Bite of Seattle

This weekend’s big festival is the Bite of Seattle, The Northwest’s Premier Food Festival.

According to culinaryfool.com:

Don’t forget the Bite of Seattle is this weekend.  It runs Friday through Sunday and there is so much going on that you could actually spend all three days there and still have things you’d like to taste or do!
 
There are two great options for trying smaller bites this year: “The Alley“, sponsored by Tom Douglas, not only gives you lots of small bites for under $10 but the money goes to Food Lifeline so your munching supports a good cause; Just a Bite is a new feature with five restaurants offering smaller bites for $3.75 or less. 
 
Whatever you choose to do, it looks like we’re going to have a perfect weather weekend so get out and enjoy!  For all the details see the Bite of Seattle website.

The Alley referred to above is, “hosted by Tom Douglas is $9.50 per person, which includes a multi-course meal of tastes from a selection of the area’s best restaurants.  Proceeds benefit Food Lifeline, the largest non-profit food distribution organization in Washington dedicated to hunger relief.”

Mixed Feelings About Pressure Cook

Originally posted to Edible TV (edibletv.net) on July 15, 2008.

MOJO, an HD network that airs After Hours with Daniel which is currently my favorite food show on the air (sorry Iron Chef: America) has also brought us Pressure Cook hosted by chef Ralph Pagano.

Here is how MOJO describes it:

Extreme Cuisine. Renowned chef Ralph Pagano is penniless in Prague, broke in Bangladesh and destitute in Denmark. Each week, Pagano is abandoned in an exotic locale and forced to earn money solely using off-the-cuff cooking skills. Dishing out meals for every culture, palate and occasion, find out if he can finance a plane ticket home before the week is up.

 

My thoughts on the show run hot and cold. Pagano is a fine host, humorous and knowledgeable, but some of the devices to make this show different from No Reservations or Bizarre Foods are weak at best and the “candid” scenes are ridiculously contrived. If the host is supposed to be surprising someone when he shows up then why is there already a camera on site to show him walk through the door. Some of the randomly encountered people appear to be reading off of cue cards. I can live without the game show aspect of the show where Pagano either has to earn enough cash to fly back to the states or eat something really nasty.  I also find it hard to believe that he could just show up somewhere and not know what country he is in. 

At the same it is an amazing food/travel show that goes to places other than Napa, Up State New York, and Provence. I loved the trip to Iceland and because of this show I am now hooked on visiting Belize. Pressure Cook actually does an exceptional job of introducing the viewer to the culture, especially showing the variance in US currency and the local monetary system. Like most shows shot in High Def the visuals are breath taking.

Season two is underway and airs on MOJO every Sunday at 9:30P. Season one is now available on DVD. It is definitely worth your viewing time.

Gas Prices Killing US Fishing Industry

As we didn’t already have enough reasons for our government to do something now fisherman across the nation are going through unprecedented strife because of the gas price gouging going on.  The answer is so simple on this issue - levy tariffs on imported seafood to pay for more USDA inspectors which will insure safer product for US markets and it will create a fair market within our own borders for seafood.  For more on the issue check out this article from NPR.

Sustainable Culinary Tours

Originally Posted by Well Fed on the Town (wellfedonthetown.net) on June 1, 2007.

As more revelations unfold about the harm of mass produced foods and with increased concerns over food borne illnesses, the popularity of organic foods and traditional farming has increased. Our generation has sacrificed health for convenience. Our grandparents quite simply did it better than we do.

With that in mind the good people at Learn Great Foods have devised a new industry — agri-culinary tours. Imagine starting your day watching the classic operation of a grist mill, harvesting shitake mushrooms by hand, then venturing to the dark rich earth of an asparagus farm, sampling an artisan cheddar at the dairy, and ending the day with an al fresco meal prepared from all of the ingredients you have sampled all while sipping a glass of wine handpicked for you by the vintner.

Tours include herb gardens in the Little Traverse Bay area of Michigan, the 2 Busy 2 Cook retreat in Mt. Carroll, IL, a cheese extravaganza in New Glarus, WI and even a visit with an organic farming guru in Sabula, Iowa.

Learn Great Foods will let you custom design you gastronomic getaway or you can attend one of the their many standard Midwestern tours.

According to Learn Great Foods, “By touring area farms, you’ll get an up-close look at the workings of a sustainable farm and also have the chance to ask local farmers and vintners questions about growing techniques. Tour destinations include organic beef and dairy farms, fruit/vegetable farms, wineries, creameries and local coffee roasters. This interactive experience will be one you won’t soon forget!”

All farm tours are followed by a hands-on cooking class, where a celebrated chef will use that day’s fresh-from-the-farm bounty to help you make innovative culinary creations.

Feeling more adventurous? They have three foreign tours scheduled this year for the Yucatan Peninsula and four in Argentina.

For more information visit their website.