Exploring Latino Cuisine in Eastie
by Carlos C. Olaechea
Student Carlos C. Olaechea recounts the Gastronomy Students Association's tour of Latino eateries in East Boston
Part of the draw to Boston University’s Gastronomy Program is being surrounded by Boston’s vibrant food scene. From the ever growing list of fine dining establishments to the omnipresent farmers markets showcasing the rich variety of local products, good food seems to be all around in this town. Boston also has its own food culture to offer newcomers, like myself, in the form of lobster rolls, clam chowder, oysters, and apple cider, just to name a few.
Additionally, the city’s immigrant populations have added a great deal to Boston’s culinary landscape: pizza and cannoli in the North End, a wealth of Irish pubs, dim sum in Chinatown, Korean food in Allston, and many more. Last Friday, the Gastronomy Students Association explored different Latin American cuisines in East Boston as part of the GSA’s Eastie Food Crawl.
Participants met at the Wood Island Blue Line T station and walked down Bennington street to the first stop, a Peruvian grocery and ice cream/shaved ice spot called Frio Rico. While perusing the shelves laden with chile pastes, herbs, dried beans, and grains, we sampled house made lúcuma ice cream. Native to Peru, the lúcuma fruit has been described as having a flavor reminiscent of sweet potato and maple syrup, butterscotch, or persimmon. While gastronomy students couldn’t quite put their finger on the flavor, they all enjoyed the cold treat. Student Alex Cheser took advantage of the store’s selection of condiments and purchased a jar of ají amarillo chile paste, a staple in many Peruvian dishes.
The next stop was Tu Metapan, a casual Salvadoran restaurant. Some students enjoyed Mexican Coca Cola, packaged in glass bottles and made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup, and everyone tried sips of marañon juice, made from cashew fruit and having a light, apple-like flavor. We enjoyed a small sampling of Salvadoran snacks, including what many consider to be the hallmark of the cuisine, pupusas. The popular snack is made of nixtamalized corn dough – or masa – stuffed with a variety of fillings, flattened to quarter inch thick disks, and then griddled. We opted for fillings of beans and cheese, as well as cheese and loroco, the buds of an edible vine that is native to El Salvador. Another native plant, chipilín, was mixed in the soft cornmeal dough of tamales that encased a smooth filling of refried beans.
For a little added protein, we ordered a plate of Salvadoran chicharrones. Usually referring to fried pork rinds in other Latin American countries, the Salvadoran version consisted of chunks of crispy fried pork with some fatty pieces that melted in our mouths. A vinegary cabbage slaw called curtido, which was served from a communal plastic jar, cut the richness, as well as spicy pickled vegetables and a tomato based dressing. Having experienced Salvadoran cuisine before, Alex Cheser ordered a tall glass of hot atole – a thick, sweet corn drink – for all of us to sample.
After thanking our waitress at Tu Metapan, we strolled over to La Chiva, a late night Colombian fast food eatery that is open until 3:00 AM. Knowing that we had one more stop on our food crawl, we ordered just a few small snacks to share from the vitrine of tantalizing fritters, sausages, and other savories. Along with sampling a mora juice made with aromatic Andean blackberries, we tried some small beef and potato turnovers called empanadas made with cornmeal dough – a unique feature found only in the empanadas of Colombia and Venezuela. Along with the fried turnovers, we ordered a pan de queso and an almojábana, two variations on cheesy bread made with cassava flour.
Our last stop for the evening was for Peruvian rotisserie chicken at Pollos a la Brasa El Chalan, whose logo had a chicken dressed as a Peruvian cowboy, or chalan. We enjoyed some of Peru’s national soda, Inca Kola, which is the only soft drink that beats Coca Cola in any country. The notes of lemon verbena and vanilla of the golden hued drink were a refreshing compliment to juicy, seasoned rotisserie chicken, crunchy French fries and fried yucca sticks, and spicy dipping sauces. Being that rotisserie chicken is to Peruvians what Pizza is to Americans, it should come as no surprise that El Chalan is open until 2:00 AM every night.
