I ♥ food. I really, really ♥ food
Setting: LA Times Food and Wine Festival. Paramount Studios lot. Mid-80's sunny, light breeze, clear. Perfect, perfect So. Cal. day.
I have an eating disorder. I love food. I'm not a skinny girl, either, which really sucks. When is food tasting going to evolve like wine-tasting, where were get the essence of the flavors and textures in our mouths, then spit it out oh so politely into a stainless steel bucket. I'm not sure why it's the only time it's polite to spit into a stainless steel bucket. I don't spit, by the way; I swallow. Don't judge me.
I heard Michael Voltaggio and Jon and Vinny from Animal at a panel today. Let's get it over with--yes, Michael Voltaggio is smokin' hot. OK. I knew that going in. What I didn't expect was how articulate he was about his philosophy of food. He said he wants to make fine dining more accessible. He talked about how when he worked at a fancy restaurant people would come in and tell him that they were teachers and had been saving up for six months to come eat his food, and it made him sad that they had to save up for this one experience. So his new restaurant is going to be all about amazing food for everyone.
He also made a point about how in So. Cal., millionaires get up in the morning and throw on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and call it dressed. We don't know by looking at people who they are or what they are. Why should he dictate what we wear to come to his restaurant? Why shouldn't we be comfortable when we come to eat? If he invited us to his house, he wouldn't tell us we had to wear a jacket and tie, so why would it be any different in his restaurant? I loved it.
The topic of the panel was young chefs in LA. Michael also talked about how ten years ago in LA, fine dining was largely based on the French style and was very expensive. Now, we have a generation of chefs who want to make amazing, creative food, and they want everyone to be able to eat it. Huh. Chefs who want people to have access to their food. Only in LA.
I have an eating disorder. I love food. I'm not a skinny girl, either, which really sucks. When is food tasting going to evolve like wine-tasting, where were get the essence of the flavors and textures in our mouths, then spit it out oh so politely into a stainless steel bucket. I'm not sure why it's the only time it's polite to spit into a stainless steel bucket. I don't spit, by the way; I swallow. Don't judge me.
I heard Michael Voltaggio and Jon and Vinny from Animal at a panel today. Let's get it over with--yes, Michael Voltaggio is smokin' hot. OK. I knew that going in. What I didn't expect was how articulate he was about his philosophy of food. He said he wants to make fine dining more accessible. He talked about how when he worked at a fancy restaurant people would come in and tell him that they were teachers and had been saving up for six months to come eat his food, and it made him sad that they had to save up for this one experience. So his new restaurant is going to be all about amazing food for everyone.
He also made a point about how in So. Cal., millionaires get up in the morning and throw on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and call it dressed. We don't know by looking at people who they are or what they are. Why should he dictate what we wear to come to his restaurant? Why shouldn't we be comfortable when we come to eat? If he invited us to his house, he wouldn't tell us we had to wear a jacket and tie, so why would it be any different in his restaurant? I loved it.
The topic of the panel was young chefs in LA. Michael also talked about how ten years ago in LA, fine dining was largely based on the French style and was very expensive. Now, we have a generation of chefs who want to make amazing, creative food, and they want everyone to be able to eat it. Huh. Chefs who want people to have access to their food. Only in LA.
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