Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Food testing in Chapel Hill
Does anyone or any organization do any food testing in Chapel Hill? Is there anyone local who occasionally checks the quality of things? In the Extension Service? At UNC? Elsewhere?
"Antibiotic Use in Animals Should be Limited, F.D.A. Says" - NYTimes.com
The very point made in the French documentary last night, see below, including the industry responses.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
"Actualités - France 2 : info en direct, jt, politique, économie, société..." - France 2
Interesting stories today on the training of McDonald's employees, the big wine festival in Bordeaux, and the risks of pesticides and how it all relates to organic foods and taste.
"Produits frais, produits bio, livraison à domicile de vos courses" - lepanierpaysan.com
This idea begain here in France in Provence. Nice coverage on French 3 television news last night of operation in Loire-Atlantique region of France. All organixc. Delivery. Order on the website. 60 or so options each time one orders.
How many of these do we have in NC?
How many of these do we have in NC?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
"Where Thoreau Lived, Crusade Over Bottles" - NYTimes.com
Why don't we just stop buying bottled water in NC? Do we need a law to do this?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Fire cooking
I got this in an e-mail today from the Town of Chapel Hill:
"Look Who's Cooking: Captain Byron Greeson
Posted Date: 6/22/2010
In January, Lieutenant Gordon Shatley conducted a routine fire inspection at A Southern Season. He was approached by the leader of the cooking school and asked if he knew any good cooks at the fire department. The name Captain Byron Greeson was offered based on his reputation among firefighters as an avid chef and one of the favored firehouse cooks.
Captain Greeson accepted the invitation and became the first Town of Chapel Hill Fire personnel to conduct a cooking class at A Southern Season. The class was held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010. The menu consisted of baby back ribs, rosemary potatoes, grilled vegetables and apple crisp.
To Captain Greeson's surprise the audience included about 25 students and three of those students were other Town employees from our Human Resource Development Department.
Along with divulging cooking secrets, Captain Greeson took this opportunity to educate the audience on fire safety tips, which made the event a true public education experience.
Captain Greeson says his affinity for cooking started "a long time ago". He can remember as far back as being in the kitchen with his mom as a young child. Captain Greeson is married and has two sons. He says that he and his wife share cooking duties based on their work schedules.
Captain Greeson has already been invited back by A Southern Season for a second program later this year."
"Look Who's Cooking: Captain Byron Greeson
Posted Date: 6/22/2010
In January, Lieutenant Gordon Shatley conducted a routine fire inspection at A Southern Season. He was approached by the leader of the cooking school and asked if he knew any good cooks at the fire department. The name Captain Byron Greeson was offered based on his reputation among firefighters as an avid chef and one of the favored firehouse cooks.
Captain Greeson accepted the invitation and became the first Town of Chapel Hill Fire personnel to conduct a cooking class at A Southern Season. The class was held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010. The menu consisted of baby back ribs, rosemary potatoes, grilled vegetables and apple crisp.
To Captain Greeson's surprise the audience included about 25 students and three of those students were other Town employees from our Human Resource Development Department.
Along with divulging cooking secrets, Captain Greeson took this opportunity to educate the audience on fire safety tips, which made the event a true public education experience.
Captain Greeson says his affinity for cooking started "a long time ago". He can remember as far back as being in the kitchen with his mom as a young child. Captain Greeson is married and has two sons. He says that he and his wife share cooking duties based on their work schedules.
Captain Greeson has already been invited back by A Southern Season for a second program later this year."
Food families of NC?
There was an interestig story in the Nice newspaper a couple of days ago about a chocolate shop here that has been around for a long time and run by the same family - since 1820, through 5 generations! Do we have anyone in NC with that kind of longevity? What are the oldest family food enterprises in NC?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Taxes at restaurants
France reduced the tax on restaurant meals from 20% to 6% a year ago. It does not appear that the cost of meals has come down as a result and many people are up in arms over this. What tax is applied to restaurant meals in NC?
Froody.fr Frozen Yogurt
I stumbled upon this place in the old city of Nice a few days ago. It looked like they were working hard to get the place ready to open soon. What's disappointing about them is that nowhere on their Facebook area or on their website do they tell us about themselves. Who are these people? And where is the link to the story in DirectNice that was supposed to have appeared on 1 June 2010?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Handmade pasta
When we first moved to Chapel Hill 11 years ago, I recall shortly after our arrival the opening of a little shop in Chapel Hill selling homemade pasta. It was a young couple with two parents from Italy, one still working in the business and the other deceased. They had a shop in Wilmington too. They disappeared one day.