Along with tasting a few of the diverse cuisines of Latin America, we were able to see how neighborhoods change over time as new waves of immigrants arrive in a neighborhood. Amidst the Latino restaurants, taquerías, and bodegas we passed, we also noticed several Italian-American restaurants, bakeries, and markets, including the oldest Italian restaurant in Boston, Jeveli’s. It was interesting to note how many different Latin American nationalities, as well as an older Italian-American community, coexist in the same neighborhood, making for a culturally rich – and very delicious – experience.
The Language of Food
by Carlos C. Olaechea
Student Carlos C. Olaechea recaps Dan Jurafsky's lecture and book signing at Harvard Bookstore on October 10th.
As gastronomy students, we learn that food is intrinsically tied to many aspects of our human existence, and through the multidisciplinary nature of our program we learn to view food through many different lenses. History, anthropology, politics, and visual arts are just a few of the ways in which we examine what food means to humankind, but as author and scholar Dan Jurafsky illustrated to a packed house on October 10th at the Harvard Bookstore, language can actually offer some of the most revealing information about what we eat.
A professor of linguistics at Stanford University, Jurafsky recently published a book titled The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu, and he was present at the bookstore in Harvard Square last Friday to sign copies and give a talk about the meanings of the words we use to describe food and eating.
He got the idea for writing a book about linguistics and food while doing research in China and hearing someone tell him that the origin of the word “ketchup” was Chinese. He thought there was no way that ketchup could be Chinese, so he did some research to refute the notion and ended up finding that the word for the “all-American” condiment is, in fact, of Chinese origin.
Jurafsky began his very animated, prop-accented talk with an exploration of the origins of ketchup. He quickly went through the long history of how an East Asian fermented fish sauce called ga zhap became a favorite of British importers who made it a hit in their homeland. The luxurious condiment – as happens with most luxury goods – soon spawned knockoffs that all tried to cheaply imitate the umami flavors of the original Asian product. The original Chinese name for the sauce began to transform and Anglicize so that it was legible and pronounceable to the general English-speaking population. Around the 1850s, Americans started making it out of tomatoes, added sugar, and removed the fish altogether making the ketchup that we know today. It was through this example that Jurafsky demonstrated how the names of foods tell the stories of foods.
Jurafsky went on to illustrate other aspects of linguistics present in the foods that we eat, providing some interesting observations. Showing the audience a bag of Lays potato chips and the pricier Pop Chips, Jurafsky read the back labels of each and noted how the latter distinguished itself as a better product by stating that which it is not. Having examined scores of other packaged foodstuffs, he stated that for every time the word “no” appears on a package, there is an average price increase of four cents. Similarly, he explained how expensive restaurants tend to use a small number of larger words in their menus as opposed to midrange to inexpensive restaurants that use a larger number of smaller words, suggesting that one can add 18 cents for every extra letter on a restaurant menu.
Jurafsky and his research team went further and examined how consumers talk and write about food by examining user reviews on the website Yelp. He noticed that bad reviews are almost always written in the past tense and use “we” to describe the experience. The language, he stated, is remarkably similar to that used to describe traumatic experiences, where “we” is used to express a sense of collective suffering. He also found, in his research, that reviewers used sexual innuendos when describing expensive dining experiences and drug references when describing inexpensive ones, with the majority of drug references being made by women.
Perhaps the most fascinating revelation was a phonological one that showed that the sounds of certain food names can reveal certain patterns about their place in our culture. Jurafsky showed the audiences several boxes of snack crackers – Cheez-It, Triscuit, Ritz, Wheat Thins – and illustrated how the short “i” sound present in each brand name is known as a front vowel and that in the English language small things are represented by words with front vowels. In effect, brand names for chips and snack crackers reflect their diminutive size. On the contrary, words with back vowels are used to describe things that are rich, bold, or voluptuous, such as ice cream flavors.
