The best chocolate addresses in Paris: a list to keep forever
The top 20 chocolate makers in Paris, including addresses, websites and telephone numbers. A list to keep in your pocket as you wander around Paris.
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David Downie: Guanciale: An Obituary and a Homage to Rome’s Jowl Bacon, Part 3
by David Downie
The Carilli brothers are no longer in business; the fine art of making traditional guanciale is threatened with extinction in Rome. But the memory of the Carilli brothers’ passion, and the lingering taste of their excellent products, live on in those of us who knew them. They also live on—perhaps to a lesser degree—in the remaining guanciale-makers of the city.
These are the best of the dozen or so norcinerie, salumerie, and salsamenterie in Rome that still make their own guanciale, the following are the best—to my knowledge. Each shop also sells a wide selection of other specialties, from dried mushrooms to farro (emmer), salami, grappa, sapa (reduced grape must) and artisanallypasta made by small, traditional producers.
Antica Norcineria— Giuseppe Simoni and his son Alberto, Umbrians by birth, operate one of Rome’s longest-established oldest pork butcher shops, which happens to be in via della Scrofa, “Sow Street.” The Simonis produce guanciale faster than the Carillis did; the cure lasts ten days and the aging about 20 days. But the results are excellent.
via della Scrofa, Rome, telephone 06.68806114
Baldassari Emma— A family-run salumeria that ages its guanciale for 45 to 90 days, enough time to develop complex flavor.
Piazza Unità, 28, Rome, telephone 06.3243252
Vincenzo Cecchini & C. —Virgilio Cecchini runs this family salumeria, in operation since 1930. Virgilio’s roots are in Collazzoni di Preci, six miles outside Norcia, and his hogs are raised in the mountains of Umbria and the adjacent Marche. Mild and fresh-tasting, Cecchini guanciale gets a sprinkling of mashed fresh garlic and sea salt before spending a week in a vat at just above freezing. Coated with black pepper or chili, it hangs for just a week or two in the shop’s marble-clad back room, so it must be cooked before it is eaten.
Via Merulana, 85, Rome, telephone 06.77207535
Norcineria Umbra — At this family run norcineria, the flavorful guanciali are aged for up to three months.
Via Pomezia, 28, Rome, telephone 06.77209695
America’s only guanciale maker?
Salumeria Biellese — To my knowledge, this Manhattan shop makes the only authentic Italian-style guanciale in America. Marc Buzzio sells his guanciale whole, averaging two pounds, small by Roman standards, mostly to upscale New York restaurants. The meat is Du Breton certified-organic Canadian pork. The jowls are cured for 35 days and strung up to dry for 45 days, so they can be eaten raw or cooked. The result is more compact in texture and drier than the Roman, and the flavor is with a delicately herby flavor. I’ve used this guanciale extensively to prepare classic Roman dishes (for example, when testing the recipes for my cookbook Cooking the Roman Way), and it compares favorably with the traditional Roman.
378 Eighth Avenue (at 29th Street), New York, New York 10001, telephone 212.736.7376, fax 212.736.1093
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David Downie is the author of Cooking the Roman Way: Authentic Recipes from the Home Cooks and Trattorias of Rome, and Food Wine Rome (a complete food- and wine-lover’s guide to the city); his latest book about Rome is Quiet Corners of Rome (over 50 silent, serene, often secret corners of the city). All three volumes are illustrated by color photographs by Alison Harris.
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Jonell Galloway: Mindful Eating Coaching
by Jonell Galloway
I’m sure many of you have read my articles about Mindful Eating. I like to keep the term in capital letters, to remind me how important it is in all our lives.
I now offer Mindful Eating coaching for those who have problem relationships with food and eating in general, helping them “reconstruct” their lifestyle and attitude to food and eating. This can be done in person, in Switzerland or France, or online, and on an individual or group basis.
For those who live other places on the globe, I offer online “teleconference” coaching for weight loss and eating problems on an individual basis. This consists of a customized program that lasts anywhere from 1 to 6 months, depending on the case, with a consultation at least once a week. This does not consist of nutritional advice per se and I am not a nutritionist; I am a therapist and counselor. It consists of an analysis of your lifestyle and relationship to food and eating, with referrals to medical professionals or physical education specialists when need be, but most of all of a work that you and I will do hand in hand. I will be your guide.
