Food news antipasto

While some recent celebrity chef deaths have come at ages far too young, the news about the passing of chef and author Ronald Kinton reflects a long life, well-lived. The chef and author died in December at age 102. In a tribute, University of West London culinary ambassador Michael Coaker said: “Ron, along with Victor Ceserani, was a particular inspiration to me personally, and I am always inspired by the ways in which his work continues to inform and motivate generations of students at London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism. His impact on global culinary education cannot be overstated, and he will be greatly missed.”

Classically trained chefs know that the five mother sauces, as codified by Auguste Escoffier, are hollandaise, sauce tomate, bechamel, Espagnole, and velouté. This canon has been the centerpiece of Western fine dining for well over 100 years, but as with all things, change is inevitable. With flavors and techniques from all over the globe becoming more common in restaurant kitchens, a new generation of chefs is redefining what should be considered as the essential sauces. The Plate article lists five sauces that for some chefs are more important to their cuisine than the traditional ones, including XO sauce, epis, sambal, banana ketchup, and yogurt.

There’s a new fitness craze in Sydney that could almost convince me to start running again. Headed by groups such as Croissant Run Club, Unofficial Run Club and Pastry Yourself Run Club, the new fitness routine involves running as a group to different bakeries where participants enjoy coffee and a croissant. The manager of LouLou Boulangerie, Carolina Joly, says that the café bakes up to 200 extra croissants every Friday morning to meet the needs of the hungry runners. Meanwhile, I consider it exercise if I have to walk from my car to the bakery instead of using a drive-thru.

Fans of the Food Network show “Kids Baking Championship” will notice a difference in the upcoming season, as co-host Valerie Bertinelli has been cut from the show. Bertinelli, along with Duff Goldman, have been hosts since the show’s first season. The star said she was hurt by the news, which she says came out of the blue. Responding to a People Magazine article that claimed she wanted to continue hosting the show but “talks stalled”, Bertinelli responded with a tweet saying “There were never any talks, so no talks could be stalled. I got an inkling I might not be asked back when I saw I was not in the holiday specials. I got a text by a third party on Friday that told me I would not be back. LOL I was basically ghosted.”

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook ranks in the top 50 of cookbooks in the EYB Library based on the number of Members who have it on their Bookshelf. It has influenced countless chefs and home cooks alike in the 21+ years since it was published, including Christian Reynoso, who recently wrote an article for Taste Cooking extolling the cookbook’s virtues. Reynoso worked at Zuni Cafe for over five years, and said that the book is “a beautiful chronicle of a restaurant and the dishes that represent the wood-fired oven of California cuisine, as well as Italian and French cooking, through a late 20th-century American perspective that has influenced so many chefs, food writers, and home cooks.”

(See Jenny’s post highlighting the top 100 books on Members’ Bookshelves.)