After a question and answer session where Jurafsky answered audience members’ queries regarding why certain foods have certain names (a lot of the answers are in his book), as well as addressing issues of eroticization and familiarization in food marketing and the price implications involved, the author and linguist tied in all the examples to illustrate his point that there are many stories to be found in food and our words for food. He wrapped up the night urging us all to go out and look for those stories. As gastronomy students, many of us are already doing just that.
Breaking Ground on the Boston Public Market
By Kimi Ceridon
Gastronomy student Kimi Ceridon recaps the groundbreaking ceremony for the Boston Public Market.
Boston is poised to open the first market with all locally sourced products in the nation. On October 9th, the much talked about Boston Public Market held a public ground breaking ceremony on the steps of city hall hitting an important milestone in making this dream a reality. If the crystal blue skies and perfect October weather were good luck signs, then Boston will gather again next summer to celebrate the market’s grand opening.
The Boston Public Market is scheduled to open in 2015. The 28,000 square foot space will host a year-round market offering New England produce, meat, prepared foods and artisan products directly to consumers. Located in the heart of Boston on the first floor of the Haymarket T-station, the market aims to provide the greater Boston area with a single location for buying directly from local producers. Additionally, the market is incorporating resources to improve local food access for all income levels.
Morningstar said, "What makes it even more special is that the Haymarket vendors have operated alongside our location for over 120 years. We are simply adding to a long-standing tradition." However, since the Boston Public Market is focused on local purveyors, it is unclear whether the current vendors from outdoor weekend market at Haymarket qualify as Boston Public Market vendors. These vendor do not necessarily sell products exclusively from New England. To participate in the market, vendor applications were submitted and reviewed earlier in 2014
The ceremony was a who’s who of Boston politics with appearances by Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Marty Walsh, Senator Anthony Pertuccelli, and Representative Aaron Miclewitz. Gubernatorial Candidate Martha Coakley was also spotted in the crowd. Liz Morningstar, the CEO of the Boston Public Market, kicked off the ceremony graciously thanking the many sponsors who supported this endeavor. Acknowledging the importance of food to culture, she explained, “Food transcends so many issues in our society.”
Before introducing Governor Patrick, the Boston Public Market EBT/SNAP Program Manager, Shaquille Jones, talked about his work to include a fully integrated EBT and SNAP program at the market from day one. The market also has a goal of making healthy food accessible through cooking, shopping, nutrition and fitness classes including demonstrations in a 3000 square foot teaching kitchen.
Governor Patrick then took the stage and proudly proudly declared, “I am a foodie.” Although the Boston Public Market will not open before Governor Patrick leaves office, the market represents a significant accomplishment of his administration. As he explained, the project required coordinating across many agencies, advocacy groups, industry representatives, and citizen groups including the City of Boston, the greater Commonwealth, The Trustees of Reservations, the Department of Transportation and the many producers of local products in Massachusetts. One of those producers, Jared Auerback of Red’s Best seafood shop, explained that the market will help him and other producers bring great products directly to customers.
Mayor Walsh, Senator Pertuccelli, and Representative Miclewitz followed up by praising the effort that led up to the groundbreaking. They look forward to showcasing the city through the market and welcome the jobs and tourism the market brings to the city. The groundbreaking represents 13 years of Morningstar’s hard work and advocacy. Thursday’s milestone was clearly a welcome celebration.
A New Generation of Boston Globe Food Writers
by Carlos C. Olaechea
Perhaps one of the most popular courses offered in the Boston University Gastronomy program, especially for those interested in applying food studies to the communications fields, is Sheryl Julian’s Food Writing for Print Media offered every spring. Julian, who is the dining editor for the Boston Globe, guides students through every form of food writing so that by the end of the semester they are ready to start submitting pieces to newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs.