Each case is different, but starts with a thorough analysis of who you are and want to be, your lifestyle and how that might interfere with your eating habits and relationships with food, followed by an analysis and a plan, which we produce together, to lay out a plan for how to concretely work toward changing the things in your lifestyle that work against your weight goals and/or health.
I’m in the process of setting up Mindful Eating workshops and seminars for 2011-12 in Europe. For more information about Mindful Eating or if you’d like to set up a workshop or individual coaching, see my articles on this site, including an interview with Geneva organic farmer David John Kong-Hug.
If you’re interested in organizing or participating in a workshop, or following a Mindful Eating weight loss program, please contact me by clicking on the blue Contact Us button at the top right of our home page.
For more information about my past work and experience, click here.
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Food Art for Kids: Approaches to Making your Child Friendly with Fruit and Vegetables
by Jonell Galloway
Getting your kids to participate in the kitchen is often the hardest task of all, but if you want them to learn that all food doesn’t come out of packages and that food can even be fun, can be like playing or art class, they are much likelier to head for the kitchen. If they have fun, they’ll want to come back for more, and show off their art work to others.
Annabel Karmel on Parenting makes lots of healthy finger foods which make it seem so fun to eat, even though it’s actually a carrot stick or a pea that’s been used for decorating.
Summertime also lends itself to Food Play. Put a basket of multi-colored fruit on the table, and kids can be let wild to build sculptures, make houses, all in the name of edible fun. Or give your kids a chance to do the decorations for a lunch party by letting them create edible fruit bouquets.
First Palette gives loads of ideas for fun food crafts.
Free Kids Crafts also includes lots of fun food projects for children, but you might pick and choose as to which ones are healthier.
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Cross-Continental Cuisine / Cocina Transcontinental: Paté al cava y sangría de jengibre
por SandeeA y Tricia Martin
Click here to read English version
Me pasé toda la infancia soñando con probar la comida de la que hablaban en los libros… me parecía tan exótica y apetecible! Los emparedados, los pasteles de carne y manzana, la cerveza de jengibre de los libros de Enyd Blyton, … y quién no ha soñado con comerse uno (o dos) jabalíes con Astérix y Obélix… y ya puestos darles unos mamporros a esos “malditos romanos” y decirle al pescadero del pueblo galo que su pescado no está fresco para que se organice una buena :P?
Este mes el ingrediente elegido para nuestro Cross-Continental Cooking project fue el cava… y gracias a este proyecto conjunto que tengo con Tricia de Eating is Art voy a poder preparar mi propia cerveza de jengibre, simplemente mezclando sirope de jengibre con agua con gas… De los sueños gastronómicos infantiles ya solo me queda pendiente la pelea a besugazos (o pangazos, según como esté la economía :P) No dejéis de visitar la receta de Tricia: sangría de cava que, como todas las anteriores, está traducida al español. Además Tricia se ha embarcado en un nuevo proyecto: su propio estudio fotográfico Studio Tricia Martin. No dejéis de visitarlo, os dejará sin palabras… En cuanto a mi receta, tenéis que probarla, de verdad, y no volveréis a comprar uno de esos “blocs de foie” con ingredientes dudosos por los que te piden un riñón
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David Downie: Guanciale: An Obituary and a Homage to Rome’s Jowl Bacon, Part 2
by David Downie
Click here to read Part 1
For centuries, Rome’s demand for cured hog jowl was met by hundreds of specialized pork butchers and salami makers. The first are called norcini and are both butchers and salted-pork product makers. The second, salumieri or salsamentari, do not usually get involved in the butchering of the pigs. Norcia, the mountain town in Umbria famed for its black truffles, gave its name to norcini, such as the Carilli brothers were: they came from the area. It has been the heartland of great pork and wild boar for millennia. Both animals feed on acorns from the forests that gave Umbria its name. (Umbre and variants originally meant “shady” or “dark,” as in a dark forest of oaks.)
