Mary Vincent & Kesang Choedon While in Bhutan for mobile health meetings with community health workers, IT representatives, and government officials on behalf of the Global Health Research Foundation (GHRF) in July 2012, our team had the great pleasure of being invited to visit the Folk Heritage Museum and Restaurant in the capital, Thimphu. Chef Kesang Choeden, featured in the video below, is working to preserve traditional Bhutanese cuisine by reviving recipes that are becoming extinct. Kesang is partnering with Farmers to grow products that used to be grown by Bhutanese ancestors and are disappearing and no longer growing. The restaurant doesn't have a set menu because it depends on the products that are seasonal and are growing at the time. She is currently doing research on the historical foods and preparing a cookbook. Pictures below include Red Rice, Ferns, Ema Datsi, (Chili Cheese), Dumplings, and Tea. On a recent January 2013 trip, I tried Orchids and Cheese (Olachoto Datsi) - These fascinating and delicious foods are vegetarian, and spicy, which is how I like it! :) Gratitude Gourmet Moderates Cuisine Noir Culinary Travel Panel at Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show2/18/2013
On Sunday February 17, I moderated Cuisine Noir's Culinary Travel Panel at the Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show where I met some very accomplished and wonderful ladies to discuss 2013 Culinary, Travel and Sustainability Trends. 1. Chef Marcelle Bienvenu Marcelle Bienvenu is currently a chef/instructor at Nicholls State University in the John Folse Culinary Institute. With Emeril Lagasse, she co-authored four cookbooks. She also is a co-author of “Stir The Pot, The History Of Cajun Cuisine,” published in 2005 by Hippocrene Books. Marcelle provided the recipes for TRUE BLOOD, Eats, Drinks and Bites from Bon Temps (published in 2012), a companion cookbook to HBO’s True Blood series. 2. Maralyn Dennis Hill Maralyn is past President of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association, and from 2002 to 2006 she produced and hosted Dishing with Carolina Chefs for Time Warner Cable TV and web. 3. Wanda Hennig A native South African, Wanda was editor of the South African Sunday Tribune’s lifestyle magazine and bureau chief for Cosmopolitan in Durban, her home town, before working, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on Appellation (wine country living) and Diablo magazine (as editor), and freelancing extensively for Oakland magazine among other publications. She believes we are what (and how) we eat (and drink). Thus, she says (only a little tongue in cheek), the best way to truly understand a country, a city, a culture — and a people — is though your stomach. www.wandahennig.com The 2013 Culinary, Travel, and Sustainability Trends were shared with the audience and included Wanda's Tips for enhancing a culinary experience while traveling: * To be a culinary traveler, you don’t have to eat at expensive places. Markets and where the locals eat work well for anyone on a budget * Being a culinary traveler also means you can travel the world right where you live, if it’s the San Francisco Bay Area or any other sophisticated city or region. With the wealth of restaurants reflecting a melting pot of cultures, it’s possible to go culinary traveling to a different destination any day of the week. * If you are partial to city culinary tours (which many cities within the US and internationally have now), look before you leave to see what’s available and ideally, set up something in advance. Or you can do it when you get there, which I did when I spotted a flyer for a culinary tour of Lisbon, all about heritage and traditions. The Panel agreed that eating 'Local' is a trend because many people enjoy knowing the restaurant owner, how the chef prepares the food, and where the food is sourced etc which of course includes quality and sustainably-grown ingredients. Many of us have seen that restaurant owners are placing the source of their ingredients on their menus and if it's organic, vegetarian etc. What do you think the Culinary and Sustainability Trends are? Go to our Facebook Page and let Gratitude Gourmet know. Photo Credit: Intellectual Ventures Come discover the high-tech end of the culinary world at After Dark: Gastronomy on Thursday, April 5, 2012, from 6 to 10 pm at Exploratorium 3601 Lyon Street San Francisco California. You are invited to eat with your eyes, taste with your nose, and savor through your fingertips. In the spirit of Modernist Cuisine, a sumptuous, six-volume record of science-inspired cooking techniques, After Dark: Gastronomy explores how surprise and innovation can transform our experience of food. Guests will engage in food-themed activities and see demonstrations, including how liquid nitrogen ice cream and fruit juice entrees are made. Learn the cultural history of the orange, then take home some experimental activities you can do with asparagus. Find out if you are a “super-taster,” learn the cultural history of the orange and much more. After Dark is for adults 18 years and older. Gratitude Gourmet is giving away 2 sets of tickets to 2 lucky winners (total of 4 tickets)! Just comment on Facebook or this Blog post by 12noon PT Monday April 2nd with your favorite Veggie Modernist Cuisine and 2 people will be randomly chosen to win 2 tickets to the April 5 After Dark Gastronomy Event! Have Fun and Good Luck! |