If you need any proof as to just how well Julian’s class prepares its students, you only need to read through the Boston Globe’s Food & dining section where every week you’re almost guaranteed to find published recipes, interviews, reviews, and other food-related articles by BU Gastronomy students and alumni, alike. The wave of new Boston Globe food writers from our program has been so impactful that it has caught the attention of Metropolitan College, which recently mentioned on its website how the Gastronomy program is “stirring up a new generation of Globe food and wine correspondents.”
Many students have been published in the Globe as soon as a few months after having taken Julian’s course. A few, like recent graduate Jaclyn Fishman, have become regular contributors to the newspaper, and others have begun contributing to national food publications like Saveur magazine. Besides giving students the practical skill sets to become better food writers, Julian instills a confidence in them to leave the class and start getting their story ideas out there. It’s just one way in which the Gastronomy program at Boston University helps students achieve their professional goals.
Four Cultured Courses with Culture
By Kimi Cerdion
Gastronomy Student Kimi Ceridon recounts her experience at the Boston Fermentation Festival's fermentation-themed brunch.
After weeks of preparation, Chef Geoff Lukas of Sofra Bakery capped off the Boston Fermentation Festival weekend with a Fermentation-themed Brunch. It was held on September 28th on the outdoor patio at Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge. While the warm fall day and cozy patio makes for an excellent brunch on any Sunday, diners were in for a special morning of fermented foods, fermented beverages and conversation about fermentation, culture and community.
Thirty fermentation fans joined special guest Sandor Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation and Wild Fermentation, for four courses of fermented culinary delights. Each of the dishes was an expertly executed blend of cultural traditions from different geographic regions. Fermented beverage pairings accompanied each dish and Katz offered quips and insights as each course was presented.
Lukas is a fermentation enthusiast. He encourages fermenters to go beyond sauerkraut and try out more advanced ferments. His ‘Fermentation 201’ talk at the previous day’s festival was an excellent primer for the brunch. During his talk, he introduced the audience to cultural fermenting traditions practiced around the world and gave a sneak peek into his upcoming brunch menu.
Diners started out with a fermented tea as Katz offered to correct a misnomer that appeared in Wild Fermentation. “No, not all black teas are fermented,” explained Katz, a simple misunderstanding given the slight, and perhaps fuzzy, difference between curing and fermenting. While not a black tea, the Pu’er from China’s Yunan province was made from fermented dried red tea leaves.
The tea accompanied the first course highlighting Asia. While congee is usually soupy, Lukas offered a soft fluffy mound of the mildly fermented rice porridge. It was sprinkled with caramelized koji grains which are jasmine rice grains with a mold used for secondary fermentation. Lukas jokingly told the crowd, “I never thought I would be in love with a mold.” A slightly sour egg yolk pickled in kimchi brine and soy sauce was nested in the congee and topped with a delicate white kimchi.
Lukas moved on to the Americas for his second course. Chicha is a commonly known beverage in South and Central America typically made with fermented maize, although the ingredients and preparation can vary from country to country. At this brunch, however, chicha referred to a variety of fruit wines. A sour cherry chicha vinegar was used to marinate thin fluke fillets for a ceviche accompanied by a tangy Cherokee-style fermented corn relish and an aged mole negro. While most may know mole as a seasoned, savory cacao sauce from the Oaxaca region of Mexico, this aged version was earthy and tangy. It grounded the sharper sourness of the fermented corn relish and vinegar. Night Shift’s Fallen Apple Aged Cider offered a sweet and funky pairing.
Next up was a fermented interpretation of a Sunday brunch staple, the pancake. Using techniques from Africa, a yeasty and sour fermented lentil and barley pancake anchored this course. Diners successively paired pancakes with each of three accompaniments – a fermented sunflower ugiri butter, a fermented sesame ugiri butter and a sunflower petal marmalade. The sunflower ugiri offered potent, earthy and smoky flavors while the sesame ugiri was a lighter and nuttier counterpart. Both were nicely complimented by honey-fermented sunflower petals. The real standout was the mead Lukas started weeks earlier. The herbal-infused anise and African blue basil mead stood up to the strong flavors while the sweet carbonation lightened things up.