Here in France, there was a full page story in the local newspaper a few days ago about a 75 year old man here still making pasta by hand, actually not all that unusual.
How different are our two places in valuing stuff like this. Who makes homemade pasta for retail in NC? And what are the forces at work here that begin to make the older man's story more unusual?
Here in France, there was a full page story in the local newspaper a few days ago about a 75 year old man here still making pasta by hand, actually not all that unusual.
How different are our two places in valuing stuff like this. Who makes homemade pasta for retail in NC? And what are the forces at work here that begin to make the older man's story more unusual?
Yogurt taste test
Our local newspaper recently ran a full page story in which their food editor did a taste test on yogurt, a very popular item here as in NC. The story simply reported, item by item, what she thought of the major brands.
When was the last time anyone did something like this in NC? For any food product?
When was the last time anyone did something like this in NC? For any food product?
Food from other pars of NC or neighboring states?
Here in France, we are on the border with Italy. It's a little like being near the Virginia border to the west without being far from West Virginia either. West Viriginia for us is the Piedmont region of Italy.
Last weekend, a town here invited the producers of all sorts of foods from a town there to come and sell their products. I bet the French producers make a return trip.
Do we ever do this sort of thing in NC? are the products of different parts of the state or the surrounding states different enough to justify this?
Here the project is supported by the local governments in each town.
Last weekend, a town here invited the producers of all sorts of foods from a town there to come and sell their products. I bet the French producers make a return trip.
Do we ever do this sort of thing in NC? are the products of different parts of the state or the surrounding states different enough to justify this?
Here the project is supported by the local governments in each town.
Protecting traditions?
One major food retailer in France is running full page newspaper ads saying that the store is proud of traditions in the region, and wants to preserve them and share them. To do this, the ad continues, we have regional products in our stores that you like and come from here. And this, the ad concludes, is also good for the local economy. The theme at the bottom of the ad - "count on us to spend less".
Minute Maid in France
The pitch in print advertising for Minute Maid juice in France is is "get a good start to your day" and a recent ad claims that a can of Minute Maid juice provides 1/5 the "recommeneded" amount of fruits and vegetables. In tiny print, the product is identified as orange juice and in even tinier print unable to be read without a magnifying glass, it says that you should have a varied diet and a sensible lifestyle as well!
"Retailers Revive the Market in Women’s Plus Sizes" - NYTimes.com
Let's hope this does not reverse the efforts to slim down all those fat ladies.
Friday, June 18, 2010
World Cup food
In France, there have been lots of foods prepared for the match - using team colors, etc. In NC?
"Around the World With Exotic Grains" - Well Blog - NYTimes.com
One ad for McDonald's, for example, shows what looks to be an ice cream sundae, with the caption simply, "Post match depression?". As with much of this kind of advertising in France, the very bottom of the ad advises "for your health, exercise regularly".
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Price of olive oil in NC
I am in France where wine flows at very low prices, but not all that much cheaper than what one pays for wine in the US. The price difference, given the distance, seems to be appropriate. That said, I would put a $3 bottle of Trader Joe's syrah up against almost any lower priced wine here. So it is possible to find low priced wine in NC that is no more expensive than in France.
When it comes to olive oil, the situation is very different. Here in France, we have many olive oils that are priced very high, and perhaps they merit the price. We have many very expensive olive oils in NC as well, some of which were on offer at Southern Season in Chapel Hill recently. What we don't have anywhere in NC that I have found is cheap olive oil. Here in France, I can buy a bottle of perfectly OK and good for you olive oil - one liter - for 3 USD. Yes, Three USD. Now, why can't we find olive oils priced comparably in NC?
When it comes to olive oil, the situation is very different. Here in France, we have many olive oils that are priced very high, and perhaps they merit the price. We have many very expensive olive oils in NC as well, some of which were on offer at Southern Season in Chapel Hill recently. What we don't have anywhere in NC that I have found is cheap olive oil. Here in France, I can buy a bottle of perfectly OK and good for you olive oil - one liter - for 3 USD. Yes, Three USD. Now, why can't we find olive oils priced comparably in NC?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"Never Mind a Loaf of Bread and a Jug of Wine, Times Square Gets Donuts and Coffee" - Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com
What are the most innovative food marketing initiatives in NC?
"Thon rouge : la pêche en Europe interdite avant l'heure pour "protéger les stocks fragiles"" - La Provence
I wonder if this has any impact, direct or indirect on people who eat tuna in North Carolina?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
"A School Grieves for Its Beloved Cook" - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com
How many great stories like this do we have in NC?
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