the topic of blues, the first edition has a great primer on blue cheeses, explaining the inoculation process, the varieties, their unique qualities and serving tips.
Here's a preview online: Culture, a sneakpeek.
You may notice an article on tea and cheese by none other than our Tea Sommelier, Cynthia Gold.
Another fun feature of Culture is the monthly centerfold - just like the centerfold of a men's magazine, we see a gorgeous two page spread photo, we learn of the likes and dislikes of the featured cheese, etc. Quite humorous and informative.
If you're buying cheese you'll want to protect it by properly wrapping it in cheese paper.
Should you find yourself with bits leftover of this or that, why not make a cheese spread?
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Posted by Jacqueline Church
What I didn't know is how he has grown as a chef and manager into a real innovator, while keeping his newly honored character.
Read my Momofuku: Happy Temple of Pork article here then go to my blog and read about my interview with him. See: Keep your Oscar: I'll take my Character: David Chang.
See also: A little peach and a lot of character. David Chang gets (yet another) award.
Coming as I do from a managment consulting background, I can tell you a lot of what he's doing or trying to do, is spot on. Fostering retention and commitment and even gaining a recruiting advantage are all things that are enhanced by the kinds of efforts Chang describes.
It was a great fun chat, even if there was a PR person lurking behind the mute button!
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Posted by Jacqueline Church
Our "cheesy friend" Jody sent us a box of cheeses from Dean and Deluca the other day. Trying the first few bites of the Coach Farm Triple Cream goat cheese absolutely gave me chills, it was that good. Thanks Jody!
Immediately, I had to tell you about it here, but what else could I write about it? Then it occured to me that I hadn't yet profiled an exciting new food magazine called Culture. Please read about it in this post, If You Think Cheese is Sexy, and find it soon at your cheesemonger or bookstore.
Researching the Coach Farm cheese I discovered that the farm carries the name of Coach Leather because that is who started the farm, the former owners of Coach Leather. I also learned they've won numerous awards for their cheeses. Having tried just one exquisite cheese of theirs I can not say I'm surprised.
But it doesn't stop there...guess who is married to the Coach Farm's owners' daughter? The son of this man, Armandino Batali. That's right, Mario Batali is married to the Cahn's daughter. Imagine those picnics?
Oh mama. Well if that doesn't do it for you, maybe the centerfold will, see CultureCheeseMag.com. If Winnimere only liked long walks on the beach...
Posted by Jacqueline Church
Read about Sandrine's to see what Alsatians are doing, with choucroute and sausage and more. The smallest region in France has the largest concentration of culinary stars. Something good is going on there.
The other sausage post this week was about our friends at Cochon and what they're doing with their Cajun versions of sausage and charcuterie.
For centuries folks learned to utilize and preserve every bit of meat they grew. After all, the pig took resources to grow and nurture and you had to really get every bit of value out of it when it was slaughtered.
Some artisans and chefs doing great things with salumi, charcuterie, hot dogs, and choucroute include:
- Donald Link and Stephen Stryljewski of Cochon Butcher
- Chris Cosentino of Boccalone and Incanto
- Armandino Batali of Salumi
- Raymond Ost at Sandrine's
Michael Ruhlman's newest tome, Charcuterie is said to be fantastic and based on his other books I have read, I would recommend it without having seen it myself first.
Spanish are known for some pretty perfect pig products, too. It's rumored that there's a Navarra promotion going on right now in Boston and NYC - it's just kinda hard to find out what that means. Ooops.
Here's a brief bit on them.
If you're in Boston:
- Salumeria Italiana in the North End
- Las Ventas in the South End
- Savenors
All those purveyors can provide you with wonderful charcuterie.