To end the meal, Lukas returned to the regional cuisines he knows best, those of the Middle East. While fermentations are not usually described as ‘rich and decadent’, the salshir was just that. Meaning “milk head” in Farsi, it is made by fermenting gently heated and separated un-homogenized milk until the desired texture and flavor is achieved. The skimmed off cream ‘head’ is the salshir, which is reminiscent of whipped sweet butter. Acidy, salt-fermented plums and sweet candied tulip petals beautifully matched the creamy base. Black honeycomb gave a chewy final touch. Overall, the dish played well with the traditional Persian sour and fizzy yogurt drink called dough.
After an activity-packed Boston Fermentation Festival, the brunch proved an engaging and relaxing way to wrap up the weekend. Diners came from as far away as South Dakota. Most were avid fermenters. As the last course was cleared, it was apparent many diners would head home to try out these new dishes on their own. Based on the number of people hurriedly writing down Lukas’ recipe for anise hyssop and African blue basil mead, there is certainly a batch in progress somewhere. If you missed out, get your own mead started at home: pack a container with anise hyssop and African blue basil leaves and flowers, cover with a blend of one part honey and four parts water, let ferment, and stir frequently.
GSA’s Sunday Eating Club: Southern Chicken Fried Steak
By Rachael Reagan
Rachael Reagan shares a little backstory and a recipe for chicken-fried steak, a Southern classic. The Gastronomy Students Association hosts a bi-monthly Sunday Eating Club event. To see all the GSA's events, please visit our Calendar.
“So wait, is it chicken or is it steak?”
This question surely arises from both Yankees and novice Southerners alike anytime chicken fried steak appears on the menu. Even fine gastronauts-in-training, many of who attended the latest Sunday Eating Club function on September 28th, have questions regarding the nature of this indulgent, deep-fried dish. Referring to its cooking method, chicken-fried steak is steak that has been deep fried like chicken. Traditionally served as the star of any Southern meal, chicken fried steak is almost always served in a pool of peppery gravy flanked by mashed potatoes and buttermilk biscuits. A first-year student originally from Oklahoma, I gladly shared the southern classic with Gastronomy students Sunday night at the Gastronomy Students Association’s second Sunday Eating Club meeting of the semester.
Not forgetting the standards of southern hospitality, the evening began with two dips very common in Southern states: Rotel dip and white queso. Though white queso is mainly considered a Tex-Mex staple, it nevertheless appears in almost any kind of restaurant menu. Rotel dip, consisting of equal parts cream cheese and Rotel brand canned diced tomatoes (no other diced tomatoes will work) can be seen served at almost any tailgate throughout the south.
With the guests happily occupied with two varieties of cheese, the biscuit-making procedure began. Cutting in lard and butter into a sifted dry mixture, I explained the difference between a drop biscuit and a rolled biscuit. Though virtually the same, families have fought for years over the superior method. Rolled biscuits require a rolling pin, biscuit cutter, and patience. Drop biscuits, as their name suggests, are simply dropped by the spoonful onto a buttered and floured baking sheet.
The process of frying chicken-fried steak is a long one, and the evening had the laid-back nature of any southern meeting. Though long and intensive, the steaks were well worth the wait. The backdrop of easy conversation and sizzling oil made conditions perfect for enjoying a sinful fried steak with gravy.
Sunday Suppers are held by the Gastronomy Students Association twice each month and encourage students to share a food or food custom with their peers. Here is my recipe for Chicken Fried Steak:
Chicken Fried Steak
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt (preferably Lawry’s)
- ¾ tsp. smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 3 pounds cube steak (or top round), tenderized and cut
- Salt and Pepper
- Oil for frying (preferable neutral oil)
- Mix together whole milk and eggs in a shallow dish and set aside.
