Daniel Boulud, the notorious perfectionist, driven chef and wildly successful restaurateur, has been accused of racism by some of his former staff members, who claim that he favors white Europeans (he himself is a French immigrant) over other groups. Boulud, rather than settling the issue with a payoff that could look like an admission of guild, has chosen to fight back, suing the "group leading the protest for... defamation, nuisance and harassment, and of causing damage to his business." Boulud says that "racism is a vicious charge. It is too easy to accuse someone of that, and it is very hard to defend yourself."
Fishermen are worried about the state of the seas. Lately, in Maine, their chowders have been made with only lobster and few other fish. The fact that the typically fish-rich stews are so lacking diversity means that the supplies are not as good, or as stable, as they could be, which may lead to problems with even the lobster in the future.
Black skinned, black boned chickens are not that appetizing to look at, but are hugely popular with Asian cooks that enjoy their "deep, gamy flavor." Unlike regular chickens, Silkies are usually cooked in soup, sauce or a broth, not roasted.
UglyRipes get approval from Florida growers
Frank Bruni dines at Porchetta and gives it one star.
Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes scrambled eggs with shrimp.
Soy and chickpeas might help stroke victims
The world of pie and tart crusts
Starbucks launches the Piadini 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-17-2007 @ 1:25PM
Middle said...
Amazingly, in its own display of racial stereotypical assumptions, the Buzz feed website (http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzz/Being_Accused_of_Being_a_Racist) showed a picture of an Indian actress, who has nothing to do with this story. I feel showing Daniel Boulud's photograph would be more relevant (at it features in Ny times). Please let the Buzz feed people know about their mistake.
Kill the ignorance,
middle
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1-17-2007 @ 5:34PM
Alex said...
I was amazed to read the full NY Times article. In this article an example was given of a restaurant which offers English lessons to its staff. And another restaurant which offers waiting staff who wouldn't normally drink special instruction in wine.
I'm amazed by this. In my (non food/wine/service related industry) you're expected to know your stuff and be able to communicate with your colleagues (in our case, English, but a bit of French goes a long way).
I think if you turn up and you're passionate, enthusiastic and have great communication skills and knowledge (or a really keen urge to learn) - and you're good at your job - then you should be promoted. But I don't think an employer should have to hand-hold people through professional development who don't have the skills or aren't ballsy enough to acquire them on their own.
Oh - and Middle - the picture's of Shilpa Shetty. If you'd read the story you'd know it was about Big Brother in England, where a particularly classy group of English women are displaying their ignorance.
Let's not just kill the ignorance but also, let's gain a bit of a world view!!!
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