culturalboundaries

Ferran Adriá gastronimic bubbles has burst,  and El Bulli his world class restaurant is turning into a research foundation that will reach out to the masses via daily internet postings. Stay tune for more fab food creations from the world’s number 1 chef.

excerpt from Guaradian

The world’s greatest chef has had enough. “I don’t care now whether I have three stars, or however many. Or whether I am No 1 or No 28,” explains Ferran Adrià, the former plate-washer who has revolutionised high cuisine over the past 20 years.

“You can’t stay at number one forever. Imagine if Barcelona won the Champions League for 15 seasons,” he adds. “The system couldn’t handle it.”

Adrià’s words may sound world-weary, but in fact they are the opposite. Having reached the top, and stayed there for so long, he is closing his world-famous El Bulli restaurant and turning its location, in a charming Mediterranean cove, into a research foundation that will reach out to the masses by publishing daily on the internet. For more read the Guardian

Scott pounding cornmeal with a pedestal in a wooden mortar.

This is an insightful interview with Scott A. Barton, chef and food historian, he’s currently pursuing a PHD at New York University in the Food Study program. Allow me to share an informative chat with Scott about the ubiquitous cast iron skillet, many of us hold loving memories of those oversized, black  heavy cooking pans that our grandmothers or mothers used to fry-up juicy tender chicken or bake crisp cornbread. These are some finger lickin good moments.

Below is podcast interview with Scott A. Barton:

Danae Colomer, Gazpacho video portion of Food as Opera project.

Taste of New York/Food as Opera

Last summer I restructured my Exhibition Design class to function as a team-based creative lab. Eager to explore a different research methodology, I met with another faculty member, Robin Drake and we developed a theoretical design research process we labelled, “Billboarding.”
What exactly is Billboarding?
Our method helped the students to document free-flowing ideas. We decided that our students would work using huge sheets of paper, (basically we replaced the small sketchbook). Each student either taped their sheets on the outer classroom walls, or spread out over a few desks.

I looked at a few successful case studies, that might help us understand how to tackle design ideas. Most importantly, I posed a few questions. How does one develop an idea to pinpoint a user experience? What makes an idea successful? I wanted my students to conduct primary research and not rely solely on google or wiki.
The students used a method I use for developing ideas, mind-mapping or concept mapping, to think through their ideation processes. Design Educator, Andrea Marks book Writing for Visual Thinkers: A Guide for Artist and Designers, was reviewed on the AIGA design education site and offers an excellent example of this mapping process.
Here’s an excerpt of AIGA_WFVT_Excerpt.

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Peking Duck

Did you ever finish a meal, then found yourself running your fingers around the rim of the plate to pick up the last remaining “juices” of your meal? This was my experience after Scott and I dined on Peking Duck.

Liu Ye, our Hotel concierge suggested the best restaurant for Peking Duck, and it was a worth while 20 minute walk away in the cold. Located in a glitzy mall on the fifth floor, this hyper-stylized restaurant was much like those I frequent in NYC. The three or four women hostesses gave us the once over, then politely escorted us into the dining area to a table in view of the raised gazebos glass shaped kitchen. Inside, about 10 chefs were busily prepping the ducks, and more leathery Peking ducks were hanging from overhead hooks. I counted four wooden stoves. Other utensils included long carving knives, and sharpening stones, in addition to the hanging poles. At one point I got closer to the glass kitchen to take photos of the cooking technique used.  I noticed that each chef wore a surgical mask as they worked. I later learned that this was a common practice throughout China of chefs who worked closely with food preparation. The setting looked like a stage for some ritualistic practice.

We could not stop looking. One chef took a duck out of the oven, then broke off its beak, then sanded the skin to remove any excess hair and ashes. Our curiosity prompted us to take turns grilling the waitress about the preparation.

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photo by m. washington

My recent trip to China was another benefit of my relationship with my partner Scott Barton, who was granted a fellowship, for an intensive 2-1/2 week program that focused on the culture, history and ritual practices of eating of the people of Hong Kong. Who lives for all things food, Scott is a PhD candidate in the Food Study program at New York University. For the past 25 years he has worked as a chef and restaurant consultant all over the United States and in several European cities.

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