- Mix together flour, seasoned salt, pepper, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic salt, and onion salt in a shallow bowl and set aside.
- Dredge meat in flour mixture then egg mixture, then again in flour mixture. Set aside dredged meat on clean plate. Repeat with all pieces.
- Add about an inch of oil to a large skillet.
- Add the steaks to the oil three at a time, cooking about three minutes on each side. Transfer fried steaks to paper towel lined plate.
Gravy
- Flour
- Whole Milk
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Without removing any grease from the pan, slowly add flour to grease whisking constantly until a thick consistency is reached
- When the flour has combined with the grease to form a paste-like consistency, add milk slowly.
- While whisking in milk, carefully watch the mixture to ensure desired consistency is reached. After desired consistency is reached, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over steaks.
Second Annual Boston Fermentation Festival
By Katherine Wood
Katherine Wood recounts her experience at the Boston Fermentation Festival, which occurred on Saturday, September 27th.
On a warm September afternoon in Jamaica Plain, friends, fermenters, and food lovers of all kinds came together to celebrate the 2nd annual Boston Fermentation Festival. The Boston Fermentation Festival is the primary event organized by Boston Ferments, a self-described “collective of fermenting enthusiasts, lovers of real food, and folks interested in the health aspects of living foods.” Aside from the Fermentation Festival, Boston Ferments holds courses, dinners, and workshops bringing public attention to the benefits of fermented foods.
The fest was set up in conjunction with the Egleston Farmers Market, which occurs every Saturday in Jamaica Plain. It featured several exhibitors including Real Pickles, Katalyst Kombucha, and AO Biome.
The day was packed with book signings from several national authors, along with a speaker series, tastings, a “pickle off,” a culture sharing table, and a kraut-making workshop. The speaker series included talks by Boston University professor Ken Albala on the history of ideas about fermentation and digestion. Geoff Lukas, Chef de Cuisine at Sofra Bakery and Café took listeners on a tour of the world discussing fermentation delights across cultures. The speaker series ended with headliner Sandor Katz examining nutrition, foodways, economics and anthropology using fermentation as a lens.
To break up the full schedule of speakers, Boston Ferments held their very own version of a reality show competition, The Pickle Off. Prior to the festival, Boston area chefs were invited to create their own lacto-fermented vegetables and bring them to the festival to be judged by a panel of pickle experts and festival participants. Attendees also had the opportunity to make their own sauerkraut at the “kraut mob” table where they were provided with cabbage, apples, carrots and salt. The “mobsters” taught the art of sauerkraut making as festivalgoers got their hands dirty, going home with their own bubbling jar to watch the lactobacillus bacteria work their magic. At the end of the day, the “kraut mob” went through 100 pounds of cabbage and 40 pounds of apples and carrots during the communal event.
The Boston Fermentation Festival is most special in that through the exchange of bacteria, sourdough starters or kombucha mothers, as well as information on the most effective ways to make vinegar-free pickles, it evokes a feeling of community and a sense of sharing. Invisible organisms - the microbes - were the stars of the day, and the Boston Fermentation Festival effectively showcased just how crucial these tiny creatures are for the body and palate.
Smörgåbord Nordic Food Festival
by Alex Cheser
Gastronomy student Alex Cheser shares his experiences from last weekend's event
While the crowd might not have outnumbered the one at the Boston IKEA on a Saturday in September, the very first Smörgåbord Nordic Food Festival debuted with great success. The event is one of many new efforts by The Scandinavian Cultural Center in West Newton to highlight Nordic culture and offer a place for Nordic peoples in Boston to meet and celebrate their heritage and, most importantly, the food.
Scandinavian cuisine, new and old, could be found across the grounds of the Center from the prinskorv station with pølse (sausages) and Swedish meatballs to yellow pea soup served by a man dressed as the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show. As a ticket holder, you could also sample the scrumptious pastries from The Danish Pastry House and Crown Bakery including coffee breads, macaroons, and the irresistible kringle - that Danish treat of puff pastry, marzipan, butter, and almonds.
