Category Archives: Food Writing

Aciola

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Francois Lachance

In The Physiology of Taste, after extolling the ne plus ultra concoction of chocolate (cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla), Brillat-Savarin goes on to enumerate other “adjuncts”. It is to this small number of substances that taste and experience have reduced … Continue reading →

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Good Word on Good Food

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Francois Lachance

A tricolon and a snatch more… To entertain successfully one must create with the imagination of a playwright, plan with the skill of a director, and perform with the instincts of an actor. And, as any showman will tell you, … Continue reading →

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In the Name of the King

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Francois Lachance

It’s a treasure trove. It’s a collection of etymologies of words derived from names. Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun compiled by Willard R. Espy. Chicken à la King Chicken à la king is an odd corruption. According to Claridge’s Hotel … Continue reading →

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The Taste of Truth

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Victor Hazan’s tribute to his late wife Marcella in the dedication to Ingredienti This guide is the testament of a woman who based her cooking life on the truth of every dish she cooked and taught, the vigorous truth of … Continue reading →

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To Take the Trouble

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Elizabeth David on taking the trouble (from A Book of Mediterranean Food), trouble with food and trouble as applied (by the reviewer and list complier) to writing: Finally, all her work expresses a credo about cooking that, with equal justice, … Continue reading →

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The Hand Knows.

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Paul Bertolli from introduction to Cooking by Hand Any good cook knows how to dose salt in the right proportion to food by the way it feels in the hand. Take that dose, put it into a measuring spoon, and … Continue reading →

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De Sade and “de gustibus non est disputandum”

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Mark Crick’s pastiches in Kafka’s Soup are smart. I particularly like the beginning of the “Boned stuffed poussains à la Marquis de Sade” Should not the supreme aim of gastronomy be to untangle the confusion of ideas that confront mankind, … Continue reading →

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Entertaining

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Planning a dinner party? Oh, and by the way, don’t let any of your guests help. They will ruin everything, then tell everyone they had to bail you out. Nigel Slater Appetite And so for day 1633 03.06.2011

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Pourquoi cuisiner?

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Nigel Slater. Appetite. In answer to the question “why cook?” he takes us on a ride of enumeration piled on enumeration. Cooking can be as passionate, creative, life-enhancing, uplifting, satisfying, and downright exhilarating as anything else you can do with … Continue reading →

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Sipped and Slurped

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Francois Lachance

Perusing Perla Meyers The Peasant Kitchen I was intrigued by the category of foods called “sdnos” — a course I had never heard of before. As I oriented myself to the rest of the cookbook I realised that what I … Continue reading →

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