Most people eat some combination of food that is good for them and food that tastes good. Finding the balance between the two is a lifelong journey. This is the story of that struggle.
Our American readers might be really interested in the idea of a grocery store boycott in response to rising grocery prices. The profits are growing as spending power is shrinking.
We are offering up a take on the current boycott against Loblaws and its many subsidiaries in Canada. Yes, we write about Canada a lot but this example is highly relevant. The boycott is for all of May so we can get some idea as to what is happening.
The Canadian company owns other food outlets, such as Atlantic Superstore, Dominion, Loblaws, Maxi, No Frills, Provigo Le Marché, Valu-Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, Wholesale Club, Your Independent Grocer, and Zehrs. While Shoppers Drug Mart is mostly a drug store, they sell groceries.
Loblaws and other grocery store companies got the Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent treatment this spring based on an actual price fixing scandal over bread.
For Americans who love to complain about grocery store prices, Canadians would say "hold my beer," which is better tasting beer.
Traditionally, we run the full story on BalanceofFood.com and link to the story on CanadianCrossing.com. This time, we invite you to read the story and learn about the ups and downs of a real, live grocery store boycott.
photo credit: @foodprofessor (where I found the photo but not knowing the original source)
Eating at a place from a celebrity chef? Not much enthusiasm from your humble narrator. I thought about this when on the tarmac at the airport in Las Vegas. The woman next to me went on and on about eating at Gordon Ramsey's place and Bobby Flay's place in Las Vegas.
I was detoured to the Las Vegas airport by Southwest when I should have been killing time in Denver. I was eating airline snacks that day and even the lure of a meal from Ramsay or Flay didn't make me salivate.
These celebrity chefs aren't cooking your personal dinner. They lend their approach and recipes and then jet off somewhere to be on food television.
As the woman switched topics to the excitement of gambling in Las Vegas, my mind wandered to a question I never thought I would ask myself: "Would I eat at a restaurant from a celebrity chef?"
I have eaten at a few places of somewhat famous people: Xoco from Rick Bayless (Chicago), Chez Panisse from Alice Waters (Berkeley, CA), and Garde Manger from Chuck Hughes (Montréal). I admit this with the idea of disclosure. Maybe they qualify as "celebrity chefs" but they are restaurateurs who happen to be moderately famous. If you view them as "celebrity chefs" on the level of Ramsay and Flay, then perhaps you think I am a hypocrite.
I am tempted by a José Andrés restaurant in my city, mostly because I think this might be more authentic Spanish food. I have not dined there.
I would order coq au vin at a theoretical Julia Child restaurant, provided the dish was made in the spirit of The French Chef, her TV show.
The lure of an old hen, French wine, and a solid cooking technique. A dish that is difficult to duplicate at home. Going to a Julia Child celebrity restaurant for a lovely plate of coq au vin would be nice on a Friday night or even an early dinner on a Tuesday.
Alton Brown did an episode on coq au vin. Even by his standards, this was a complicated dish. Brown fully admits in the episode that finding an old hen is rather difficult.
Does Julia Child, if she were alive, have to cook this dish herself? No. The staff would have Child's recipe and ideally the dedication to bring that to fruition, so the standards for her coq au vin would remain.
This is also why there never was a Julia Child celebrity restaurant. The standards would be too high, even if that would lead to an enjoyable meal.
I did order the lobster poutine at Garde Manger in Montréal, Chuck Hughes cooked that same dish on Iron Chef America in defeating Bobby Flay. I didn't see that episode until after I had the lobster poutine. I did smile a bit, knowing I actually had that dish.
I enjoyed the fact that Hughes beat Flay in that episode more than the coincidence of eating a dish served on Iron Chef America yet I enjoyed both within that episode.
The lure of a celebrity chef is that you love them on TV, feel like you can relate to them and their recipes, and feel comfortable in a celebrity chef type restaurant. Those people flock to Las Vegas and eat at a place because of that celebrity chef endorsement.
You should try a celebrity chef restaurant as long as you know the parameters involved. Just lower your expectations.
video credit and photo credit: The French Chef/PBS
There is no right way to finding the balance of food, just your way. My typical breakfast is whole wheat spaghetti with homemade sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and a naturally low-fat Italian cheese sprinkled on top. Works for me.