By far one of the most exciting parts of the festival were the tasting stations where four Boston area chefs presented their interpretation of New Nordic inspired cuisine. Offerings ranged from vodka cured salmon blinis, the favorite of the other Gastronomy students who attended, to birch smoked Norwegian cod served with a cauliflower puree and finished with a smokey barley-dulse-mussel sauce.
The winner was a dish of salmon two ways by Chef Peter Hansen from The Cottage in Newton, which consisted of hot smoked Norwegian salmon with pickled beets, mustard glaze, and juniper and peppercorn cured Norwegian salmon belly. This was served on a potato pancake with horseradish cream and caramelized apple. According to Juliane Dybkjaer, a new Gastronomy student from Denmark, this dish stayed more in line with older, Nordic home cooking styles while the others were more high end.
The sold out event also hosted several local vendors selling a range of Scandinavian and Baltic products like nøkkelost, sausages, Estonian chocolate, soup mixes, and various troll inspired knickknacks and Christmas ornaments.
If you purchased a Nordic Foodie ticket there were even two more grand events. The first was a book talk by Chef Sami Tallberg, a Finn who is noted for his use of wild herbs in his cooking. His new book, aptly titled The Wild Herb Cookbook, highlights ways to use wild plants like Japanese rose, sorrel, and others. Foraging is a huge component to New Nordic cuisine, and some of the chefs from the tasting stations had even foraged herbs and pine needles for their dishes.
The last event of the day was a salmon cook off between Peter Hansen and Tim Fahy, two of the chefs from the tasting stations, that was judged by Chef Tallberg and two representatives from the Norwegian Seafood Council - a major sponsor of the event and the reason salmon was the biggest ingredient of the day. It was great fun, and Chef Peter Hansen won this competition as well, walking away with the biggest bragging rights of the day.
Hopefully this event becomes a mainstay for the Scandinavian Cultural Center, and more people in Boston can tune into the amazing food inspired by fjords, forests, and marzipan.
Startup Stir Offers Insight for Food Startups
by Carlos C. Olaechea
Every month, Beacon Hill Partners sponsors a Startup Stir event that brings in different professionals to offer advice to individuals considering starting their own business. On Thursday, September 18th, the evening was all about food as a panel of seasoned professionals offered their insights on starting a food business at Workbar in Cambridge. Those in attendance were given some time to mix and mingle, as well as sample some of the panelists’ own products, include ZOOS Greek Iced Tea, Downeast Cider House’s unique brews, Tribe Mediterranean Food’s new hummus and pita chip snack pack, and addictive donut holes from Union Square Donuts.
At 6:30 PM everyone took their seats, and the panelists took center stage and offered stories as to how they all started their businesses, the sometimes-bumpy roads that had to be taken, and how they managed to achieve success.
Josh Danhoff, of Union Square Donuts, offered that one of the most valuable tools available to budding food businesses in Boston are kitchen incubators that allow startups to rent licensed kitchen space to prepare their foods. They are one of the best, most risk-free ways to test out a product. Union Square Donuts started out this way before moving to their own location, and after much success were able to get a newer, larger location that will be open in October.
Ross Brockman, of Downeast Cider House, had started his company with friends from college right after graduating and notes that the regulation and licensing processes can be grueling. Sometimes it is necessary for business startups to bluff, stretch the truth, and skirt the rules in order to make it through that hurdle. Nevertheless, it is what he deems a naïve excitement for launching your product that gets you through it.
Christina Tsoupiras’s own experience in launching ZOOS Greek Iced Tea parallels Brockman’s in that she started marketing her product across social media before she even had any product to sell. Half of the battle, according to her, is establishing a lifestyle brand, and sometimes it’s best to “fake it ‘til you make it.” Her iced teas are now featured in over 100 retailers. She continues that it is beneficial to team up with people who have complimentary personality traits – if you are creative, it is best to have someone practical on your team.
