Food News 9-28

09/28.04

It's nice to see Amanda Hesser writing for the NY Times again, but we had to wince when we read that The Arsenal is the name of her new feature on "dishes that everyone should know how to make." We immediately thought of the lean mean fighting machine, the unbeaten Arsenal football team. And we quote, "Arsenal extended its unbeaten streak in English soccer to 43 matches, breaking the record set by Nottingham Forest from 1977 to '79. Former Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough said of Arsenal, "They caress a football the way I dreamed of caressing Marilyn Monroe." (Tom Fitzgerald, SF Chronicle, 9/8/04). We like Amanda, so we'll leave it at that.

Next week The Food Network starts production for another round of Iron Chef American style. Judges include Dana Cowin, editor in chief, Food & Wine magazine, Barbara Fairchild, executive editor, Bon Appetit magazine, and Mr. Steingarten, otherwise known as the man who eats everything.

We interviewed Anthony Bourdain a couple weeks ago for a magazine we write for, and the reason he's not not an Iron Chef judge (not really) is because, "I’ll be moving to Vietnam for a year at the end of next year for a book project, and I’m going to live in a little fishing village, near Na Trang. It’s a book about me, a freakishly tall white guy, the lone westerner in a Vietnamese fishing village and what ever happens, happens..."

Flashback from October 1, 1997. Ready or Not, Here Comes the Bread, William Grimes on the search for half-way decent bread.

On September 30th 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to release the final interim rules to implement mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for seafood. These rules will allow consumers to know where their seafood comes from and if it is farm-raised or wild-caught. However, media reports have indicated that on the September 30th deadline, the USDA will likely postpone the mandatory labeling for one year. Consumers have a right to know where their seafood comes from and whether or not it is farm-raised or wild-caught. Some farm-raised seafood, such as farm-raised salmon is grown with a host of in order to combat diseases and parasites. Send a fax to the: USDA if you want to know where your seafood dinner is coming from.

Time to fullfill your foodie fantasy. For sale: Goat cheese dairy. New York Artisanal Goat Cheese Dairy available for immediate sale. Thriving, fast-growing, highly-esteemed dairy farm 4.5 hours north of New York City. Property includes 50 acres, two barns, greenhouse, converted c. 1895 barn/residence, herd of approximately 60, all equipment, recipes, established accounts and list of those waiting to start buying. Owners moving on to other projects but will stay on to train in all aspects for smooth transfer. Farm qualifies for organic certification. $675,000. Serious inquiries only, please.