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Restaurant Silvio Nickol im Hotel Relais & Châteaux Palais Coburg
by André Cis
Click here to read this article in English
Als logischen oder zumindest Konsequenten Schritt kann man Silvio Nickol‘s Wechsel vom Wörthersee in die Österreichische Hauptstadt nennen. Nachdem sich die Zeichen mehrten, dass das einstige Flaggschiff der mit Fanfahren ins Leben gerufenen “Capella-Hotelgruppe” im Sinken begriffen ist, war es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis Nickol zu neuen Herden aufbrechen würde.
Palais Coburg. Eigner Peter Pühringer schien nach dem jähen Abgang des begnadeten österreichischen Paradekochs Christian Petz – just nach der Vergabe der 4. Haube im Herbst 2008 – keine Intention mehr zu haben, einen 2. Versuch ob eines Gourmet-Restaurants zu starten. Im Gegenteil, schien es doch gar ins Bild der so trüben Wirtschaftslage zu passen, dünnte sich in den vergangenen Jahren die Wiener Spitzengastronomie sukzessive aus – unlängst mit dem unerwarteten Paukenschlags der Nicht-Eröffnung des Shangri-La Hotels und dem somit arbeitslosen Spitzenkoch Joachim Gradwohl.
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Silvio Nickol’s Restaurant in Palais Coburg Relais & Châteaux Hotel in Austria
by André Cis
Click here to read the original German version
You may consider Silvio Nickol‘s move from Lake Wörth to the Austrian capital as a rather logical step, or in any case a significant one. After more and more signs emerged showing that the luxury hotel chain Capella’s flagship was sinking, it had only been a question of time when chef Nickol would accept the chance for a new challenge.
It seemed that Palais Coburg owner Peter Pühringer had no intention of revitalizing the gourmet restaurant in his luxurious Viennese hotel venue after the sudden departure of Austrian master chef Christian Petz at the end of 2008, right after the restaurant was awarded its 4th toque by the GaultMillau restaurant guide. Far from it, the situation fit the economic crisis well, due to a considerable drop in fine dining in Vienna over the past few years. This recently culminated in the cancellation of the new Shangri-La Hotel,leaving master chef Joachim Gradwohl unemployed.
Try the new kitchen at Coburgbastei Nr. 4 — and let’s be honest: One of the world’s best wine collections deserves a fine restaurant as companion.
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David Downie: Chartres: Sacred and Profane
by David Downie
Last weekend my travel feature on the cathedral and lively town of Chartres ran in the San Francisco Sunday Chronicle Travel section — the cover story. This was the first time I’d written anything for the Chron since 2007. I was a regular contributor from the late 1980s until then, but somehow, after John Flinn left as editor, things went quiet. I had 6 books to write — three Terroir Guides, a thriller, a history of the American Academy in Rome, a book about Rome’s quiet corners… and Hit the Road, Jacques, about our 750-mile trek across France… a book my agent is currently showing to editors in New York… So, there wasn’t much time for magazine and newspaper work.
I’m happy to say that the affable “new” travel editor, Spud Hilton, in the saddle for the last few years, was glad to have me contribute again to the section. I hope this is the first of many pieces.
Back to Chartres and a teaser, the first few lines of the story, and a link. Photos are included and, believe or not, I took them. The par-blind photographer.
The voices of vacationers partying at cafés faded as I left Chartres’ picture-postcard main square and entered the dusky nave of the cathedral. Blinking until my eyes adjusted, I stared up at dozens of jewel-like stained glass windows glowing an otherworldly blue. READ FULL ARTICLE
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, July 20, 2011
Of course, the food is important. The quality and variety of food is so important to the Spanish generally that it is said they spend a higher percentage of their disposable income on food than any other industrial nation. It is not because the cost of the food is higher in Spain than it is in France, Canada or Australia, but because the Spanish expect better food and a greater variety of it.–Ann and Larry Walker, To the Heart of Spain
Ann and Larry Walker are the authors of 6 books on food and wine, and regular contributors to numerous publications in the U.S. and abroad. They live near San Francisco in California.
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