Jim Mitchell was perhaps the panelist with the most experience at starting food businesses in the Boston area. He maintains that “success is a cognizable commodity,” and that “it’s not a mystery.” When he helped start Steve’s Ice Cream in Davis Square, they had placed the ice cream makers at the front of the store by the windows so that passersby would be attracted by the drama of the beaters dripping with freshly churned ice cream. Upon opening Bertucci’s, which is now one of the most popular casual Italian chains in the Boston area, he applied the same concept that made Steve’s a success, placing the pizza ovens by the windows. By the time he opened Fire + Ice, he had figured out that what had made his restaurants successful was that touch of the dramatic. It is important for business owners to find that successful model either in their own businesses or in those of their competitors.
Keeping an eye on your competition was something that Adam Carr was very familiar with. As president and CEO Tribe Mediterranean Foods, best known for its hummus, his focus is always on Sabra, which controls roughly 60% of the market. He keeps packages of all of his competitors’ products in his office so that he never forgets that his isn’t the only product out there, and by looking at different brands, he can apply models that work, as well as improve upon models that don't.
Overall, the panel was an excellent opportunity to pick at the brains of people who have been there and done that and offered choice insight into what it takes for someone to start their own food business not only in Boston, but anywhere. The most encouraging message of the evening was not only the fact that it is possible for a food business idea to have success, but that there is also a world of help and support in this town to get you on that path.
Discussing “Evil Alcohol” with Dr. Lionel Tiger
by Rachel Anderson
“Food is more than a source of electricity,” Dr. Lionel Tiger announced before going on to joke about the "nineteen" glasses of wine he consumed that evening. Speaking to a room of gastronomes, our thoughts and actions truly paralleled those initial words. It is undisputed. We recognize food as significantly more than fuel. Food is ritual, community, love.
Tonight we all gathered to learn “Why We Use ‘Evil Alcohol’ to Celebrate Life” while enjoying a four course dinner and wine pairing prepared by BU’s culinary arts team. The discussion led by Dr. Lionel Tiger and Dr. R. Curtis Ellison was held the evening before they were to defend their stance on alcohol consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle for the 2014 Bicknell Lecture Series at Boston University on September 18th (click here for a recap of the debate).
The demonstration room at 808 Commonwealth Avenue had been transformed for this first installment of 2014’s Pépin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy: white table cloths, wine glasses, loaves of bread. Over sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne and a spread of Italian cheeses and Sicilian caponata, we introduced ourselves to the other attendees at the table. The second course was then served, and while listening to Dr. Ellison casually introduce the evening’s topic, we took sips of Pinot Bianco. Creamy, easy, and mellow, it was a pleasurable pairing with the poached salmon over shaved fennel, grapefruit suprème, and lemon vinaigrette.
Tenderloin of beef with a red wine pan sauce was our main course. It was paired with tri-colored cauliflower and a zucchini and heirloom tomato gratin. The wine chosen was a Tres Picos Borsao from Spain, whose leathery character complimented the meat nicely.
It was after enjoying our tenderloin that Dr. Tiger got up and discussed how food was a “mammalian transaction” and “profound interchange.” According to him, the act of cooking tells what humans view as important in the hierarchy of needs, and food forms part of our processes of understanding. We live with a purpose and a desire to feed other mammals.
Dessert brought a lovely apple, pear and cranberry crumble with hints of zest and spice paired with another Spanish wine, this time a dessert wine by Jorge Ordoñez called Victoria 2. Dr. Tiger believes the use of food and ‘Evil Alcohol’ to be part of that mammalian transaction that binds us. On days when those ties to one another feel weakened, we can remember the connection that exists through the sharing of food.
Tonight the meal confirmed that food and alcohol bring pleasure, while the conversation confirmed that both those things grant connectedness. Dr. Tiger’s final declaration for the evening: “The crispy zucchini – that was worth getting up for this morning.” Amen.